It was a Friday afternoon.
We packed a getaway bag and made our way to our home away from home in Beirut. A break from our daily work routine was very necessary, and what better way to break a routine than to add a pinch of class and luxury over the weekend?
Situated in Beirut Central District, the 5-star contemporary Le Gray Hotel, member of the Leading Small Hotels of the World, offers its guests a luxurious and welcoming stay in the heart of the city accompanied with great service, deluxe rooms, high-tech facilities, entertainment, and delectable upscale cuisine.
Le Gray Hotel Experience
First Impressions
Our arrival to Le Gray Hotel was smooth. After handing over the car to the valet, we went through the festively decorated reception area. Our keycards were given to us by the lovely receptionist and we were then escorted to our room, or rather, suite.
The twisting gray corridors seem like a classic maze, simply decorated with contemporary paintings.
The Executive Suite
Similar to the style of the classic hotel, the suite wasn’t excessively decorated. The soft blue and gray tones of the suite were welcoming and calming. Simple, classy, and modern best describes our executive suite at Le Gray Hotel.
All rooms and suites at Le Gray Hotel include free wi-fi, an HD LCD screen TV with satellite channels and on-demand movies, a writing desk complete with docking station, a fully-stocked minibar, an espresso machine, a safe, a hairdryer, bathrobes, and a bathroom TV.
We entered the second room to be met with an inviting white king-sized bed with plush pillows, a sitting corner with two chairs and a coffee table, and an HD LCD TV.
Open the closet and find an exclusive Jura coffee machine filled with coffee beans for a fresh morning coffee and a colourful ceramic tea set along with a selection of tea and sugar.
Further inside was the luxurious gray marble bathroom with a white bathtub complete with a TV! The toilet and shower each were in different sections of the bathroom separated by glass doors. Talk about complete privacy!
The Gym & Beauty Salon
The high-tech gym at Le Gray Hotel is staffed with personal trainers and the latest Technogym equipment. Open every day from 6:30am to 10pm, the gym is only available to hotel guests and gym members.
Le Gray Hotel also houses a luxury beauty salon by Bechara Haddad which offers hairstyling, makeup, manicures, pedicures, and waxing services. It’s open every day except on Sundays, which is the only downside.
Rooftop Pool and Lounge
We couldn’t really swim in the infinity pool on the roof in the cold weather (even though it’s a heated pool).The chic pool lounge offers light and healthy dishes and drinks until sunset so you can relax beside the pool until it’s time to party at Bar 360 for 90s night every Friday.
Some Pampering at PureGray Health Club & Spa
From beauty and body treatments to massages with organic aromatherapy oils, with PureGray Health Club & Spa at Le Gray Hotel, you’re in for a memorable spa experience.
We lounged in the “chilling room” with some fresh fruit and green tea until it was time to go into our private room for our facial treatment.
Our soothing hydrating facial left us feeling so fresh. My skin never looked so clear and relaxed!
A Gastronomic Dinner at Indigo on the Roof at Le Gray Hotel
It’s no secret that I love food. Having dinner at Indigo on the Roof restaurant at Le Gray Hotel was definitely one of the highlights of our stay.
From start to finish, our dining experience was perfect – the food, the atmosphere, the service, and the incredible views over the city’s rooftops are enough to make anyone’s evening a delight.
We started with some delicious appetizers recommended to us by our lovely waitress, followed by exquisite mains and then a decadent chocolate dessert to share. I would highly recommend the succulent Wagyu beef. Also, those truffle and parmesan fries are a MUST!
Good Morning Sunshine!
Breakfast in bed? I’ll save that for home! At Le Gray Hotel, you’ll want to go to the 6th floor for breakfast.
Indigo on the Roof isn’t just for fancy lunches and romantic elegant dinners; it also happens to serve delicious breakfast. The tall windows fill the space with morning light (I would like to thank the architect for making my food photography a breeze that morning!).
