The Grand Sofar Hotel

Opened in 1892, Sofar’s Grand Hotel housed Lebanon’s first casino. It was a hub of luxury and sophistication luring the business of kings, emirs, artists, and politicians; if the walls of the hotel’s 75 rooms could talk, they would spill secrets of political deals and celebrity gossip.

An unfortunate victim of the civil war, the hotel was looted and closed off for decades until this past Sunday when the Beirut-based British artist Tom Young launched his latest enchanting exhibition entitled The Grand Sofar Hotel comprising forty artworks on canvas.

Under the care of one of the owners of the hotel, Roderick Sursock Cochrane, the hotel is now being carefully restored. By displaying his art at this location, Young is allowing the public to peer into this magical estate and hopefully generate enough public interest around it to transform it into a permanent cultural landmark.