Development News & Updates

Rouche District of Beirut




Carlton Hotel under construction (Left, back), Burger King (front), Seaview Residential Duplex under construction (Right), and of course the Royal Plaza Hotel.
(Pics taken August 2005)

Daytime:
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/rhmud/Lebanon/DSCN2541.jpg

Nightime:
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/rhmud/Lebanon/DSCN1835.jpg



Rotana Hotel (Left), Bahri Gardens (Right):
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/rhmud/2115012040086223297trybykph2sx.jpg

The Carlton is closed. There is no construction going on there. That concrete high-rise right behind it is an expansion they started during the war and it was never finished.

It's a huge eye sore.

^^ Oh I know but I think there are plans to renovate the whole hotel. It nice to just say its "under construction" because eventually it will be. The problem was that the owner died I think...

yes for some reasons they have not renovate the highrise, just the bottom part

http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/9991/26762264d8rm.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

^^ Oh I know but I think there are plans to renovate the whole hotel. It nice to just say its "under construction" because eventually it will be. The problem was that the owner died I think...

A group of Saudis bought it from the Medawar family (the owners of the hotel) along with the Saudi company, Fahd al Adel last April.

They are going to demolish the hotel and the unfinished annex and build a new hotel in its place, but no formal plans have been announced yet. They are probably going to wait a few years.

A group of Saudis bought it from the Medawar family (the owners of the hotel) along with the Saudi company, Fahd al Adel last April.

They are going to demolish the hotel and the unfinished annex and build a new hotel in its place, but no formal plans have been announced yet. They are probably going to wait a few years.


That will be a shame if they demolish it because it is a famous landmark in the area...
But as long as something changes thats all that matters.

That will be a shame if they demolish it because it is a famous landmark in the area

But as long as something changes thats all that matters.

Yes, it is a very famous landmark and it was one of the best hotels before the war, but it could not face up to the competition of the new hotels that were coming up because it became old and outdated and was in need of renovation.

It closed in 2002, the same year the Movenpick opened which is right next door.

The new owners figured it's an old building that is not worth renovating and it is better to invest in building a new more modern structure that will be more attractive to customers and be capable of competing with Beirut's other luxury hotels.

Saudi Prince Walid bin Talal, the owner of the Movenpick and the Four Seasons under construction was planning to buy it in 2000, but for some reason, the deal never went through. I'm not sure why.

I wish Walid Bin Talal would buy all the buildings needing renovation!

Speaking of luxury hotels in the Rouche area, do you have any pics of the Safir Heliopolitan Hotel. Is it the tallest hotel in the area? I dont like its design but its nice to have high rises in the area...

Thanks for all the info.

You can see it here:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v168/mea707/ammbey/100_0290.jpg

Check out their website also:
http://www.safirheliopolitan.com

It's a pretty nice hotel. It has a nice, but expensive, French roof-top restaurant with great views of the area.

A Kempinski hotel is under construction in this empty plot of land on the right:
http://www.bahrigroup.com/Bahri%20Gardens/bah1.jpg

It will be 22-floors and have 270 rooms.
http://www.ttnworldwide.com/source/24/02/images/CONTRA1.jpg

Kempinski is Europe's oldest luxury hotel chain and is headquartered in Switzerland:
http://www.kempinski.com

Their hotels are quite luxurious. I'm glad Beirut will be getting one.

Also, the Rotana hotel you pointed out earlier will look like this when completed:
http://www.rotana.com/factsheets/images/r4.jpg

It will be called Raouche Rotana Suites, Beirut's first all-suite hotel.

http://www.rotana.com/factsheets/raouche.htm

It's not a particularly stunning design, but I am glad they are making use of this ugly concrete block which has been an eye sore for many years.

Thanks, nice pics..

I always wondered, whats with the small house in the center of that empty plot of land?
And the hotel that will be in its place looks amazing, thanks for posting that.

And the Rotana Hotel will also be another impressive addition. I cant wait until all these will buildings be complete, Rouche will look quite luxurious.

Thanks, nice pics..

I always wondered, whats with the small house in the center of that empty plot of land?
And the hotel that will be in its place looks amazing, thanks for posting that.

I am not sure what that small house is, but it will have to go with the construction of the hotel.

And the Rotana Hotel will also be another impressive addition. I cant wait until all these will buildings be complete, Rouche will look quite luxurious.

It is supposed to open next month, though I'm not sure if that will happen. It will be a very welcome addition. It'll probably be the hotel with the nicest view in all of Beirut because of the Raouche Rocks, at least until the Kempinski is completed.

