The Wonder of Alexandria

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If Cleopatra and Mark Anthony were to revisit Alexandria today, chances are they would fall in love all over again — especially if they were sequestered in the romantic and sumptuous confines of the Four Seasons Hotel, tel: (20-3) 581 8000. Opened in late July, the seafront Four Seasons is the poshest pad in Egypt's maritime city and gives a new vitality to its San Stefano district, once home to Alexandria's polyglot élite. While it mostly lures deep-pocketed Arabs and weekending Cairenes, the hotel also celebrates the area's multi­cultural past, especially in its culinary offerings, with a trio of signature restaurants — Mediterranean, Italian and French-Lebanese — that honor the city's former foreign communities.

Towering 19 floors over Alexandria's bustling Corniche — and with the water from its infinity-edge outdoor pool seemingly pouring straight into the sea beyond — the hotel has an urbane feel. Guests are as comfortably clad in burqas as bikinis, and equally at ease sipping a cappuccino or a Cosmopolitan. French interiors ace Pierre-Yves Rochon has designed locally while sourcing globally — with Alexandria's largest rooms accented by Riviera-inspired shutters, Egyptian prints, Roman-style marble baths and private balconies. Down below, a 14-room duplex spa is still under wraps, but three gym areas — one for men, another for women and a third mixed — are already bustling. Alexandria's iconic Bibliotheca is a fair trek away, but with its resort facilities and cold drinks on tap, the hotel offers plenty of diversions for guests who'd rather stay put.