zombietooth

How did your stay go?
Did they treat you well? I'll be on a paid stay, so I am not sure if that makes any difference.

Thanks!

RTWSTARALLIANCE

Returned to Israel to see Masada and walk Jerusalem / Bethlehem. Decided Jerusalem was the place to be and waited for the WA to open. Before arriving contacted the Hotel and received numerous excellent communications. No guarantee of upgrade but that my request would be noted and looked after.

Upon arrival the front desk had already upgraded me one cat but was able to significantly improve upon this. Just to say I have lots of separate spaces. That means doors. Before heading up given lobby tour. As Diamond receive breakfast at Palace restaurant and able to take afternoon tea service as there is no Executive lounge. The later was a pleasant surprise.

The suite is very nice and constantly told the nicest property in Israel. If I had to compare it to any existing property in the Hilton portfolio it would be the Conrad Macau suites and WA on the Bund in PVG.

From TLV contacted one of the guides sometimes mentioned on FT who arranged Mercedes taxi transfer to WA. It started as private transfer then became taxi transfer which worked out fine.

I'll let you know how the stay goes. Big thumbs up for the WA here in Jerusalem.

worldiswide

Had 2 stays at this hotel in OctOber and November. One a 2 night award stay and one a paid night. First stay had its share of kinks that need to be worked out. Arrived at 8 am and did not receive a room until after 4pm. Was offered a free breakfast and after quite a bit of back and forth they were able to find a disabled room for us to take a nap. We were upgraded to a junior suite which was very nice.when we asked for a late checkout there was a lot of bask and forth again and eventually it was worked out. Concierge desk and bellman and door staff are very well trained and helpful. Ask them for a tour of the old lobby a d description of the beautiful glass sculptures. Front desk is overwhelmed and disorganized. No pre arrival email had been sent and they could not find our reservation. Breakfast is very good and continues until well after 10 am. Location is terrific. Walked to town, mamilla obviously and emek refaI'm was not a bad walk. Stored luggage for 10 days between stays. Second stay things had improved. Arrived early and upgraded room was ready. We have always had a car in Israel but did not this time and it was really nice. Hotel arranged taXi to the airport for an early flight. They use a private taxi service with new Mercedes. Pricey and unnecessary but part of the image.

Hotel wants to be as the staff told us repeatedly to be a 5 star hotel not just an Israeli 5 star. That is a tall order. Staff is from TA Hilton, the US, the King David and are trying hard. The owners have added restrictions on shabbat that they can not write or use a computer in front of guests. I don't know how housekeeping is hand led on shabbat. We did not get turndown service and returned after dinner pretty surprised. Don't know if it is on request, but it certainly should be standard for this level. Our requsts for ice and toilet paper were very promptly serviced.

Hotels in Israel are expensive and this one is definitely on the very high end. We did enjoy our last stay when there were no check in or check out issues and would definitely consider a short stay..a week is a lot of money. Our Israeli family was very impressed with the hotel, amenities, and the public areas are stunning. We've been to Jerusalem many times in 35 years and stayed in all levels of hotels and were waiting to be able to use points here. Good use from a dollar perspective since this is one of the most expensive in the system.

There should be plenty of room for a third person, bed or cot in the room. Any o g her questions ask away.

RTWSTARALLIANCE

Our stay has been pretty good. Not perfect. We has some issues with cleaning second room and did not receive turn down service in my room. The breakfast buffet was good and extensive but there are no meats. Fish and dairy. They did offer to "spray" a omelet.

The first night on recommendation from guide went up the hill to Catholic meeting center church which has a excellent roof top restaurant and bar. You don't need to be a guest there to head up. Decided to have dinner which was actually pretty decent.

Last night walked the outdoor mall and way to Jaffa gate. Almost everything was Kosher except for restaurant advertising partially as "meat in". Think maybe called Joi. It is on the right side outdoors half way plus down mall. The burger and fries were good.

Our private guide has worked out well. Highlight yesterday was Masada in near perfect weather for season.

Regarding the Hotel they certainly try. Just still a bit new. A solid choice with excellent location.

toooldtostayoutlate

What does this mean? What does "meat in" mean?
Thanks in advance

RTWSTARALLIANCE

I thought there was maybe a flavor spray applied to eggs / omelets for those looking for say bacon. Did not try it.

The restaurant believe called Joi has the words "meat in" on its advertising board.

ericATL

Does an award stay include breakfast? I'm HH gold.

craz

Its not possible to have any meal where you will find both dairy and meat products. Most hotels in Israel are kosher so that means no meat and dairy products can be served at the same meal.So no cheese burgers at a meat restaurant nor any kind of real meat at any breakfast, if the establishment is a kosher place.

craz

[QUOTE=worldiswide;23886658]Had 2 stays at this hotel in OctOber and November. One a 2 night award stay and one a paid night. First stay had its share of kinks that need to be worked out. Arrived at 8 am and did not receive a room until after 4pm. [QUOTE]

Did you book and pay for the night before your arrival? Dont know how you can complain about not getting a room at 8am if you didnt book the previous night, isnt offical checkin time @ 3pm?