Rotana will have 4 hotels in Beirut soon. They are building an all-suites hotel across from the Grand Hyatt that is under construction. It will open in late 2007 or sometime in 2008.

Coral International Hotels, Resorts, & Spas is building a boutique hotel in the Raouche area called Coral Boutique Raouche, though I am not sure exactly where. They are also building a regular hotel on Commodore Street (parallel to Hamra Street) called Coral Commodore.

From what I have heard, they bought two buildings which are being converted into these hotels. They presently have 5 hotels in the UAE and they look pretty nice.

Here's their website:
http://www.coral-international.com

Good to see the Raouche area getting more hotels. It needs them.

yes for some reasons they have not renovate the highrise, just the bottom part

http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/9991/26762264d8rm.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

From what I heard, the young son of the hotel owner (who was in charge of renovating and running the establishment) died tragically in the 90s, and the father - an old man- was so grief-stricken that he did not go through with the project, and has been largely withdrawn since the loss.

Rouche District of Beirut

Carlton Hotel under construction (Left, back), Burger King (front), Residential tower under construction (Right), and of course the Royal Plaza Hotel.
(Pics taken August 2005)

Daytime:

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/rhmud/Lebanon/DSCN2541.jpg



That building with the crane is seaview residential duplex. It has barely been touched for many months and now, the big rock that is on the crane is flying in the air over burger king. Anybody knows what is wrong with that building?

Here's a nice pic of the Royal Plaza above the Movenpick resort:

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/rhmud/Lebanon/232568316TDyGrK_ph.jpg

That building with the crane is seaview hotel. It has barely been touched for many months and now, the big rock that is on the crane is flying in the air over burger king. Anybody knows what is wrong with that building?


Are you sure that is a hotel? I had always thought it was residential... but anyway, I heard the property is haunted for many reasons and something happens to every building that is constructed there...

That building with the crane is seaview hotel. It has barely been touched for many months and now, the big rock that is on the crane is flying in the air over burger king. Anybody knows what is wrong with that building?

It's a residential building and it looks exactly like it looked during my last visit to Beirut in summer 2004.

Another eye sore to Beirut's skyline...

Nice Pictures. :)

How tall is the Royal Plaza, it looks pretty tall from these pictures.

The Hotel is composed of a total of 18 floors, 6 floors are underground and 12 floors are above street level. Royal Plaza Hotel offers its guests 65 luxurious rooms and suites where our aim is for all our guests to receive personal touch service. Every guest will enjoy VIP treatment and will feel as if they are at their home away from home.

www.royalplazahotel.com.lb

wow that part of Beirut is looking good they sood do more renvoations around the city parts of the city is still looking gray and dull looking
and they sood make more Parks around the city
and there sood me MAJOR renavations to the south of beirut and near the Airport
beirut is getting Better every Year !!!!!!!

Rotana

http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/6802/13504228413c2a942c0o2xj.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

To those who can answer this, theres a crane in the foreground, anyone know what they are building?
http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/779/135049972959781cbd8o6uu.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/4879/1350499969c70d9a939o4la.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Thanks, Rotana Hotel looks almost complete! And I have no idea about those 2 cranes near AUB but there could easily be something new coming up...

Yeah maybe Lebanese Cedar has an idea

I have no idea honestly.

There are a couple towers under development in the Ain el Mreisseh area besides the Horizon Tower. There is one I read about called the Manara Tower, maybe that's it.

^^ Theres that huge plot of land directly across from the Manara (I think its owned by the Hariri family) and nothing has been done with it for years...could the "manara tower" be located there? I think there was originally supposed to be a convention center built there...

^^ Theres that huge plot of land directly across from the Manara (I think its owned by the Hariri family) and nothing has been done with it for years...could the "manara tower" be located there? I think there was originally supposed to be a convention center built there...

The area with the cranes in the picture above is different from the big lot across from the Manara.

Yes, it was originally supposed to become a big convention center called the Beirut Cultural and Conferences Center (BCCC).

http://www.idal.com.lb/images/bccc.jpg

I believe it is still in the plans, but on hold, because of politics...

^^ wow that would look really nice there... I cant stand how so many projects get put on hold in this country and it takes for ever for a project to actually come together.

This was Hariri's dream project.

they sood turn that dream into a reality it looks very good

Yes they should do it in memory of him and name it the Hariri Center

Here is a recent pic of the Raouche, looks like the Bahri Garderns is complete!

