One More Boutique in Jerusalem? Why Not?

Sometimes we wonder what qualifies as a boutique hotel. If I have two extra rooms in my house and turn an old table into a front desk, can I call it Villa IsraelGuest Boutique Hotel? Today we got wind of an eleven room boutique hotel, to be built in the 7 Kook Project in the center of town. In terms of amenities, they're likely limited. The "hotel" boasts a private entrance, and will likely include use of the building's gym. In order to help you decide where to stay, we've compiled a handy list of boutique hotels going up in the center of town. Central Jerusalem Boutique Hotels, according to IsraelGuest: Bayit Ba'neviim 7 Kook Street Hanev'iim Court Jerusalem Roots Hotel Russian Compound Project/Betzalel Art School Keep in mind that these hotels are all within a five minute walk of each other. But hey- we're not complaining! And, in terms of big, wild hotel plans: Waldorf Astoria Jerusalem finally has an opening date: March 5th, 2013. And not only that- The Messiah is expected to stay at the Waldorf when he comes for a visit. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQxi1q-dw_c

Another Fake Review

The review, titled "Really loved the trip and must return" wasn't so suspicious. "Can't say enough good about this hotel. We stayed there when my wife and i visited jerusalem for her birthday. On our arrival, just by giving our name, the concierge without even looking at the booking wished her a happy birthday. The hotel is new, clean and extremely well run, and only a 5 minute walk to center city . Any time we will be returning to jerusalem, i won't be looking for anywhere else to stay." The only weird thing about this review is the word new (really? the circa 1968 Leonardo Plaza Jerusalem?!) OK, the username was funny too. Shma60827, from Brooklyn, New York (oh the shame!). As you suspected, this reviewer joined TripAdvisor in June 2011 and posted its only review that same month. But what really caught our eye was the pictures included with the review. A word of advice to hotels: Don't post fake reviews with professional photos. Because guess what? When the pictures look like they've been taken straight from the website, and have strategically placed magazines, fruit platters, bottled water, and curious glass vases - chances are this is a fake review. We do have to give the Plaza credit, though. At least the review sounded sincere. Or, maybe we're just jumping to conclusions and Shma (Shmaya? Shmaryahu?) of Brooklyn is a really, really good photographer.

New Hotel in Mitzpe Ramon

No, don't get all excited- it's not the Isrotel. Although we finally made our way down to see the Beresheet hotel, and yes, it's gorgeous. Unfortunately, the layout leaves something to be desired- some of the cottages are alongside the parking lot, making it feel like a drive in motel. And, a portion of the Crater rooms with private pools aren't so private- the pools are open to the main courtyard area, making it easy to spy on you in your "private pool". So no skinny dipping, please. However, the common areas and pools are very beautiful, as are the views. Now open is the Ramon Hotel, not to be confused with the Isrotel Ramon Inn. The comfortable hotel, sister property to the Montefiore Hotel in Jerusalem, offers 34 rooms, mostly suites. The hotel, while no means luxurious, looks very nice and new.

More Jerusalem

This has been a really good month for Jerusalem hotels. First, we stumbled on the Tamar Residence. Yes, we are debating as to whether or not it counts as a hotel. It offers 24 hour reception and daily housekeeping, along with a whole list of standard hotel amenities (Wifi, coffee and tea in rooms, cable TV, concierge service, etc). On the other hand, the "hotel" doesn't offer much of a hotel experience. Instead, it has some thirty fully equipped apartments, ranging from garden apartments to penthouses. Optional breakfast can be had at the Grand Cafe located downstairs. Rates are extremely reasonable, $160 for a couple and $215 for a family of four, checking in on May 15. The founder of Tamar Residence, Danny Rubinstein, was one of the founders of Isrotel. He plans on opening similar "hotels" throughout the country. Then, we noticed a new boutique hotel going up in the center of town (in addition to the Jerusalem Roots Hotel) on Haneviim Street. The project, called Bayit Baneviim, includes an eleven room suite hotel, eight apartments, a coffee shop, a fitness center, and a concierge. (Yes, we were also debating as to whether or not eleven rooms constitutes a hotel...) The hotel will be housed on the ground floors of the building (probably the reddish part in the picture). And one more: Finally, finally, an update on the Dan Pearl/ Jerusalem Pearl. The hotel's sad history is about to end, it seems. Doomed from day one (Jerusalem mayor Teddy Kollek required that the hotel be lower than the Old City Walls), the hotel wasn't large enough to compete with other big Jerusalem hotels. Even after a reconfiguration and redesign, which divided the all suite hotel into standard rooms, the hotel still couldn't succeed. Five years ago, the hotel's owner, Claude Dray, closed it down. Following Dray's October murder, his daughter has proposed tearing down the existing structure and building a new luxury hotel on the site. Mamilla, here comes some competition!

