“quite impressed”
this was my first trip to beirut. without knowing what to expect when i decided to go to beirut, i wanted to have a quality and safe hotel that was affordable, met my standards, and was not too far from downtown. hazmieh rotana gave me what i wanted. it is basically a hotel of the rotana chain in hazmieh. there is not much you can do in hazmieh and the surrounding neighbourhood does not seem very well. but the hotel is definitely isolated from the neighbourhood, is safe and stands out. wave your hand at any red plated car (they are taxis) and a ride to abc mall in ashrafieh or downtown will cost you $10 after heavy negotiation and swallowing some arabic swearing. considering the same hotel room would have cost you about 4-5 times the price in downtown area, the taxi fee easily compensates for itself. the open buffet breakfast is one of a kind.
the only problem with the hotel is the internet access fee which is too high. when i was there, internet was $20 for 24 hours and clock starts counting when you buy the internet. normally it should only count while you are online. so be careful about that.
the hotel has an in house car rental service and the rates are very good. if you are from the west and were grown up in a civilised manner of driving, do NOT drive a car. i guarantee somebody will hit you.
this was my first visit to beirut and if i were to go again, i would happily stay at this hotel.
are you rich? stay at le vendome
Area recommendations
there is not a specific area one could possibly recommend to anyone in beirut. the city has survived many bad days and is fully recovering. there is too much contrast in the city within the same area/neighbourhood so even if you stay near Soukh Beirut (best area of the city) you will experience contrast as you approach the beach. a million dollar apartment and a building with bullet holes from the old war are next to each other with 2 meters of ground separating them. its very unique and a must see. a dream come true for a photographer.
however stay clear of the borders as there is too much going on these days.
written as of nov '11
When to go
summer is hot, over 35 degrees. i went in november and walked around with a light jacket.
Getting there
taxis are all about negotiation. there are no meters in the cars. getting on a taxi without negotiation is like an insult to them. so learn to negotiate before you go. i walked out of the airport and i was immediately offered a ride to hazmieh for $45. i ended up going for $20.
Getting around
you have to take a taxi. its a quite small city so in downtown you will get around for up to $5
What to pack
there is nothing you wont find there
Must see
although everybody highly recommends jeita grotto, its nothing special. there are much better examples of nature in other parts of the world.