And you can see a nice pic of the Heliopolitan Hotel (center)

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/rhmud/2715402760088911175MDoPmX_ph.jpg

In that nice pic u posted there is that there Rontana Hotel getting made there or is it something else

and where is the Bahri Garderns in that pic
I want to go back to Beirut and takes thousands of pics of it and Jounieh and Batorun.

The Rotana Hotel is on the left with the green covering and you can see the top of the Bahri Gardens tower on the far right.

ohh i ca c the Bahri Gardens tower i thought it was a Park they made
its a nice building
was that building revevated or was it built recently

^^built from scratch

:)

I thought this would go in this category, could anyone explain these caves right beside Rawché, I never saw them and I want to know a little more information about it.

http://img48.imageshack.us/img48/1619/1387541581a7c814888b5yk.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img344.imageshack.us/img344/756/138754160ed28dcbcd6b3pi.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img344.imageshack.us/img344/4504/13875416162e13200beb1yw.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img344.imageshack.us/img344/5721/138761380954b4a6eeab1rs.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img48.imageshack.us/img48/8195/138761382dcf13979e7b8kh.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img48.imageshack.us/img48/3351/138761384eec57ea9fcb9zy.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img344.imageshack.us/img344/3614/13876138503549195e6b5db.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img344.imageshack.us/img344/1930/138765748cd2f335448b6du.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img48.imageshack.us/img48/2990/138765749cfbc4b9f1ab9zb.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

^^ I actually went swimming near those caves, kinda scary and dark and no one entered them... but I hope they are explored by archaeologists

Hey all! This is my first post in this site. Pretty amazing threads related to Lebanon, particularly Beirut.


To those who can answer this, theres a crane in the foreground, anyone know what they are building?
To the best of my knowledge, those cranes are related to AUB. The university is building new student centres in the lower campus. They will be called "Charles Hostler Student Centre".

^^Hey, welcome to the forum! It seems we are getting a new Lebanese forumer every day, this is great... and thanks for the info on AUB, are you currently in Beirut?

are you currently in Beirut?
Thanks for your warm welcome!

Yes, I'm currently living in Beirut. I'm a student in the 12th grade. Next year, studying at AUB.

Hey everyone, I'm also new to this website i'm lebanese but living in Italy i study architecture here and there are some interesting stuff about Lebanon here very helpful!
Ciao!

Thanks for your warm welcome!

Yes, I'm currently living in Beirut. I'm a student in the 12th grade. Next year, studying at AUB.

Thats great, Im currently in Boston so I feel so detached (thats why its nice to come to this forum), if you are able to take any pics of the development projects and post them that would be awesome, thanks.

Hey everyone, I'm also new to this website i'm lebanese but living in Italy i study architecture here and there are some interesting stuff about Lebanon here very helpful!
Ciao!


Welcome, yea its nice to learn about all the upcoming projects going on.

Yeh at first I couldn't find any pics on the net of the projects but here they are abundant! I hope Lebanon can get it's own forum soon!

Hey everyone, I'm also new to this website i'm lebanese but living in Italy i study architecture here and there are some interesting stuff about Lebanon here very helpful!
Ciao!
hi!! nice to have a archutecture among us:)

Yes, I'm currently living in Beirut. I'm a student in the 12th grade. Next year, studying at AUB.


Im alos in year 12 in australia ! but not going to AUB i want to go to Monash u prob nva herd of it Lol

if you are able to take any pics of the development projects and post them that would be awesome
I cannot promise because of the studies for the official exam, but if I'll find free time to allocate, with pleasure.

i want to go to Monash u prob nva herd of it
That's true, haven't heard of it. The important is to succeed and get a degree...

I cannot promise because of the studies for the official exam, but if I'll find free time to allocate, with pleasure.


That's true, haven't heard of it. The important is to succeed and get a degree...


wow good luck on your exams. my cousin said she will be studing all this month and june....and now when i go to my balcony ..i see all the high school students on there balconys with books studing to. do you go to a american or french school?

do you go to a american or french school?

Thanks, good luck for your cousin as well. :)

Actually I'm a Lebanese Armenian. I attend Armenian school but all subjects are in English.

Thanks, good luck for your cousin as well. :)

Actually I'm a Lebanese Armenian. I attend Armenian school but all subjects are in English.
you probably live near me then..loool i live in sid el bouchrieh right near mar maroun, but like 2 blocks away is doura roundabout, and the other direction is bourj hammoud. i think they have a lot of armenian schools there. i didnt know that they taught in english at the armenian schools. my son goes to a english school but its in septiah.

also my husbands parents live a few streets away on St.Rita, right in front of some type of monument statue for armeanians

Im alos in year 12 in australia ! but not going to AUB i want to go to Monash u prob nva herd of it Lol
Do you go to xavier by any chance?