On a side note, the blog recently hit close to 5500 views. That's waaaaaayyy more that we expected. Thanks to all the readers and please don't forget to leave us your comments below!!

Changing Jerusalem

Friday's Jerusalem Post included an interesting entry on a new project on King George Street, in the Solel Boneh compound. The project includes two tall buildings, 17 stories each. One tower will house a 580 room hotel, and the second will have 50 residences. The bottom two levels will have businesses, shops, and spas (plural?!).

While the JPost doesn't mention a name, this hotel is almost definitely the Herods. As we initially reported, the 350- room Herods was to be housed in a 14- story building, in the same location. So, it seems like they slightly changed the plan. However, we can still hope for the "Jerusalem scent"!

See our other entry on the Herods:
http://israelguests.blogspot.com/search?q=herods+jerusalem

Just around the corner on Agron Street, the Waldorf Astoria is steadily coming along. The facade and exterior are finished, stones are in place, balconies are finished, and the windows are up. Still, a lot of work remains to be done on the hotel's interior. Our guess? January 2013. On the positive side, the hotel's interiors are being designed by Turkish designer Sinan Kafadar (Four Seasons Bosphorus Istanbul, among the many hotels).

Other hotel news: The Jerusalem Roots hotel, on Luntz Street, seems ready to open by Summer 2012. We don't have much information on this hotel, but any new hotel is a good hotel.

Fake Reviews

Speaking of fake reviews, get a load of this one we found on TripAdvisor. The review, of the Crowne Plaza Jerusalem, is titled "An inspiring and beautiful venue in which to reside, excellent hospitality." Big warning sign! Then, the actual review: A fabulous residence, offering efficient service, excellent hospitality, and inspiration also. The writer included some good pictures, with captions like, "Beautiful wooden marquetry furnishings" and "Function suite available for your needs". What's more, the writer has only one review. And, he's based in Scotland, apparently. Shame on Crowne Plaza!

For those of you who would like some "real" news, here you go:
1) Looking for a quick getaway? The Ramada Netanya is offering a winter sale for two nights, including dinner on the first night and breakfast both days. We checked dates and found a rate of $129 per night in a one bedroom suite. Not bad! Of course, this rate can only be booked on the global Ramada site. Try booking this through the hotel directly, and you're looking at rates upwards of $300 per night, not including dinner.
2) A new boutique hotel is under construction in Jerusalem, right next to Rimon (on Luntz Street), in the center of town. We don't have much information, but this hotel should give Harmony some good competition!

Tamares Hotels

So we were just browsing on the Isrotel website, and then the Dan website, and then Crowne Plaza, (like we do everyday...) and checked the progress of the CP Ashdod. (Who knows- apparently they had a soft opening in 2010 and are scheduled to open in the third quarter of 2011). That reminded us, of course, of the Costa Ashdod Hotel. We skipped over to the Costa site (no updates), and then decided to see if there was anything on Tamares' site. We noticed two changes to the site. Firstly, Tamares has added "Guest Reviews" to the site. Each hotel has just one guest review, and they are all five stars. Not at all suspicious, right? In order to fully appreciate these "reviews", we have copied some of them here. "Please pass this message to the General Manager of The Daniel (Ofer Aagmi) and to the President of Tamares Hotel Group (Raphy Weiner) as you all deserve full recognition for the top quality work you are doing." Or this one: "My husband and I stayed at the Shizen hotel last weekend and it was undoubtedly one of the most indulgent weekends we’ve ever had...The perfect location of the bed facing the huge window overlooking the sea was simply a therapy that can’t be described in words. We (My husband and I) both agreed that this weekend sets a new high standard for our next vacation anywhere in the world." Come on! If you want to make it seem realistic, at least put in some normal sounding reviews! And maybe a complaint!?

The second change was a new hotel, called the West Ashdod.
"The new suites hotel - West Ashdod is about to open its gates in the beginning of 2012. The hotel will feature 113 spectacular recreation suites, rooftop pool which overlooking the north beach of Ashdod, spa, fitness center, beauty salon, a club for residents and their children, an elegant lobby, a synagogue, and more."
The attached picture, however, is identical to the picture of the Costa Hotel. So, it looks like the Costa Ashdod is now the West.
A side point: Maybe Tamares are trying to start a new chain of hotels, West Hotels? We hope so!