St. Georges Hotel, Beirut

[6] El-Khoury died in 1964, and his wife Nadia managed the hotel[1] through its heyday in the 1960s and early 1970s, when guests included Brigitte Bardot, Marlon Brando, Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, King Hussein of Jordan, the Shah of Iran and his wife Princess Soraya, as well as spies from both sides in the Cold War, like Kim Philby, who frequented its famous bar.

[5] Beginning in 1994, the neighboring district was rebuilt by Solidere, a public-private organization headed by then-Prime Minister Rafic Hariri.

Work to restore the hotel was stalled for many years, as El-Khouny remained locked in lawsuits with Solidere.

[5] In 2005, El-Khoury had just begun restoration of the hotel, as well as an annex tower across the street, which was still under construction in 1975 and had remained an unfinished ruin.

[8] However, on July 29, 2020, a judge ordered the hotel property to be sealed, for nonpayment of taxes.