To lebaneseangel:

It seems that I live near to you, at Sid el Baushrieh, New Hankash Street.

There are many Armenian schools in Bourj Hammoud, but I attend an Armenian school at Dbayeh.
Almost all Armenian schools are English based, but there are some others French based.

Thats great, Im currently in Boston so I feel so detached (thats why its nice to come to this forum), if you are able to take any pics of the development projects and post them that would be awesome, thanks.

Man I miss Boston...Especially the summer

awseome!! welcome neighbor

the carlton hotel was sold last year..2 saudis investers bought the carllton hotel for 12 million dollars...from a magazine i knew that the two investers want to build a big hotel..it would be one of beiruts biggest hotel.....i read this in the lebanaise opportunities

the carlton hotel was sold last year..2 saudis investers bought the carllton hotel for 12 million dollars...from a magazine i knew that the two investers want to build a big hotel..it would be one of beiruts biggest hotel.....i read this in the lebanaise opportunities

Thats great news, thanks for the info! Do you by any chance have a link to anything that states this news?

And does anyone (naregkar, lebaneseangel, or others who are in Lebanon now) have any recent pics on these towers, or can take any?

does anyone have any recent pics on these towers, or can take any?
Sorry, I do not have any. I don't know if I'm going there this week or not.

In addition to the Raouche Rotana Suites and Bahri Gardens, a 22-story 270-room Kempinski hotel is under construction on the Raouche.

From the rendering I saw, it looks like it will be very nice looking.

Thats great news, thanks for the info! Do you by any chance have a link to anything that states this news?

It was reported in several Lebanon business magazines, but here is one internet source:

One of the biggest hotels in the Middle East will be constructed in Lebanon - 5/9/2005

A real estate transaction was signed recently in Beirut between Prince Turki Bi Naser Abdel Aziz and Mohammed Bin Fahd Bib Abdel Aziz, the son of the Saudi King, with Fahd Aladl for buying the existing estates of Carlton Hotel in Raouche for $44 million.
Some sources said the old buildings of the Carlton Hotel will be demolished and a new hotel, one of the biggest and most luxurious hotels in the Middle East will be constructed.http://www.ifpexpo.com/News_show_news.asp?id=1328

I just read this from a May 3 interview with Ritz Carlton's area manager:

Mr. Dardenne is presently working on two hotels at the conceptual stage in Kuwait and Beirut and has his eye on Cairo, Abu Dhabi, Oman, Jeddah and Riyadh.

"In Kuwait we are negotiating a mixed-use complex with residential and office components in a great location. And in Beirut we are studying the redevelopment of the old Carlton Hotel on the corniche."http://www.ameinfo.com/84916.html

So according to the latest reports, it will be turned into a Ritz Carlton.

However, this is conflicting from a report I found yesterday about plans to build a 250-room Ritz Carlton on Rue du Port in the Beirut Central District.

I will try to find out some more info next week when I'm in Beirut. For now, I will take the word of the interview.

I am still interested about this 250-room hotel on Rue du Port though. Maybe it is the rumored JW Marriott...

^^ Thanks, interesting stuff Lebanese Cedar... I am just surprised it has taken a year and they are still at the conceptual stage... I hope this project moves faster!

^^ Thanks, interesting stuff Lebanese Cedar... I am just surprised it has taken a year and they are still at the conceptual stage... I hope this project moves faster!

Ritz Carlton didn't join the project until March or April. That's just 1-2 months ago.

it was been confried that a 50 story tower called YACOUB Tower n Plaza will b bulit in Raz Beirut ! it will contain a 80 shop mall a megaplex with the Largest screans in the Middle East. a aquariam and apartments and 2 resturants and 3 levals of Offices !

I like to Confrim that the above topic itst true LOL

it was a joke !

lol,but it's not funny:D

Jayme dont do that again please, we dont want a bad reputation at this forum.

LOL
sorri

http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/9930/a2mx.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img159.imageshack.us/img159/3380/aa3wa.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Corniche can be the same as Promenade des Anglais in Nice.
In the past we dreamed Corniche to be like that, but in the near future it will be almost similar to that famous promenade street.

Only at Night the Corniche looks nice when i was in Lebanon in 2001 it was so smelly i didnt bother going when i was in Leb in 2004 ... dose it still smell there ?

