Best Hotel Chain in Israel for Upkeep

According to Feigin Architects (the architects behind a vast majority of Israeli hotels), the only hotel chain that renovates and maintains its properties is Isrotel. While we won't argue that Isrotel has done a good job both in expanding and building new hotels, and at the same time keeping its other properties in decent condition, other chains have been trying to catch up. The criterion for judgment is best overall upkeep for all the properties in the chain. We only included major Israeli hotel chains on this list. The worst chain on our list is the huge Leonardo/Fattal conglomerate, with a confusing array of upscale and falling apart hotels. Sure, the chain scores in our books with the new Herods Group (including the "just- opened" Herods Dead Sea and the under construction Herods Hertzliya), and with a handful of Leonardos in Tel Aviv which are new or renovated, but the disappoints with its other hotels around the country. Dan Hotels comes in #3, with a wide range from ultra luxurious hotels (King David, Dan Carmel, Dan Accadia) in good shape to dumpy hotels dying for a reno (Dan Eilat, Dan Caesarea, etc.). Isrotel comes in second place, with top hotels like Beresheet and the Royal Beach Tel Aviv, and a bunch of well maintained, if somewhat dated, hotels. But the top place? Our 2013 choice is Atlas Hotels, which has 12 lovely small hotels all around Israel. Most of the hotels are under five years old, so they are still beautiful and functional. And while some of the properties are less luxurious or interesting than others, from a purely aesthetic viewpoint one can't go wrong by choosing to stay at an Atlas Hotel. Stays at this chain also include nice perks, like free Happy Hour and WiFi. Congratulations to Atlas on this well deserved honor! And by the way, Atlas just opened its first Haifa hotel, the Bay Club. Housed in a historic building, Bay Club offers 55 attractive rooms and, among other things, free bicycle rentals.