22 July 2014
DEIR AL-QAMAR, Lebanon: The view isnt so great now, but in the morning ... The hotel manager, Nadim Zoghbi, trailed off as he showed us to a duplex suite at Deir al-Oumara, a recently restored 19th-century Ottoman-era villa.
Zoghbi pointed into the darkness that surrounded our suites long balcony on all sides, toward a village twinkling with light on a neighboring mountaintop. Thats Baaqlin, where George Clooneys fiance is from, he said.
In the distance to the right, lights dimly illuminated the historic castle and modern concert venue Beiteddine, which was outshone that night by glaring spotlights from a wedding at the Mir Amine Palace hotel, another historic tourist destination in this part of Mount Lebanon and from which sporadic fireworks and pop music echoed over the landscape until well after midnight.
Like the nuptial din, our late-night chatter faded into a view of blackness until the first glimmers of daybreak revealed a hair-raising panorama of steep, tree-lined valleys, rounded mountaintops and vertically built villages.
Deir al-Oumara, which translates to home of the princes, is the latest addition to the Choufs wealth of Ottoman-era vestiges modernized into touristic settings. For centuries, the Chouf was home to Ottoman authorities who covered towns like Deir al-Qamar and Beiteddine in palaces, trading centers and other imperial structures. Construction on this early 19th-century mansion began around three years ago and was aimed at reopening the space as a boutique hotel.
Work has reached its final stages and a new hotel manager, with just two months under his belt, has begun the push to bring in guests.
Former Ottoman ruler Emir Bashir II built this particular relic of Ottoman Lebanon in 1827 as a gift to his political advisor and poet Boutros Karame. Almost a century later, in 1908, the Marist Brothers, an education-minded Catholic order, set up a school for boys in the mountainside villa.
Through two world wars, the fall of the Ottoman Empire and Lebanese independence, the school closed and reopened several times, alternating between parochial academy and local public school.
A brief written history of the building, printed in the hotel guide, provided a romanticized account of children dedicated to their studies here: The route required for some an hour walk in the morning and at night, whether it was shining, raining or snowing.
At some point during one of the schools turnovers, the property fell into the hands of the Greek Orthodox Church, which together with local engineer Mounzer Fouad Ephrem al-Boustani and two of his friends decided in 2011 to rehabilitate Deir al-Oumara into a hotel with a $1.5 million investment.
In line with Ottoman-style architecture typical of the early 19th century, the sandstone-colored building was structured around a central courtyard lined by two floors of arched corridors leading to private rooms. Converted into an outdoor dining space, summer guests can eat a complimentary breakfast of eggs, labneh and fresh vegetables while staring out over the edge of an 800-meter drop.
It is astonishing that children were able to focus on exacting subjects like Arabic, French and Syriac with this view out the windows which are also aplenty.
Sixteen hotel suites now occupy the classrooms surrounding the courtyard. The most luxurious are housed in rooms with ceilings so high that builders converted them into duplexes by constructing loft floors. The school chapel was turned into a cavernous, two-level winter dining area, where a continental breakfast spread offered toast and jams.
The hotel lobby, made of the same raw stone as the rest of the interior, was converted from an old storage space and chamber for punishing obstreperous pupils, Zoghbi said. A few vintage items, including a gramophone, a defunct piano and faded newsletters from the French Mandate, decorate a sophisticated welcome hall.
A mixture of country rustic and Arab nostalgia decorates the 12 operational suites. In our sitting room, a set of bloated modern sofas covered in pale floral upholstery and a contemporary dining set for four contrasted nicely with prints of 18th-century Armenian and Druze figures and a colorful, Oriental lantern.
As his first step to turning a nearly 200-year-old building into a viable hotel, Zoghbi opened a restaurant.
A hotel is not really a hotel without a restaurant, he said. Now, anytime you can come in and have a breakfast or a lunch or dinner.
In the morning, owner Boustani was there with guests enjoying a typical Lebanese breakfast. Other regulars from the village wandered in, greeting Zoghbi and taking an obligatory pause to stare beyond the courtyard into the landscape.
As Zoghbi led a small tour through the building, one breakfast guest shouted in passing: Im taking some cards to give to my friends!
A wide terrace lined with bougainvillea and running the length of the grounds doubles as a wedding venue fit for 300 guests. Zoghbi hosted one wedding earlier this summer and is planning another in August. At the far end of the terrace, a grassy playground for children houses a new-looking swing set and plastic toys, and barrel-ceiling classrooms in the villas basement provide space for conferences and business meetings.
We consider ourselves a three-star hotel in terms of facilities, but we strive to give a five-star service. We do not have a pool, which affects the rating. We do not have a spa, which also affects the rating, Zoghbi said. He is intent on boosting that rating, starting with a pool he hopes to have installed by next year.
On the scale of local dorm options in the Chouf which range from basic tents in the river valley to pricey luxury suites at Mir Amin Deir al-Oumara falls right in the middle, with prices starting around $90 a night for a standard suite.
The Chouf offers a wealth of summer activities, from hiking in the Barouk cedar reserve to horse riding and catching performances at Beiteddine. With so few international tourists in the country, however, the most popular offering among Deir al-Oumaras Lebanese patrons is simply the opportunity for rest and relaxation.
Its an escape from Beirut, Zoghbi said, speaking from personal experience. I came here for the adventure of working in this beautiful place.
Copyright The Daily Star 2014.