The formula is simple and all inclusive. Choose from the buffet, which includes an extensive assortment of breakfast staples including cereal, yogurt, nuts, dried fruit, fresh fruit, viennoiserie, cheese, cold cuts, smoked salmon, and more! Grab a juice or smoothie at the juice station. You can even order hot dishes a la carte from Indigo’s breakfast menu including Lebanese and international cuisine and hot drinks such as tea, coffee, and one of the best hot chocolate I’ve ever tried! Breakfast is served daily from 7am-11am and isn’t just for hotel guests, so you can visit Le Gray Hotel for your morning fix (which is very reasonably priced at USD 30) any time you fancy!
I fell in love with their Eggs Benedict Royal and Blueberry Pancakes (a.k.a. fluffy flying saucers) so much that I would come back for breakfast at Le Gray Hotel even if I’m not sleeping over!
Saying Goodbye with Afternoon Tea and Treats
No stay at Le Gray Hotel in Beirut would be complete without an afternoon tea or coffee (or another hot chocolate) with some of their superb cakes I raved about a few months back. Enjoy an hour or two of pure indulgence. My favourites are the Pain Perdu, Carrot Cake, Orange Cake, Banana Cake… okay I think I need an intervention.
Final Verdict?
The location is perfect – Le Gray Hotel is a short walk from Beirut’s central Martyrs’ Square with many restaurants, cafes, and shops around as well as a movie theater! There’s also Rawche seaside which is about 15-20 minutes away on foot.
If I had to choose three words to describe my experience at Le Gray Hotel, they would be: luxurious, relaxing, and indulgent. Le Gray Hotel definitely lived up to my high expectations in terms of luxury, space and design, service, and of course, culinary experience.
Whether it’s for its delectable breakfast, romantic dinner, perfect location in downtown Beirut, luxurious accommodation, or simply their decadent hot chocolate, Le Gray Hotel gives you many reasons to stay the night 😉
By the way, you can check out their Youtube channel to watch the 52 Shades of Le Gray Hotel videos #52ShadesOfLeGray uploaded every week until the end of December 2016! And you thought I was being corny… pff.
WHAT DID YOU THINK OF MY EXPERIENCE AT LE GRAY HOTEL BEIRUT? HAVE YOU EVER STAYED HERE YOURSELF OR ARE YOU THINKING OF BOOKING?
LIKED THIS ARTICLE? Check out Gordon’s Cafe (my favourite cake spot) + our luxury Sunday Brunch at Le Gray Hotel!
Le Gray Hotel Beirut
Address: Martyrs’ Square, Beirut Central District, Beirut, Lebanon
Contact: +961-1-971111
Unless otherwise noted, all posted content and photographs are owned exclusively by me. None of the content / photographs may be reproduced, modified, recirculated, commercially exploited or reused in any form whatsoever without my prior written consent.
Some of the photos in this article were taken from Le Gray Hotel website.
The Eggs Royale at Le Gray Hotel Beirut was featured as one of the 6 Egg-cellent Breakfasts in Lebanon!
For further information regarding permission to use content or photographs, please contact me.
I know in Lebanon theres a lot of unecessary stigma about this but i think it would be very informative and encouraging to us readers if you could mention maybe the price of all your experiences. Just for our curiosity. i mean a lot of the places you go to are worth visiting but it would be great if we had more information about their cost.
its an idea.. if you do go with it let us know
Hi Sara,
Thank you for pointing that out!
The reason I didn’t provide all prices in this article is because prices (especially when it comes to hotels) are always subject to change i.e. depending on the season, special offers, etc. I do, however, include prices when I visit restaurants along with the names of each dish I feature if you have a look at my other articles concerning reviews. In this article, I only mentioned the price of the breakfast since it is a stable cost. Regarding dinner, since the article was not specifically a restaurant review, I didn’t hang on each item we ordered, but rather the whole experience of our stay.
I hope this addresses your concern 🙂
It does very much, I saw your review of Gordon’s cafe and I was impressed with how meticulous it was. I almost felt bad for mentioning this before looking around. I also subscribed and read the four seasons buffet piece and was also very grateful for you posting the price and the details of the experience. I actually thought you added in the pricing as a reply to my comment 😛
Anyway, you got yourself a new reader 🙂
keep it up