Location

About 10km – a 20-minute drive – from the airport (where a Four Seasons greeter marshals cabs and cars) the hotel is close to the glitzy new marina-in-progress and a short white-knuckle cab ride to the central and business districts and the edgier nightlife of Gemmayzeh. Although Beirut is compact, the hotel’s sail-topped tower is a handy landmark for cab drivers, who tend to get disorientated by the sheer amount of construction work going on in the city.

Style

As an increasingly important business destination, Beirut really needs a Four Seasons. Whether it deserves this particular one is another matter. There’s little wrong with it but everything is so glossily bland and generic – devoid of any personality, let alone anything remotely Lebanese – that you could be aboard the world’s most marbled cruise ship. It’s a pared-down Four Seasons, really: a small entrance lounge, the obligatory sculptural floral displays and a lounge full of cigar-smoking businessmen and immaculately groomed wives, daughters and mistresses. The generic anti-vibe is continued with the slightly austere Grill Room – very good “seafood with a Mediterranean twist ” – The Bar and The Grand Ballroom. The rooftop pool and Bar 26 had not yet opened when we were there but they should provide some welcome activity in the autumn. A spa is opening too.

Guestrooms

Rooms are perfectly comfortable, although they may be a little smaller than some other Four Seasons hotels, with the predictable neutral palette and good amenities, including 94cm flat-screen TV, armchair and ottoman. Bathrooms are marble, well-lit and have deep baths, glass-walled showers and L’Occitane toiletries. Eventually, when the building site in front of the hotel is landscaped to complement the Corniche, you will want a sea-view. Until all the construction work is complete, you may prefer something quieter or less dusty.

Can I work here?

Guestrooms have good-sized and well-positioned desks and Wi-fi internet access. There are all the 24-hour business services and facilities and meeting room configurations you’d expect in a brand-new hotel in this class, although the internet is slow and pricey. The concierge is cheerfully conspiratorial and there is certainly no shortage of taxi and limo wranglers.