Monday, August 25, 2014

7 Kook Boutique Hotel

It's not too often that we take the time to write about an twelve room hotel. Maybe, if it was uber-luxurious with butler service and infinity pools and located on a private island off the coast of...Israel. We'll keep dreaming. Meanwhile, a new hotel has opened in Jerusalem and we're opening the floor to our readers to figure out just what constitutes a hotel. Does a hotel require a minimum of two rooms? Do we need a front desk or other services? Not so clear. But anyway, 7 Kook Boutique Hotel is open for business and is rocking the hotel title. The hotel boasts free WiFi in all of the rooms and public areas, which is a nice touch. Until you consider that providing Wifi for a twelve room hotel probably costs the same as Wifi-ing a small house. But I digress. Of the twelve, there are studio rooms, deluxe rooms with balconies, family rooms, and suites. All have flat screen televisions and A/C and are decorated in a warm (if generic boutique) style in various shades of beige. The hotel's own restaurant has not yet opened, but will in the future. The hotel can also accommodate events for up to eighty people. 7 Kook offers several services for a fee, including airport pickup, wine tastings, beauty treatments, and restaurant reservations. Location is nice, right off of Jaffa Road in the City Center, in a quiet enough area. TripAdvisor reviews are gushing about the hotel's staff members, calling them "so kind and helpful" and praising their ability to "make everything perfect." Furthermore, guests find the rooms to be clean, large and nicely furnished. For what it offers, though, rates seem to be very high. A standard room goes for $188 this week, compared to the larger and full service Dan Boutique for $164 a night, (although the Arthur across Jaffa Road goes for $198).