Luxury update

Pretentious, showy, pompous, hmm...sounds like a Ritz Carlton! The luxury brand known for its stuffiness and ostentatiousness has recently unveiled the website for its Herzliya outpost, and the hotel lauds itself as "the first luxury resort in Israel." Now, we're not denying that the Ritz will be a classy property. But they seem to be laying it on a little thick, no? We must say, now that the photos are out, the hotel looks a little disappointing and underwhelming, more Israeli- wannabe five star than true Ritz Carlton. We do love the fact that every oversized room has a balcony, and those bathrooms with deep soaking tubs look gorgeous. We can't wait for this hotel to open so that we can check it out and determine for ourselves if it puts all the other resorts to shame (or even worse, to non-existence). Although, maybe the Ritz will inspire a new breed of uber-luxury resorts in Israel, which would be a win-win for all of us. We are also anxiously anticipating the opening of the Waldorf Astoria Jerusalem, which also has a website up and running (and an opening date: November 2013!) The design here is very old world and elegant, this is undeniably a luxury property. The rooms are reminiscent of those at the legendary King David, offering a not-so-subtle hint at who the hotel is poised to compete with. Funny how history has repeated itself- the circa 1931 King David was built to be the Jewish answer to Mohammad Amin al-Husayni's 1929 Palace Hotel. We love the design of the indoor pool area and restaurant. The guestrooms also offer an impressive list of amenities even in the most basic rooms, including mirror embedded TV's in the bathroom, tablet room controls, and complimentary Wifi! All we can say is that we're super eager to get a tour of these hotels once they open.