Whenever I plan to arrive before offical check-in time and need to get access to the room when I arrive I simply cough it up and pay for the night before, otherwise its a carp shot. Then again unless Im a reg at a hotel I wouldnt expect to get checked in anytime before noon unless it was paid for

worldiswide

My comment was that we did not get a room until 4pm. I fully understand if I arrive early I may not get a room. However, standard Waldorf service is an email a week or so before to get incoming arrangements . That did not happen either, so it was a surprise to the desk when we arrived and they couldn't find the reservation..another problem. My real point was this hotel hasn't doesn't know their flow yet. Many flights leave and arrive between 1 am and 8 am so there should be natural curves where guests are coming and going and early and late check in can be accomo dated when necessary. This is not unexpected for a world class 5 star hotel. Asian cities manage this very well. There was a lare wedding the night before so guests were sleeping in, etc..and that doesn't even begin to address the early late check in requirements on Shabbat that the hotel will have to manage. As I said they provided breakfast which although a nice gesture sort of sub situted for the one I didn't use the morning we checked out super early.. which again would have made the room available for an early check in guest. I don't think housekeeping and front desk are synced up as of yet, either at check in or turndown time.

craz

Well Im in Jerusalem a min of 3x every year and at a hotel. The only times Ive been able to checkin before the offical 3pm time is if its the eve of either a holiday(Jewish religious) or Fri and even then its not a slam dunk unless Im staying at 1 of 2 places I frequent.

As to arriving flights well LY(ElAl) usually doesnt arrive if on time much before noon, except on Fri from the US. Yes most charters and European carriers fly in at weird hrs so that their planes can do an immediate turn and leave bet 5-6am back home, but most also have flights that arrive mid afternoon as well. Pt is its very easy to get a flight that will get you to the hotel bet 3-4pm.

In Israel its not if you arrive early you may not get a room,its more like if you arent a very frequent guest at that hotel and it isnt a Fri or eve Holiday, you wont get an early checkin unless you paid for the night before, which Ive runned into in many other Countrys as well. good luck with taking a red-eye from say LA and show up at a hotel in NYC at 8am expecting to gain access, even if the hotel was empty the night before, I know many people who have tried and ended up leaving their bags and wandering around till offical checkin time

I cant ever remember my room being cleaned much before noon, nor seeing them cleaning any room before the offical checkout time of 11am.Its just how things are done over there.So yes the hotel could have emptied out and all the rooms been clean good luck getting any room much before 3pm, if you arent a frequent guest there

Why they had you wait till 4pm I have no idea, but Ive had that happen to me numerous times here in the US with several chains where I had top status. Its something that occurs time to time.

I havent stayed at the WA yet and probably wont since I prefer not being stuck in the center of town, and paying to park my rental. I was in that building a few times when it was a Govt Ministry and its a pity they knocked down the insides, the old hallways , stairs and rooms were nice.Sort of like the King David is. It was like being in a time machine.

But again if its not a Fri morn or pre Holiday, I doubt the likes of the WA,David Citadel ,King David will be having many if any guests showing up to checkin much before noon, since those folks arent gonna be on the charters or LCS that arrive 1am-5am(I know LH,LX,OS have flights arriving then to but again from all the yrs Ive been flying over few if any of the people on those flights will be trying to get an early checkin w/o having paid for the night before

Pt is anyone heading to the WA or any hotel thinking theyd save on a nights accomdation by showing up way before 3pm and not paying for the previous night dont be surprised when they tell you to come back at 3pm.Unless you made other arrangements with the hotel prior to arriving, and be prepared for well we will see whats what when you arrive = unless youre a very frequent guest of that hotel dont count on gaining access to a room if you didnt pay for the night before

btw late checkout = Noon or 1pm, so those flying on DL,US UA night flight out be prepared to pay for the night even thou you will be leaving at say 8pm to head to the airport. The good thing is if you are flying out on a Sat night they cant kick you out or charge you anything extra if you vacate the room by 1 hour after sunset Sat night

worldiswide

We are also in Israel several times a year and have stayed in many ranges of hotels and I understand the nuances very well. I very much wanted the WA to set a new standard for Israel but I guess that is a pretty herculean wish based on both staff and guests. I do agree that frequency of stay will have a lot to do with servicing of these types of requests. The WA has not worked it out as yet since by definition they don't even know how will be their frequent guests. I appreciate your detailing of all the flight schedules, again only pointing out that there is some ebb and flow. Israel is less flexible with respect to the check in then most other hotels I've traveled too.. in Australia Europe and Asia and even the US YMMV..it's a service industry, and Israel does not have a service culture so my expectations are generally low but again hoped for more. Some of the staff we talked to really want to make a difference and are very proud of the hotel and I applaud it but some had the indifference to customers I have seen before. The price they would like to command has to come with some service. All in all, it won't stop a return visit to the hotel or to Israel. Just the way it is. Next week is a stay in WA Shanghai. . A very well run hotel in a country without a service culture that over tI me has trained it's staff to a world class level of service.

ncSam

Breakfast isn't a published elite benefit at WA.

benberg2013

We are staying this shabbat at the waldorf - we are allowed to stay until 1 hour after the end of shabbat - very generous.
We booked this with a free night voucher received with the credit card (UK). Even though in the official rules an award stay does NOT receive breakfast or any meals (even HH Silver or Gold), we called the hotel and asked the manager for an exception, due to the fact that i am also HHonors silver, and he happily gave us breakfast on shabbat.
We had a similar experience in Hilton Eilat, where we called the head office in Europe who contacted the manager who agreed to give us a room upgrade even though silver doesn't officially get one.

MS02113

That's not true: Golds and Diamonds absolutely do receive complimentary breakfast on HHonors award stays. That said, per the HHonors terms and conditions, Waldorf Astoria hotels are not obligated to provide complimentary breakfast at all, regardless of the stay type or guest's elite tier.

The Jerusalem property went above and beyond in offering breakfast to you.