Seaside — Hotel in Dar Mreisse

Seaside is really well located, just a block from the boardwalk, and a few from Hamra and Bliss streets.||||Prices were fair. I stayed in a Seaview suite which was huge (a huge living room with a balcony with a partial sea view – yes, it’s not a full view because of buildings covering it, a small equipped kitchen, a bedroom also with a balcony to the back of the hotel, and bathroom). ||||Employees were nice and polite.||||TV only in the living room (having a TV in the bedroom would be more important I guess). Some channels working properly, some not (unfortunately the English ones). ||Internet was paid (in cash). Two Wi-Fi routers available, but I was able to connect to one of them only for some reason, and with a bad quality signal.||||Cleanness was OK. Once the whole suite has carpets, it’d be necessary a more frequent vacuum cleaning, dust could be felt, but it was not a big problem to me. Everything was working properly in the suite.||||It was a good choice considering localization and price, maybe bigger than needed for a single traveler, but still a good choice.||||Tip 1 (not related to the hotel): Have internet data while in Beirut to use Uber. Taxis are a rip-off, just a few drivers spoke English, they charge how much money they want to drive you around (you have to bargain all the time), and even showing a map of the city with Arabic named streets they don’t recognize the place you want to go. Using Uber (where you can put the place you will go before boarding and where you’ll be 100% sure the price charged will be the fair one), is a blessing thing in Beirut. 100% necessary. ||||Tip 2 (also not related to the hotel): Wanna go to Byblos, Jeitta, Baalbeck? Private tours. Don’t even think about going by yourselves. I did that to Byblos and it was a really bad experience. Had to take 2 different public vans (their way of public transportation) with no English spoken drivers (help was needed from locals) and with no “busses stops”, which means you can take those vans almost everywhere and drivers can stop everywhere in the way – it takes a long time to get to the places. To get back to Beirut, I had to take the van literally at the dark shoulder of the road. Also, be super careful as a pedestrian in Beirut. Signals and crosswalks are...

I stayed here for a month on business in Beirut and highly recommend it to anybody whose budget does not stretch to the exorbitant five-star hotels or who, like me, could have paid for five-stars but preferred somewhere that felt more like a 'home' than a hotel. First impressions are not great. The building is right across the street from a bombed-out French colonial era house now occupied by Syrian refugees (welcome to Beirut!), and the corridors feel more like a prison block than a hotel. But walk into your room and - wow! Mine 'a studio' had a large bedroom and separate living room both with a view right onto the Med and just a hundred metres from the posh end of the corniche. A huge balcony, a small kitchen, decent bathroom - all a little shabby, but acceptably clean and comfortable. Alex the owner is charming, and all the staff extremely friendly and helpful. There's no bar or restaurant - but no need with dozens of bars and restaurants of all types and prices close by, and supermarkets from where you can stock your fridge with excellent Lebanese wine and beer for a fraction of the price of a hotel. All rooms have wifi internet at reasonable rates - it's slow, but no worse than most hotels in Beirut. In summary... I have stayed at many much grander places around the world, but will never forget the Seaside. I have been home less than a week and miss it already. Alex/Achmad and all the team - thanks for looking after me and my...

There was a group of 8 of us staying at these apartments (2 rooms of 3 and one room of 2) and for a big group who basically just went there to party, enjoy the sun and spend time eating gorgeous Lebanese food by the coast, it was perfect for us. ||The apartments are very basic, there is no real 5* comfort in these rooms just basic beds, a good kitchenette, bathroom and a good sized balcony. It was equipped well and I would say is great for a family on a budget or a large group of young people. ||||The location was brilliant, a few minutes from the coast walk, Hamra and Downtown. We walked to Riviera during the day for the pool party, this was 10 mins away. ||||Alex, the manager is very friendly. Even giving us a lift one morning :) They also let us keep our room for a late check out with no issues. ||||In summary, i wouldn't recommend if you're looking for glamour, but if you're looking for somewhere to lay your head and shower only, then this is perfect and fantastic...