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Four years ago, I came here hoping to enjoy breakfast at a five star establishment but left feeling shocked and deceived. Without going into the details of my last visit, read on to see what I discovered there this time, when I went over on a calm morning to review the updates.
Stop at the gate where you're asked to open your car trunk, leave your car at the door with the valet and have your bags searched in a very serious way... ask where breakfast is being served and take the elevator up to the fifth floor.
Warm lights and classic music in the background... the space is big and enjoys a view of the pool. Every table has a small plate, fork and knife, a napkin and miniature pots of mustard and ketchup. Black coffee was served to me while I walked round the buffet.
The hot section:
- Foul mdammas
- Grilled tomatoes
- Mafrouke
- Quiche
- Hand and cheese
- Kechek
- Mozzarella sticks
- Mushrooms
- Chicken sausages
- Eggs benedict (in fact these are only poached eggs)
- Boiled eggs
- Scrambled eggs
The middle island:
- Cold cuts platters
- A salad bar
- Cheese plates
- Halawa
- Corn flakes
- Fruits
- Nuts
Bakery and pastry:
- Cakes
- Croissants of all kinds
- Muffins
- Lebanese bread
- Danish pastry
There is a manakish oven and a kitchen where the egg options are cooked fresh.
The first impression:
The display is way better than the last time I was here, the choices are greater, the service has become more attentive and professional and more importantly cleanliness has definitely improved.
Let's eat:
- Starting with the croissant; very good, flaky inside out, buttery and flavorful. It's not like any old croissant - surely one of my favorite in town. I was honestly impressed and positively shocked.
- Manakish followed. Excellent manakish, very fluffy dough, good Zaatar quality and the cheese is as good. Oily, lightly salty and loaded with flavors. Bravo for such good quality; you would expect this from your local traditional bakery, not a hotel.
- The scrambled eggs don't look good - I'm not sure why they're presented this way - however they do taste good! Moist, and served on toast.
- Labneh and all kinds of cheese; fresh and of good quality.
Not a bad start to my morning. But...
I would remove the eggs Benedict from the list or rename it something more accurate. What I had was not eggs Benedict.
I'd also offer freshly baked bread since the oven is there and ready.
Finally, coffee should be served more attentively...
The huge improvement is clear. Le Royal is one of the five star hotels you should consider for breakfast around Dbayeh and the Metn area. I enjoyed it this morning and as there was a conference taking place today am hoping that it's at least like this and even better throughout the year.
