RIP Maaleh Hachamisha

Here at IsraelGuest, we totally, totally love competition. Competition means new, better hotels open, and the old hotels are left scrambling to renovate, upgrade, enhance, or admit defeat and reduce rates. All good outcomes, in our books. So it's no wonder that when the luxurious five star Cramim Resort opened in April, the longtime bastion of the area (and on a hill just above Cramim), Maaleh Hachamisha, was sweating a bit. No worries, as Maaleh Hachamisha had a few tricks up its sleeve. The hotel began with a much needed updating of its public spaces and lobby, removing what we would call a sterile, old age home feel and replacing it with a comfortable and warm design, albeit beige and unexciting. The next step was opening a new wing, the Shaked ("Almond") Wing. The three-story Shaked houses a spa with indoor pool, jaccuzi, and sauna, and a coffee shop. Rooms feature luxurious amenities such as LCD televisions, air conditioning, bathrooms, views, and parquet floorings (yes, that was sarcastic). In its most drastic change to spite the competition, Maaleh Hachamisha dropped its old moniker and is now known as the Orchid Jerusalem View. Breathe easy, though, as the URL is still maaleh5.co.il. Even with all the changes, the Jerusalem View still has one thing to work on: its prices. For tonight, the hotel is asking an outrageous $291 for a room in the Shaked wing, compared to a Cramim Mountain View for $288. The choice seems simple.