Le Commodore Hotel Beirut

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Le Commodore Hotel Beirut, also known as the Beirut Commodore Hotel, Hotel Commodore, or simply the Commodore is a five-star luxury hotel located on Rue Baalbek in the Hamra district of Beirut in Lebanon.

History[]

During the Lebanese Civil War, the Commodore became the international news media's hotel of choice, providing a safe haven for many Lebanese and foreign correspondents and diplomats on assignment in the war-torn Lebanese Capital between 1975 and 1987.[1] When entering the premises to check in, guests were greeted with the question "Artillery side or car-bomb side?"[2]

Unlike other foreign journalists, the late Robert Fisk, the Middle East correspondent for The Times who set residence at Beirut in 1976,[3] recently stated that he never stayed in the Commodore, describing it as a seedy hotel with extremely high prices, where he met regularly with colleagues from the Associated Press to have lunch with them at the hotel's restaurant.[1]

After the war, the hotel was demolished (demolition started in February 1987) and built anew. Hussam Boubess was among the investors of the new hotel.[4] It reopened in February 1996 and was affiliated with Concorde Hotels of France.[5]

Famous guests[]

Description[]

The hotel consists of a rectangular seven-story building that features 203 spacious guest rooms and suites, some with private balconies; three interconnected rooms, triple rooms and family suites are also available, as well as non-smoking rooms (Floors). Other facilities include an outdoor swimming pool and assorted gym, a Business Center, a ballroom, a Lobby lounge bar, two restaurants and a Patisserie.

The hotel's dining facilities include the Benihana restaurant that specializes in Japanese Cuisine, the International Cuisine a la carte restaurant, and the "La Brasserie" patisserie, which serves breakfast buffets, sweets and pastries.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b How Beirut’s Commodore Hotel became a safe haven for world media, Aljazeera.com, 11 December 2018
  2. ^ Rian Dundon, Welcome to the hotel. All rooms come with views of urban warfare, Timeline.com, 26 March 2018
  3. ^ Fisk, The Great War for Civilization: The Conquest of the Middle East (2006), p. 973.
  4. ^ Ihsan A. Hijazi, A New Hotel Is a Symbol of Hope for Beirut, Nytimes.com, 14 June 1992
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b Sam F. Ghattas, Commodore Hotel: Reminder of War, Symbol of Revival, Apnews.com, 26 February 1996
  6. ^ H.D.S. Greenway, The War Hotels: Lebanon, Pri.org, 11 January 2011

Bibliography[]

  • John Laffin, The War of Desperation: Lebanon 1982-85, Osprey Publishing Ltd, London 1985. ISBN 0 85045 603 7
  • Thomas L. Friedman, From Beirut to Jerusalem, Anchor Books, 1990. ISBN 978-0385413725, 0385413726
  • Tim Llewellyn, Spirit of the Phoenix: Beirut and the Story of Lebanon, I.B. Tauris, London 2010. ISBN 978-1-84511-735-1 – [1]
  • Robert Fisk, Pity the Nation: Lebanon at War, London: Oxford University Press, (3rd ed. 2001). ISBN 0-19-280130-9 – [2]
  • Robert Fisk, The Great War for Civilization: The Conquest of the Middle East, Harper Perennial, London 2006. ISBN 978-1-84115-008-6

External links[]

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