It depends on the time. Recently, I didn't smell bad odours....

maybe in the summer time .. is it true all of Beiruts wastes go to the sea !
in Melborune we have Treatment plants

yeah i was talking about that before. about the waste going out the sea...right where those guys are fishing are in the above photos nadini posted. it only smells in that 1 area. but beirut said it wasnt true....
i do think it is waste though. bcz the person who told us was a business man who worked in the area...and the water comming out of tube was all brownish. how would we find out if it is waste or not?

I did a research on Sea pollution in Lebanon. A lot of waste are released into the sea without being treated.

i guess thats why that spot on the corniche is a good fishing place(bcz the fish go there to eat the waste....ewwwww!!!)
but aside from that 1 corner on the corniche...all the other parts of the coast seem clean to me....and that is the only place i ever smelt it bad. its like some pipe comming out of the concreate.
well its something that needs to be corrected. last year there was a effort to clean up some of the beach front walk places. they went in the ocean and cleaned a bunch of litter and bottels. and they asked the people on the news to start using trash bins(wich are now located around waterfronts) so to keep lebanon looking nice and clean.

when i first arrived in lebanon last year. i would always see people throwing wrappers and stuff everywhere. but it seems to have gotten better over the past year. even the other day i was eating bazilla...(i dont usually litter) but i tossed the outside on the street..and my husband picked it up ...looool i was laughing so hard bcz i used to get mad at him for littering

THEY SOOD MAKE TREATMENTS PLANTS LEBANON NEEDS TO INMPORVE IN ALOT OF AREA'S LIKE POWER WATER WASTE TREATMNET AND SAFE DRINKING WATER THEY SOOD FOCUS ON THEM INTSED OF BILLIONS OF DOLLERS IN SHOPING MALLS AND CRAP LIKE THAT AND THE ROADS ARE VERY BAD THERE !!!!!! I LOVE LEBANON BUT THEY NEED TO IMPROVE SO MUCH !!! IN THIS SORT OF THINGS !!!!!!!!!!!

I FIND IT HORRABLE THAT PPLE SWIM IN THERE IS YUK AND FISH IN THERE WATER !!!! AND THEY SOOD MAKE TUFFER LAWS ON DRIVING TEACH KIDS NOT TO LITTER AND THROW SHIT OUT OF THE CARS !!!!!!!!!!

well they are promoting for lebanese people to keep lebanon clean. and it seems like its starting to work.
as far as our personal things(like water electricity, and so on) its true these things need a plan to better the quality of life for the average lebanese person. but i think all that stuff is up to the goverment. and you know, depending on where you live, and tourists are safe from this stuff bcz the hotels take care of all the little things the average leb has to live with

the Lebanese pple are just as important

I found this pic for bahri building and safir heliopolitan.

http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/4056/lebanon20428sr.jpg

Omgosh this picture is amazing, tnxs Hassoun!

you know another tall Building beside Bahri would look great!

oops that was a fast reply nadini:D,yes u r right another TALLER building there would be gr8.

Thanks Hassoun

Well they are going to build a highrise hotel in the empty plot on the right.

oh,this is nice beiruti,hope taller one.

yeah do you have any renders?

It is the Kempinski hotel already mentioned by Lebanese Cedar in this thread.
Its under construction now I think,

It will be 22-floors and have 270 rooms.
http://www.ttnworldwide.com/source/24/02/images/CONTRA1.jpg

ohhh thats where the Kempinski will be? That would look great

yes,it fits in there;)but i think it's going to be at the same height.

New images from Corniche, Rauche.

Taken today (14/05/2006)

The tower in construction is Horizon Tower.

http://img488.imageshack.us/img488/8604/dscn07907ik.jpg

http://img458.imageshack.us/img458/1207/dscn07817go.jpg

http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/6554/dscn07840jo.jpg

http://img379.imageshack.us/img379/8829/dscn07973pi.jpg

wooooooooooooooow,niiiiiice,thanx naregkar;)

ahhhhh tnxssssss naregkar, that cleared our minds whether they were gonna build one or two buildings. TNXS and it looks busy the corniche

Welcome. Yes, today there was action at the Cornich.

Nice pics!! thanks for sharing!!
hope they'll still preserve the old houses with red roofs and traditional style

Once in this thread there was a discussion concerning AUB's new student centre, "Charles Hostler Student Centre". Also, another building is being built (in AUB's lower campus) which will be the new department "Olayan School of Business".

Here are some pics I took today.

http://img485.imageshack.us/img485/5088/dscn07893gj.jpg

http://img447.imageshack.us/img447/6268/dscn07939it.jpg

http://img465.imageshack.us/img465/615/dscn07959ln.jpg

thats great naregkar, keep them coming :)

naregkar...you always post such perfect photos!!!

