New to Lebanon: Four Seasons Hotel Beirut

When the beaming smiles of the doormen at Four Seasons Hotel Beirut dazzle their very first guests, the city will take another step forward in its renaissance as a 21st Century metropolis. After ten years in planning and five years under construction, the hotel opens as a gleaming statement of intent for visitors to enjoy warm, genuine Lebanese hospitality.

Nowhere is the city’s unique energy more intensely felt than through its own people – a proud culture with an indomitable spirit and an insatiable zest for life. The newest Four Seasons has filtered this energy down to its purest form, with over 300 local recruits amplifying the warm welcome found on the streets outside.

Throughout the hotel, the magic continues in the details, from a prime cut of Executive Chef Andrea Ossola’s Charolais beef on the The Grill Room’s marina-view terrace (try it with a glass of Domaine Wardy, Private Selection 2004, from Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley) to the heavenly homemade truffles that accompany coffees beneath The Bar’s dramatic red and gold chandelier. Large terraces are standard in all 230 guest rooms and suites. The Spa, a cool statement in white marble and gold mosaics, has a suede-panelled couple’s suite with private terrace and whirlpool. And the rooftop pool – a glittering 26th-floor oasis with 360-degree views – towers above the raucous cityscape like a suspended haven of tranquillity.