We made our reservations for an 18-day stay about two weeks before arrival. Our arrival from Ben Gurion Airport was close to midnight (after our flight from San Francisco). We should have suspected something right from the start. The desk clerk checked us in and created magnetic cards for our door lock. He handed us the cards and then said, “Those probably won’t work, so here’s a real key.” Our attempt to sleep in the next morning was foiled by the curtain drooping with hooks unattached from the curtain rod. (However, we didn’t miss much since a violent storm brought rain and hail to the streets … no fault of the hotel.) Breakfast was the usual Israeli buffet overflowing with fish, eggs, biscuits, rolls, juices, coffee, tea and all things dairy. Breakfast is NOT included in the room rate. However, there is a meal plan. Unfortunately, the chefs aren’t there and no meals are available other than breakfast and on Sabbath. After breakfast we wished to call some family members, but found that our phone didn’t work. An inquiry to the front desk was answered with, “If you want to make an outside call, come down to the front desk and we’ll make it for you. The room phones do not provide for outside calls.” I should mention, as a point of interest that apparently a good part of the hotel’s income has traditionally derived from the Chassidic community that travels from the surrounding area to attend a Sabbath weekend each week. Orthodox guests, with men in formal regalia, many wearing fur hats, arrive with their often-large families throughout Friday afternoon. In consideration of Orthodox observance, the hotel provided actual real “Shabbat keys” for rooms so that electric power would not be used. In the same spirit, one of the two elevators operated automatically, going from floor to floor continuously. Shabbat services are held prior to dinner, which typically begins after 8:00 pm. The meal is expensive, but extravagant. The buffet overflows with a variety of meats, vegetables and deserts. Red wine appears on every table. Heaps of chicken schnitzel (the Israeli national bird) are devoured and followed by more heaps. Little kids run uncontrolled between tables and the legs of adults. Teenagers flirt, but don’t touch. The Shabbat festivities go on until near midnight, so don’t expect quiet in your room. Morning finds the crowd at the typical big breakfast after which the men begin their services in the cleared dining room and kids romp in the courtyard. A late but abundant lunch is served, followed by naps, Torah studies and then evening prayers. After (religiously official) sundown guests check out and leave the crowded lobby for their transportation home and a new week begins. (Parenthetically, on our first Shabbat, the non-Shabbat elevator became stuck on the top floor of the hotel. Our suite was located on the fourth floor and we were reluctant to climb, so we grudgingly took the floor-to-floor option. The elevator remained stuck for the next three da
5 Reviews