Please for all people from Faraya and not from Faraya, when you enter to this website leave a comment about our country (Faraya).
Faraya is the best ski resort in the word.
I came to Mzaar after a colleague took a school trip to Les Elfes. Apart from an unfortunate storm which took out two days, the skiing was better than average European ski areas with very good hotel management. Slope grooming might have been better at Mzaar, and the lifts, although old, seemed to be well maintained. There's a shortage of apres-ski at Mzaar, but apart from that, Lebanese people were more than welcoming and there aren't many drunks to spoil your day. In short, plenty here for competent skiers, families and groups. Loved it.
It's a pity to see my fellow Lebanese making harsh comments about the state of the slopes in Faraya Mzaar considering the state of the country itself. I for one, having lived abroad for the past 25 years, continue to manage to steal a couple of weekends a year to escape to Faraya Mzaar with the family to ski. Despite what you read in other comments, I must admit that the resort is absolutely amazing. All kinds of slopes with great value for money. The real problem is that we could do better in terms of maintenance and lifts but management would probably need to increase the tariffs. I am sure this would result with more Lebanese complaining about the cost as opposed to praising the betterment of the slopes. Either way, I thank the people operating on minimum wages to keep the slopes as they are.
For the non Lebanese, try Faraya Mzaar and you will love it.
I have been skiing in Faraya for 14 years. At the beginning Faraya was improving every season, especially with the opening of the Warde area.
We were very proud and excited about Faraya.
For the last 5 years, the ski resort is falling down, the good slopes are never groomed ( Nabil, Piste Rouge), the lift "Rouge" opened for the first time this year one day on February 14th.
I think the managers should be ashamed, instead they are very proud. Everything is mediocre, the lifts are so old that everytime there is strong wind, the slopes have to remain closed.
I don't think that they have spent a dollar on improving the ski station for at least 5 years at Faraya, if not more. They should close. I will never recommend anybody to come and ski here.
It could be such a nice place, it is a nightmare.
We should all go on strike, not buy tickets anymore and complain. This cannot continue.
Faraya could be a great resort but it is not. For people who love skiing, it is very frustrating. The greatest slopes are never open and they always have an excuse. The snow on these slopes, after one day of fresh snow, have to be packed, but nobody cares. We could have wonderful slopes but there is never a day with everything working. The ski management at Faraya is a disaster. The night life is probably great but skiing should come first. Even when just 2 slopes are open because of bad weather conditions, the prices remain the same; what a shame. Sometimes I feel like skiing midweek, but I never do. Disappointed though: closed lifts, bad snow, bad snow packing.
Faraya Mzaar is great with nice slopes, good snow and friendly people but my stay at Intercontnental Mzaar was like a nightmare. With bad management and bad communication it's unfair for it to be a 5 stars hotel.
Faraya is a great resort for on and off slope skiing; the powdery snow is a must try. The domain at Faraya is pretty big and you've got plenty of options for jumps and freestyle.
Faraya is one of the best skiing resorts. It grants you a high snow quality, that is renewed each 7-10 days from mid-December until mid-April. You will always find near a meter and a half of snow during this period, with sunny days and temperatures varying between 2 and 7 degrees. I highly recommend Faraya-Mzaar, not only for skiing but for all the activities you can do (snowboarding, riding ATV's, skidooing and even just building a snowman. Friendly people there, fantastic views and after skiing at Faraya, you can enjoy an uncomparable vibrant nightlife in Beirut, the city classed number 1 in NewYorkTimes.com summer destinations for 2009.
These guys are putting efforts to come up with such a resort (Faraya), not to mention its extension at warde. You have this huge resort in a country where the raw materials and the technologies required are scarce. So thank you so much for all Faraya guys for the huge efforts they are putting every year and every season to allow us to spend the most beautiful days skiing. I think we should all pray for the weather to help them, it is no more raining as it should be and maybe one day we wont be able to ski in Lebanon. Hope this won't happen.