Review of Hilton Beirut Habtoor Grand Hotel 5*

Stayed February 2015, traveled on business. The hotel is located in Sen El Feil. It is attached to a shopping center (Le Mall) and very small taxi ride from City Center mall. Generally speaking, you need to take a taxi to go anywhere. This hotel is definitely above "Average" but because services has been always inconsistent I can't say very good. Check-in: Checking-in was extremely fast and although my company made a booking mistake, they were able to correct it very fast. In general, the front desk guys were constantly helpful. They take ownership of problems and actually solve it. Rooms: I was given a room that was quite spacious and very well equipped for a light business traveler. The problem was that it had a strong smoke smell. The front desk changed my room with an upgrade. The new room was even more spacious with a panoramic view over Beirut. The bathroom had a Jacuzzi and a stand shower cabinet. It seems though that this room hasn't been used for a looong time. There are many cracks in the wall and some rusty ventilation outlets. The Jacuzzi kept throwing dirt every time I turned it on no matter how many times the "engineers" tried to fix it. The room has a nice flat screen TV. However, any foreign channel's broadcast is unbearably choppy not only in storm times (which is quite often in winter) but with any strong wind as well. Room Service: Room service in generally fast but the hotel occupancy was quite low. My biggest problem was with laundry. You never get the laundry bag and sheet. I was up to the laundry guys to decide what to wash with water and what to wash as dry clean; which to bring folded or on a hanger. It is a complete mess. This has been said, I must say that they return washed items very fast and fresh but not up to you up to their decision. Breakfast: The restaurant area is very spacious and elegant. Breakfast itself is typical Lebanese breakfast nothing more than normal. The staff are very nice and friendly specially Jeannine. However, some of them are over contacting. Bakery and coffee are exceptional. Their hot station will welcome your request if they know it (on the weekend, I asked for egg-Benedict and it was ok. The 2nd day neither the chef nor the waiter knew it). I didn't like the eggs and see them to be very very oily. SAP: This is one of the most exotic spa areas I've seen. A very nice large Sauna with auto water dispensing to keep humidity at the right level. Steam and Jacuzzi are also nice and large. There is a much appreciated relaxing area as well as 2 ceramic ergonomic heated bed. The locker area is also very nice a fairly specious. However: 1 — You get a locker that contains a flip flop, 1 towel and a robe if you have a membership in the SPA. BUT if you are a house guest, you get a locker that only contains the flip flop and the towel (NO Bath robe). 2 — I asked the SPA receptionist why, she told me you can bring the robe from your room! 3 — There are no towel stand whatsoever. So if you need more towels you have to chase the SPA boy. 4 — The SPA boy is always around whenever there is SPA members but it is much harder to find when only hotel's guests are around. This is reflected on oil/aroma supply in Steam and SPA as well as towel removal. 5 — There is a fridge inside the SPA but it is never filled with water. If you want to get hydrated, you have to go out of the SAP area and go by the entrance of the lockers room for the water dispenser. It is also worth mentioning that there is an ice room (which I don't really about) that was always out of service. The hotel has an outdoor pool which is normally closed in the winter.