Lancaster Hotel Raouche

Set on Australia Street in the Raouche district of Beirut, Lancaster Hotel Raouche stands within reach of Pigeon Rocks and Ramlet al-Baida beach. The building holds 100 rooms and suites, recently renovated, with natural wood furniture and warm tones running through each. It is a four-star property with a working core rather than a resort sprawl: a meeting room named Forbes seats up to 40 guests with secretarial support laid on, useful for the business travellers the hotel clearly courts alongside holidaymakers. Rooms start at 26 square metres in the Standard category, with ceramic-and-marble bathrooms and a work desk as standard. Suites climb from there. The Diplomatic Suite, on the tenth floor, opens onto floor-to-ceiling windows framing the city below. The Grand Superior Suite, at 60 square metres, goes further still, with a private balcony facing both the skyline and the Mediterranean beyond it. You can watch the sea change colour from that balcony as the afternoon wears on. Dining runs to two venues on site, Le Monde restaurant and Dweik Cafe, plus a bar for evenings. A gym and swimming pool round out the facilities. It is a compact, well-equipped stay for a city visit, whether the agenda is meetings by day or the coastline by evening.