We planned to spend the weekend in the heart of the Bekaa... A piece of heaven on earth, Al Haush is a place rich with history... It feels like a museum filled with amazing traditional things... I was happy from the minute I opened the small metallic door that took me to a whole new place!
This guesthouse is like no other. Behind a high green fence a small door opens. It's a huge land, with a pool and massive green spaces, saloons and relaxing corners, bars and kitchens... It's a big garden, a space for kids, a basketball field and corners to let go and boost your internal energy.
Owned by the Saab family since 1944, this domain of thousands of square meters has only been open to the public a year now. The family, who lives on the premises, want to share the rich past of preserved history with everyone. It's a huge land, with a pool and massive green spaces, saloons and relaxing corners, bars and kitchens... It's a big garden, a space for kids, a basketball field and corners to let go and boost your internal energy.
Faysal Saab, your host, welcomes you into his haven with a big smile on his face. The home is two storeys high.
I opened the door to discover the lobby area. A wide room where a bar serves coffee and sweet bites all day. You can even play chess or sit for a cup of coffee. I continued my tour to the antechamber in the heart of the house surrounded by the five rooms this mansion has. It's where the horses were brought up, a cozy space decorated with wine barrels. I thought the experience was over but I was wrong... the house spread on more than 20,000 square meters has a pool, gardens, seating areas all around, a Bedouin space and a terrace up the roof with a view.
After checking in, we were invited to have drink and witness sunset on the mountains of Mount Lebanon. The color of the mountain changes five or six different times during the last hour before sunset.
Back to the room! Al Haush has five rooms each equipped with a double bed, a large bathroom and a small desk on which you can prepare your own coffee. Beautifully decorated with style, the rooms have an air conditioning unit, relaxing pillows and the needed amenities to refresh and shower. At Al Haush, there's not time to watch television so they're none installed in the rooms. Consider detoxing from technology.
Meet Amal Saab, Faysal's mum, the lady behind the exceptional food we were enjoying and owner of the land. Amal invited us for lunch and prepared kebbeh, actually chicken kebbeh which is something I personally never tried before. Dinner was a real feast. Tender and juicy meat cooked on the barbecue, hummus, hendbeh, cheese, labneh, shanklish and fresh vegetables. The food is from the land and prepared by the family. Calm and serene, you sleep to the sounds of nature. A peaceful experience.
I had a relaxing night's sleep excited to discover breakfast the next morning.
Breakfast is served up on the terrace between 07:30 and 10:30 every morning. Eggs with kawarma, manakish, kechek, jams, labneh and white cheese, fresh vegetables, olives and foul. They even prepared Amareddine for the Ramadan season.
Food kept coming: 3akkoub with rice and Laban, fried pine nuts on the side, raw kebbeh from the famous Arabi Zahle, baba ghannouj prepared with Laban and a unique salad of fresh greens, avocado and pomegranate molasses. Amazing food is served here, food prepared with finesse, style and most importantly love. The family can serve you food if you ask for it in advance.
I felt transported as every single muscle of my body was feeling relaxed. I was disconnected from work, appreciating the views and falling in love with my country even more... while kids played around like they've never done before. What a place... What a weekend!
Hundreds of photos and a video, I believe you have enough to prepare for your next weekend in the Bekaa.
