A couple of years ago, I interviewed the founder of Campbell GRAY Hotels, Gordon Campbell Gray, whose most well-known venture in the region is the spectacularly homely-yet-luxurious Le Gray in Beirut, Lebanon. During our conversation, he discussed some of the gripes he had about other boutique hotels or chains. For instance, he questioned why a shower tap had to take a few minutes for the water to be warm. “Imagine how wasteful that is,” he said, going on to add that guests should be able to jump into the shower and finish in a few minutes. So, on my recent visit to Campbell GRAY’s The Merchant House in Manama, the first thing I did was, of course, test the shower. And true to form, the hot water was almost instant. It’s this attention to detail that has enabled the company to retain its status as one of the best hoteliers in the world. Campbell Gray himself is apparently involved in every aspect of each hotel’s creation, design and philosophy. And no two properties are the same. While the company has avoided rapid expansion in the region – it doesn’t want to lose its sense of exclusivity – it’s now beginning to establish a firm presence in the Middle East outside of Lebanon. First in Amman and now in Bahrain.
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