Naregkar, thank you so much these pics are awesome. I was thinking though, since the horizon tower isnt really in the Rouche (its Ain Mreisseh) that we should give it its own thread (especially now since we have our own forum). I will work on it and then maybe you could post these pics there?

b4 the civil war was the rouche the best place in Beirut to go to or was it allways downtown

Gr8,pics,thanx neregkar:)

^^^^^^^^
In the late 60s, downtown Beirut was really deteriorating in terms of prestige. The souks there were mostly catering to people going back and from their villages, i.e. trading in cheap commodities. The Martyr's square was basically a big bus station that ferried people from their villages in Mount Lebanon to the city, and few upscale stores remained in the downtown area.
In the 60s, most of the upscale boutiques, theatres and cafes were opening in "new" areas, especially Hamra, Ras Beirut in general and Achrafiyeh, which were the real economic "center" for Beirut. All of the major Lebanese merchants (who used to own shops in downtown) had to open stores in Hamra if they wanted to compete in the high-fashion market. Newspapers, bookshops and Libraries started moving out of downtown and into ras Beirut (i.e. Hamra and raouche).
In 1976, (and many people believed that the war ended then), the merchants who owned properties in downtown were actually "glad", thinking that this was their chance to restore the prestige of downtown and rid it of "low-level" (cha`bi) stores. That is when the nucleus of what became solidere was born, plans were drawn to rebuild the downtown area and a special state enterprise was founded for that purpose (headed at the time by salim al-huss-who later became prime minister)...
of course, the war did not end then, and the project was revived in 92 through solidere.
Now a reverse movement is happening, downtown is being rebuilt as this classy center in Beirut, while Hamra and Jounieh are somehow deteriorating in terms of importance.

jonieh is not deteriorating in importance. in the summer jounieh is the place to be! they have the best beach clubs, casino, harissa...night life., hiking....everything

i nver knew u cood hike in jounieh

Jounieh definitely deterioated a lot since the end of the war, things are not measured by superficial standards.
It started with the state only allowing the Beirut port to be used as the major port in the country and relegated Saida and Jounieh's ports to do light work. That was a major source of revenue for Jounieh.
Also, in the 80s and early 90s, Jounieh was an alternative capital in Lebanon, it was the ONLY entertainment center, there was not a single modern movie theatre in Beirut until 96-7, and people "going out" from EVERYWHERE (beirut, mount lebanon, the north) all converged on jounieh and Kaslik, remember when there were only two movie chains in Lebanon? Espace and Empire, both in jounieh.
Read any of the communiques bu Jounyeh merchants and you will see how they've been complaining for years about economic crisis and decline.
Now Jounieh is a nice little town, with a lot of pubs etc... and it gets busy on weekends etc... but nothing like what it used to be in terms of importance compared to 85-95.
If the state did not curb Jounieh back then, they could have never been able to establish Beirut as a center of gravity again, beirut was totally bombed out while Jounieh was far from the war zone and prospering and was the major magnet for investment.

Jounieh definitely deterioated a lot since the end of the war, things are not measured by superficial standards.
It started with the state only allowing the Beirut port to be used as the major port in the country and relegated Saida and Jounieh's ports to do light work. That was a major source of revenue for Jounieh.
Also, in the 80s and early 90s, Jounieh was an alternative capital in Lebanon, it was the ONLY entertainment center, there was not a single modern movie theatre in Beirut until 96-7, and people "going out" from EVERYWHERE (beirut, mount lebanon, the north) all converged on jounieh and Kaslik, remember when there were only two movie chains in Lebanon? Espace and Empire, both in jounieh.
Read any of the communiques bu Jounyeh merchants and you will see how they've been complaining for years about economic crisis and decline.
Now Jounieh is a nice little town, with a lot of pubs etc... and it gets busy on weekends etc... but nothing like what it used to be in terms of importance compared to 85-95.
If the state did not curb Jounieh back then, they could have never been able to establish Beirut as a center of gravity again, beirut was totally bombed out while Jounieh was far from the war zone and prospering and was the major magnet for investment.

AGREE:)

Doesn anyone know anymore details about this hotel?

"Rawcheh Hotel"

Owners are the Kuwait Project Company (KIPCO) - www.urconline.com

The five-star hotel is located on the Main Street of Rawcheh in Beirut. The project constitutes of 22 floors Hotel Tower and five Basements over a lot area of 5015 m2.

The Hotel tower with a built up area of 29,767 m2 includes banquet hall, meeting rooms, specialty restaurant, all day restaurant, Terrace, shops, VIP lounge, swimming pool, health club and all rooms have sea view.

