Le Vendome hotel
sold to Qatari investors

Deal closed at $35 million

Le Vendome hotel has been sold to investors from Qatar, linked to the ruling family, specifically Hamad Bin Khalifah Al Thani, former ruler and father of the current Emir.

Sources said that the hotel was sold for $35 million. It had been offered for sale at $70 million before the economy crashed in Lebanon.

In 2016, the boutique hotel’s shares, owned then by Société des Grands Hotels du Liban (SGHL), were taken over by Bank Audi and BankMed to which SGHL owed close to $100 million, as a security to a loan. The owners had two years to repay the loan and reclaim the shares. It did not happen.

SGHL is also the owner of Phoenicia Hotel.

SGHL and Salha family, the company’s founders, were managing Le Vendome in partnership with InterContinental Hotels Group.