Le Bristol Hotel Beirut

Le Bristol Beirut
Le Bristol Hotel in Beirut
General information
Location	Beirut, Lebanon
Opening	1951
Design and construction
Architect	Jean Royère
Other information
Number of rooms	157
Number of restaurants	3
Website
Official hotel website

Le Bristol is a famous 5 stars luxury hotel located in Verdun, Lebanon at Madame Curie Street, at the heart of Beirut where shopping centres, restaurants and Beirut's business centres are located. Le Bristol opened in 1951 and is famous for both its architecture and guests it hosted.

Hotel Le Bristol first received guests in 1951. The hotel’s first General Manager, Georges al-Rayess, was known for his contribution to the culinary arts and wrote a series of cookbooks that contributed to make the hotel famous for its cuisine. Le Bristol hosted the first ice skating rink in Lebanon. During the 15 years Lebanese Civil War, Le Bristol managed to keep its doors opened despite the fights that took place in the capital. In 1999, Le Bristol briefly joined Starwood's Luxury Collection. In 2013, the hotel underwent a major renovation to refresh the building's exterior and interior. In June 2015, when the renovation was complete, Le Bristol held a ceremony named "Le Bal de Beyrouth" attended by major figures in Lebanon and in the Middle East.

Since its opening, the hotel has hosted famous guests like Albert II, Prince of Monaco, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the late Shah of Iran and Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiari, late princess of Iran, Jacques Chirac, president of France, Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, King of Saudi Arabia, late king Hussein of Jordan and princess Dina bint 'Abdu'l-Hamid of Jordan. It's also inside Le Bristol's walls that politicians from all Lebanese parties frequently hold meetings.

The hotel consists of a triangular 6-story building that's hollow in the middle to accommodate a garden. The hotel interior was designed by the famous French decorator Jean Royère and was upgraded in 2015 by Galal Mahmoud. The hotel has 157 rooms including suites, a pool, an oriental lounge and restaurants. After the renovation in 2015, the rooms were designed to represent the Lebanese and luxury design history.