The basements with a built up area of 21,343 m2 compromise a parking lot that can take about 271 cars, back house activities, circulation and Electromechanical services plus a Banquet Hall.

Beirut!,

That's the 270-room 22-floor 5-star Kempinski:

http://www.ttnworldwide.com/source/24/02/images/CONTRA1.jpg

^^ Ah ok ok, it would really help if people updated their websites from time to time...

the Kempinsk looks like a really nice Hotel it looks really fancy

( off the topic soz)
2 years ago in lebanon they said there going to bulid a 7 star a hotel in debbya near Marina City are they still on with that project has anyone herd of this ?
i wounder if they have started buliding it it was in the daily star

yes i've heard of this project, I dunno what happened to it, anyone knows?

7-Star hotel in the works for Dbayyeh?
Sources say $250m project to be built in area landfill

BEIRUT: Many reports have been circulating recently regarding a massive tourist project to be built on the landfill surrounding the Marina Joseph Khoury in Dbayyeh.

Samih Barbir, chairman of the Investment Development Authority in Lebanon, said last month three major private sector projects worth $900 million in total - two in Dbayyeh and one in Beirut - would soon be unveiled to the public. He was not able to divulge the nature of the projects as the details were confidential.

The Daily Star, however, has discovered that one of these projects will consist of a $250 million hotel development and will be built on a large 81,000-square-meter plot in the Dbayyeh landfill, which itself was priced at $90 million. The plot, 25 percent larger than the land where the Souqs of Beirut is located, will be used to develop an ultra-luxurious 7-star hotel, residential apartments, a large mall and an entertainment and conference center.

The Burj al-Arab in Dubai is currently the only hotel in the world that markets itself as having "7-star" status, even though it is officially considered to be an ultra-luxurious 5-star hotel since no recognized 7-star ranking exists as of yet. "We offer great facilities and the best services and this is why we can be considered a 7-star hotel," said a sales manager at Burj al-Arab.

Probably the best way to put the ranking in context is to consider the price of the hotel's cheapest suite, which goes for $1,115 a night.

The main investors in the Dbayyeh development, according to sources close to the project, are from the Rusd Investment Bank - a largely Saudi-owned investment bank incorporated earlier this year in Labuan, Malaysia with a specific and dedicated mandate as one of the first Islamic private banks.

The Daily Star has also discovered through other sources that Emaar, a Dubai-based and leading real estate developer, held "serious talks" with the owners of the landfill surrounding the Marina Joseph Khoury. Whether Emaar is interested in developing a project there is still unknown, but the landfill has a total capacity of 600,000 square meters, of which 81,000 have already been reserved.


By Tarek El Zein
Daily Star staff
Thursday, August 12, 2004

oh thanks for that

http://img429.imageshack.us/img429/9772/syacksback0403rj.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I forgot the hole. :(

Thanks anyway!

So where are the updates people???

At the back road of the Carlton, there is that big abandoned building. Also, I noticed another smaller construction site next to it which has been barely touched for so many months. What building is that? Or is it part of the Carlton?

^^ That building is part of the Carlton but construction was never completed...more info on this early in this thread.

not sure how true this is, but i have heard that Ritz Carlton is interested in the Carlton site. completion of the building is postponed until negotiations are complete.

can anyone confirm the accuracy of this rumour?

So that small underconstruction on the right is also part of the Carlton? Sorry, Picture is out of focus.

not sure how true this is, but i have heard that Ritz Carlton is interested in the Carlton site. completion of the building is postponed until negotiations are complete.

can anyone confirm the accuracy of this rumour?

Yes this is true.

Out of curiousity, where did you hear this? I just want to see if we got our info from the same sources.

http://img409.imageshack.us/img409/9830/img00171ya.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
So that small underconstruction on the right is also part of the Carlton? Sorry, Picture is out of focus.


Yes. But it is no longer under construction and hasnt been for many year... rumor has it it will be demolished within the next few years.

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/rhmud/98ff5ce0.jpg


Red Arrow -> Bahri Gardens tower (now complete)

Questions...

Green Arrow -> This plot has been u/c since last year... what is being planned here?

Blue Arrow -> A building being demolished... I saw this last summer, what has been made of this plot now?

^^ Till last month, what you saw in the site of the blue arrow last summer, was still the same.

It seems that Safir Heliopolitan Hotel is surrounded by constructions from both sides.

I hope we will get a couple new towers in those two unknown plots... are there any signs in front of them?

^^ Honestly, no idea.

http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/6274/img00062fs.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

^^ wow that street is very narrow for 11 floor buildings!

and traffic looks to be going crazy.

