Tag Archives: Beirut

Four Seasons Hotel and Grill, Beirut

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The newly opened Four Seasons, Beirut is chic, minimalist and luxurious. The décor is subtle and modest and yet exudes luxury and style.

Our room was sleek and smart, bright and airy. With an impressive sea view and generous living space, it was a lovely place to spend time. Arranged fashionably and decorated in muted creams and browns with inconspicuous wood panelling, it felt modern and original. The room was filled with thoughtful touches, most conveniently a range of magazines, including TimeOut Beirut which helped us navigate our way to the trendiest places in the city.

The bathroom was an elegant boudoir, with space and all the facilities for pampering and relaxing like L’Occitane toiletries and lovely Verbana smelling soaps. I insisted on having three baths during our two day stay! It all felt ultra clean and new, almost too good to use.

The Four Seasons Beirut has enviable facilities… at the bottom of the building is a lovely spa and on the top floor a breathtaking outdoor pool, with overwhelming views of the whole city. This is a picture perfect location to relax and sunbathe, and perhaps enjoy a cocktail.

At night the hotel comes alive, guests talk and drink in the communal areas, playing cards and enjoying the cosy amicable mood. Despite feeling underdressed most of the time, I felt at ease spending time in the Four Seasons with the kind staff all genuinely eager to make our stay as special and memorable as possible.

I slept very well both nights in the plump, perfect bed and woke up feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. The Four Seasons know how to do breakfast providing an attractive selection of pastries, dried and fresh fruit, cereal and yoghurts. We ordered fresh orange juice and coffee and also tried some hot dishes from the main menu, sweet buttermilk pancakes with maple syrup and Eggs Benedict with back bacon sauce Maltaise, grilled asparagus. There is a clear emphasis on top quality ingredients. The hot breakfast was delicious although I would have been entirely satisfied with the fresh fruit and cereal!

Each table is also given a traditional Lebanese breakfast of Arabic flatbreads, salad and cheese, wonderfully fresh and unique, though rather too much for us to finish.

After a weekend of indulging in Beirut we spent our final night in the Four Season’s Grill restaurant for a lazy last meal in the luxurious lounge. The menu is short and simple concentrating on classics done well. After a round of spectacularly pretty cocktails, we chose the Chateaubriand steak to share. It was absolutely delicious, melt in the mouth meat, cooked to perfection: red and juicy in the centre with a crispy, caramelised edge. I was so preoccupied by eating this supreme steak that I even forgot to take a photo! The fillet was served with spicy rocket and creamy peppercorn sauce, and a silver cone of scrumptious fries. I can now understand the attraction of this fine cut of meat and will definitely be ordering this speciality again.

Desserts were delicate and divine… I chose the Mille Feuilles Exotique with Mango-Passion cream, Jivara mousse and fresh raspberries and my friend ordered the Tarte Fine A la Minute, a golden apple tart with Ceylon cinnamon and vanilla bean ice-cream. These puddings were light and fruity, the ideal after rich steak.

Aside from the Breakfast and Dinners at the Grill, the Four Seasons tempt their guests with a chocolate tea at the weekends… so good I have written a separate post dedicated to this devilish feast!

The Four Seasons is a destination hotel… and staying somewhere so pleasant makes it difficult to tear yourself away to explore the city… everything you need and could ever want is found inside the great glass doors.

Visit the Four Seasons Beirut website for more information and to book here.

Thoroughly Modern Milly travelled with bmi, British Midland International. British Midland International flies direct from London Heathrow to Beirut offering ten flights per week. Flights are twice daily on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays with a daily service on all other days.  Fares are available from £485 return including all taxes and charges. For more information and to book visit www.flybmi.com

Walk Beirut Tour

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If you ever visit Beirut, do try Ronnie’s Walk Beirut… it is the best in depth guide by foot you will ever experience.

Despite not looking typically Lebanese, Ronnie is 100% born and bred in Beirut and is suitably enthusiastic about his hometown, promising us at the start of the tour that by the end we too would fall in love with this city.

For three and a half hours he kept the whole group utterly captivated with his imaginative storytelling and passionate joie de vivre. As we walked round the 13 stops and sights, Ronnie’s family, friends, fans and followers stopped to holler from cars or high five him in the street. It was hilarious and immediately obvious why one journalist named him ‘Moses of Beirut’, he is a familiar legend in the city. I enjoyed every second and cannot recommend this tour highly enough. We were previously completely bewildered by the complex city but, after Ronnie’s brilliant walk, felt like experts understanding even the most confusing aspects of this magical place’s history.

After trying Ronnie’s WALK BEIRUT tour, I am positive it is the only way to discover the city of Beirut, learn about its tumultuous history and observe the beauty of the modern Middle East.

My photos above hopefully illustrate the picturesque WALK BEIRUT experience.

More information here.

Whisky Mist, Phoenicia Hotel, Beirut

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I am aware of Whisky Mist in London, though I haven’t been… well not as far as I can remember anyway! The swanky branch of the club in Beirut is part of the Phoenicia complex, blissfully convenient for hotel guests, and near the centre of town for other partygoers.

Passing the queue of wide-eyed hopeful attendees, we entered a swarm of bunny ears bobbing excitedly in time to the rhythmic music. Recognising the giant iconic rabbit imprinted on the wall, we were alerted to the theme for the night, Playboy Mansion… did we expect anything less?!

Luxurious and expensive Whisky Mist is the rendezvous for Beirut’s elite. A young and beautiful crowd dances expertly, drinking champagne and laughing as if without care in the world. The place smells of sweat and money… the type of joint I’d sneer at in London and yet here, in the very alive town of Beirut, I felt enthused and encouraged by the passion, energy and fun of it all.

Gorgeous skimpily dressed dancers (who we later discovered were English) strutted along raised catwalks, gyrating their sumptuous hips and swinging athletically from poles. It was captivating.

Whisky Mist endeavours to provide the best entertainment in town, and the night we visited they certainly succeeded… with none other than Glamazon singer Kelis in the spotlight, performing a short set for the lucky visitors.

Kelis arrived at her table, fashionably (very) late. Reminding ourselves of her successes earlier in the day and swotting up on the lyrics to her songs, we felt like die-hard devoted fans when the time came to welcome her to the club. (If you can’t remember her, she is the one that sings the Milkshake song.) Without a proper stage, she sang from her corner of the club, protected only by a few bodyguards – it was a very intimate gig.

We were treated with unfaultable hospitality throughout our time at the Phoenicia, and Whisky Mist was no different. Our drinks were refreshed and replaced every few minutes, and a meeting with Kelis and the dancers was even arranged for me after the show.

By 3am we were exhausted and ready to escape, instead of the usual tiresome homeward journey we stumbled to the lift and arrived outside our bedroom door seconds later, surreal but utterly brilliant… and certainly a convenience we were thankful for the next morning.

Visit the Whisky Mist Beirut website here.

Thoroughly Modern Milly travelled with bmi, British Midland International. British Midland International flies direct from London Heathrow to Beirut offering ten flights per week. Flights are twice daily on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays with a daily service on all other days.  Fares are available from £485 return including all taxes and charges. For more information and to book visit www.flybmi.com