Four Seasons Hotel Beirut

"In a curvaceous modern tower on the city’s marina, close to Martyrs Square and the financial district, the Four Seasons has become this vivacious city’s business go-to, melding excellent service (staff remember guests’ names) and slick facilities. The decor in the public spaces is Middle Eastern lite: The lobby has gleaming marble floors, inlaid black marble check-in desks, patterned rugs, and large vases of fresh lilies. Deal-makers from New Delhi and Dubai crowd the Boulevard lounge, with its burnished pillars and cream leather armchairs; the second-floor Bar, a voluptuous, dimly lit snug with red-velvet chairs, tasseled chandeliers, and shelves of Oriental objets, serves a decent Negroni as well as scotches and cigars; and the wood-paneled Grill Room dishes up Mediterranean-influenced fare. All 230 rooms have balconies and are done in shades of gold, with striped curtains. There’s a small spa and a gym with nifty iPod-compatible treadmills (plug yours in and control it from the main screen), but the amenity highlight is the top-floor pool, which has 360-degree views of the Mediterranean, the city, and the mountains beyond."