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Hotel Palmyra in Baalbek

Tuesday, 7 October 2025 - 11:00 am (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination: Levant / Levante
Category/Kategorie: General, Hotels, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  3 minutes

🔊 Listen to this Post The Hotel Palmyra is a historic establishment in Baalbek, Lebanon. Located in front of the ancient Roman ruins, the hotel’s interiors, with their antiquated mahogany furniture, relics from the Baalbek ruins and green ostrich skin lampshades, bear memories of a great past, when it hosted politicians and artists. The hotel features a diverse array of contemporary artworks and colourful tapestries adorning the walls as well as Persian carpets in its corridors. The hotel is known for its rich history.

The hotel was built by a Greek businessman in 1874, who recognised the appeal of Baalbek’s spectacular Roman ruins, which sit just across the road. The hotel has mixed fortunes. Within its walls, in 1920 the Declaration of the Greater Lebanon was signed, which established the boundaries of modern-day Lebanon.

In its heyday the hotel attracted royals and politicians, as well as writers, artists, performers and world-famous musicians. In this way, the hotel got a place of Lebanese collective memory. Today, it is a top destination for tourists and academics.

Ali Husseini bought the hotel in 1985; as of 2023 he and his wife, Rima Husseini, co-owned the hotel. Electricity shortages in Lebanon prompted the owners to install solar panels at the hotel in 2022. This was part of a growing tendency to install solar panels in Baalbek.

On 6 of November 2024, during the 2024 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, an Israeli airstrike severely damaged the hotel. The stained-glass windows on its facade, a delicate lace of wood and glass, untouched since 1874, were all shattered.

Read more on Hotel Palmyra and Hotel Palmyra (Baalbek) (Smart Traveler App by U.S. Department of State - Weather report by weather.com - Global Passport Power Rank - Travel Risk Map - Democracy Index - GDP according to IMF, UN, and World Bank - Global Competitiveness Report - Corruption Perceptions Index - Press Freedom Index - World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index - UN Human Development Index - Global Peace Index - Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index). Photos by Wikimedia Commons. If you have a suggestion, critique, review or comment to this blog entry, we are looking forward to receive your e-mail at comment@wingsch.net. Please name the headline of the blog post to which your e-mail refers to in the subject line.

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