Howard Johnson Grand Hotel Versailles: Just about acceptable
Tip Rating:
Satisfaction:
By TheWanderingCamel on May 13, 2005
No Grand photo - just a Beirut street -
by TheWanderingCamel
The staff on the desk were very nice, shame about the hotel. Having no hot water for 48 hours didn't exactly help but even leaving that aside, the rating has to be "Could do better".
The location was good, easy walking distance to lots of places -but then so are most hotels in Beirut. The rooms were OK, a bit tired but a reasonable size and, once it came on again, there was plenty of hot water. Breakfast was very, very ordinary though they did seem to make more of an effort on our last day.
I wouldn't stay here again, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
The best thing about the Grand was the pigeon shop across the road - walking in to buy a bottle of water (at 11pm) and being confronted by a wall of cages full of pigeons and what looked like the Mafia chapter of the Beyrouth Pigeon Fancier's Club was one of the more surreal experiences of our time in Beirut.