Palmyra Hotel

• mano0ola
• Reviews: 12

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• TheWanderingCamel
• Reviews: 2572

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Agatha Christie has left the building

There probably isn't another hotel in the Middle East that evokes the past as much as the Hotel Palmyra in Baalbek. Shabby and somewhat faded as it is, the whole place oozes character. The large rooms with their old-fashoned furniture and Jean Cocteau drawings, grand salon opening onto a balcony with a perfect view of the ruins and cool terrace garden have great charm. The doorways are hung with huge kilims, the foyer is lined with photos of the great and the good who have stayed here, you may even come down to breakfast in the morning to find a woman baking fresh bread on a stone for you. There really isn't anywhere else you should consider staying,

Unique Quality: The front rooms have the best views, but they overlook a busy road and can be noisy, so you might like to ask for a back or inner room if a quiet night is your priority. Otherwise, you could ask for the room the Kaiser slept in when he visited Baalbek in the 1890s.

There is an annexe to the hotel, a lovely house next door with 5 double rooms and a salon, which you might like to enquire about. It is more expensive than the main hotel.

leyle

• Opinion of Price: less expensive than average
• Related to: Historical Travel, Archeology

Palmyra Hotel Photo: First floor facade

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• sachara
• Reviews: 3835

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Hotel with a view

We stayed in the 120 years old hotel from the time of Victorian tourism. The hotel was just in front of the ruins and from the window of our room we had a nice view at the ruins of Baalbeck.
The hotel had still the air of faded grandeur and former luxury. The hotel has no modern facilities like air con. Heating in winter is by paraffin stove.

Unique Quality: Great views at the ruins, lovely garden, historical atmosphere.
People like de Gaulle, Jean Cocteau, the Empress of Abyssinia, Alfonso of Spain stayed here. In the WWI the hotel was used by the Germans and in the WWII it was the British army headquarter.
In our historical room with walls filled with warscenes we encountered something unknown and strange in the middle of the night, feeling like ghosts or spirits.

• Opinion of Price: about average
• Related to: Archeology, Historical Travel, Architecture

Palmyra Hotel Photo: view fron Palmyra Hotel

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