MAJOR AZME !!!! THEY CLOSED DOWN THE PALM SPRINGS VILLAGE IN RAOUCHE!!!!:(:(:(

^^You are serious??? That's BAD!!! I liked this place a lot...It was great!!!:(:( These places need tourists to work. Since there aren't any tourists, it's normal they will close down :(

mish bas tourists everysingle day kan m3abba we'd go nish7ad kirse ne23od 3laya it was amazing and always packed with tourists and lebanese and it was a cultural space and so recereational just wat beirut needed built in the layout and design of a lebanese palace ... and the owners closed it down in order to build a building in its place ...F*** I HATE THIS!!!!....im gna miss my raouche starbucks coffee ....and al-andalus cafe .............

i passed by it as it was being buldozed :(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(.....

^^Oh!!! This is sad .

Are you sure...go to www.thepalmsprings.com they always had plans for the tower.

^^It dates from 2002..And on the render they posted in the site, th Tower seems to be where Bahri Gardens is right now... :S

the tower mentioned is on the plot where bahri gardens now stands look at it carefully ...and the palm springs village is wat was buldozed in order to build another tower in it's place

I know this is sad news BUT this was supposed to to happen! The Palm Springs was only renting the land for 5 years - that was the agreement. It was always meant to be temporary since they dont own the property.

Is there any info about the NEW tower? I am hoping it is at least the same height as the Bahri Gardens?

^^I hope Taller,it's not same for the same owner,right?

It's rAouché not rouché...

^^ No one is sure what it is officially, since it is an Arabic word. However the Rouche spelling sounds more accurate.

no Beiruti, he's right, it's Raouche or Rawche since the "wa" (as in wawa) sound has to be in it.

^^It is the Sound of "aw" not "wa"

I know but "aw" in english is pronounced almost UUUUAAAAAAAHHHH (like when u see a baby or a dog or something)... thats why i used wa
as a matter of fact I spent too much time typing that post now that i think back on it :bash:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2105/2370731221_46c82676cd_b.jpg

They don't have the right to demoish it!!! It was so classy!! And the last thing we needed in this area is a highrise IMO..

The Land is too valuable...the original project (on there website) would have been nice..

It was nice but it was too far from the corniche and not high enough to have a good view of the Pigeon Rocks. Also, the only place that was popular was the Starbucks and the Arab Restaurant, the stores in the back were largely ignored plus that huge parking lot in the rear was truly a waste of valuable space.

^^But still, this isn't an excuse to build another tower there. There aren't enough commercial area in Rawché/Ain El Mraisseh, so I hope this new tower wont be residential, even if I'm pretty sure it's going to be one.

^^ Raouche is basically a hotel district..so expect this to either be a hotel or luxury residential.

Anyway, again, they are not demolishing this because they prefer a tower instead...the palm springs was only built on a temporary basis.

any news of will be built instead?

nope not yet.... the owners declared that they'll be building a tower but what type of tower or any info about it we'll just have to wait and see .......

Here is a recent Aereal Pic of the Location.

http://www.lbcgroup.tv/LBC/PictureOfTheDay/11062008.jpg

^^ I wonder wat they can do in that empty space .... maybe a park?

^^ Yeah .. maybe .. it would be nice but it will not be that easy to do cause the terrain is kinda hard to work with .. the area is rocky and "Dropping towards the sea" .. so it will be hard but worth it ... it not like they can build anything ..

^^ I wonder wat they can do in that empty space .... maybe a park?

that's my ULTMATE DREAM

I'd be happy with anything that takes advantage of the photo op .. maybe a park with a hot-air balloon like they had in downtown?
I'm so obsessed with taking pictures :ohno:

Beirut really really needs a park... instend they just keep building appartments over large spaces.

There are 2 new towers going up (u/c now) on the street directly behind the old Carlton Hotel. One is called the "Dolphin Tower" and the other "Al Nada Residences" (as I recall). Both are residential and roughly 12F.

uffffffffffffffffffft!whats happening shu hayda really makes me sad when i see the old pics of beirut and when i c what is being built all around they arent letting any corner empty!even the nice dono shu esmo where the starbucks and andalos ...where isnt there anymore:s do u like beirut like this?no green areas in beirut and if u look out the window u c ur neigbor in his appartment!!?

i think all empty plots of land have to be built up. nothing is worse than a semi-developed city. (that said, i dont particularly like the architecture built in beirut/lebanon, i think its ugly). i'd rather have a building facing me when i look out the window instead of a derilict plot of land, temporarliy used as a car park.