Phoenicia Hotel

Beirut

This ol’ lady has seen a lot. Built during Beirut’s boom in the early 1960s, Phoenicia is still the city’s destination hotel more than half a century later. A refurbishment culminating in a grand re-opening in the 2000s ushered the hotel into the 21st-century with slick outdoor spaces and a lavish spa. High profilers like Bill Clinton and Omar Sharif stay here, some taking out the £14,000 per night presidential suite, which boasts spectacular views across the coast. For the rest of us, the most appealing parts of the hotel are its public spaces: a buzzy bar; the morning buffet, whose epic spread is surely unrivalled on the continent; and a superb restaurant, with a whisky collection boasting the likes of a Macallan 57-year-old in a Lalique decanter at £16,000, and stunning views of its own. AM. Doubles from £195.