CGRA

Hello

Need help for Tel Aviv and Jerusalem for June (about USD 500 / 700 NT ,?)

the 2 criteria are (in the order of importance )
- Most important centrally located with walking distance from restaurants, shops etc
- Good service

Tel Aviv :
- hesitating between Dan Panorama and Dan Tel Aviv, any idea ,? which hotel is the most centrally located ?
- Would love any other hotels suggestions with ocean front location with easy walk access to the beach will be great

Jerusalem :
- hesitating between King David, Mamilla and Citadel. any idea ?
- Does King David is like a "grand dame" with small room and poor service (like the plaza in NY ,? )

Also any recommendation for guided tour (either private or public) and transportation company from / to the airport and between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem for 2 people

I found a VIP arrival / departure assistance at TLV with "Laufer Aviation", (believe this is the airport handling company) anyone used their VIP service ?

Last question (I promise) : if someone has 5 nights / 4 full days there, will your suggest to split 2 and 2 between the two cities ?

Thank you so much for all your help

Jasper2009

You'll find some good advice regarding hotels in this thread: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/luxur...ls-israel.html

There are some smaller boutique hotels in Tel Aviv which some FTers have found to be excellent, but most FTers would probably agree with me that non of the larger hotels in Tel Aviv are true luxury hotels.

The Dan Tel Aviv is closer to the (popular parts of the) beach and arguably has a better location for restaurants, shopping etc.

The Dan Panorama and Intercontinental are closer to Jaffa and while both are on the promenade, that part of the beach isn't as busy / doesn't have as many restaurants, however the ability to walk to Jaffa is an advantage.

I personally prefer the IC over the Dan when it comes to rooms and service. FWIW: The service on the Club floor generally is better than at the hotel in general.

For recommendations on tours / tour guides, I recommend checking out the Middle East destination forum. I also seem to remember some discussion about the airport VIP service there; in either case I'd say it's a waste of money for arrivals (distances are short and lines at passport control are reasonable), but potentially very useful for departures if they can get you access to a separate (faster) security line.

2 and 2 days doesn't sound unreasonable, but it really depends on your interests. If you're intersted in religion/culture/history, I'd probably do 2.5 days in Jerusalem.

CGRA

Thank you very much for all these info.

Yes I agree that there are no real luxury hotel there.

Stupid question : what is Jaffa ? (I'm just helping for this trip the best I can which is not much)

I'll probably book them the arrival and destination to be on the safe side.

Jasper2009

Jaffa / Yafo is a part of Tel Aviv (which, unlike Tel Aviv, has existed for hundreds of years and has a somewhat unique / distinct culture with street markets etc.)

Personally, I don't find Yafo overly exciting, but it's interesting enough and I quite enjoy walking along the water from Tel Aviv's city center to Yafo and back (depending on where your hotel is it's ~2-4km each way, and there are some decent and cheap restaurants there).

Pierre&C�dric

I went twice to Israel.
First time was 4 days in Jerusalem (King David) and 4 days in Tel Aviv (Dan Tel Aviv).
Second time was 1 day in Jerusalem (Mamilla) and 3 days in Tel Aviv (The Norman).

JERUSALEM
Mamilla is slightly closer to the Old City than King David but they are both within walking distance.
Overall we preferred the Mamilla which is more modern.
But the King David has a nice pool and I guess it can be very nice in June.

TEL AVIV
The Dan hotel was a disaster. Expensive 70s with no soul.
Try The Norman, it's a gem! 2 restaurants & 1 bar, roof-top swimming pool, nice garden, close to the Rotshchild Boulevard where all the good restaurants are located.
http://www.thenorman.com/

We took a normal cab between Jerusalem & Tel Aviv, it is very easy and convenient. For tours we used Concierge service, they are of good advice.

NYTA

There's a new Waldorf Astoria in Jerusalem and the newest hotel in Tel Aviv is the Royal Beach.

Jasper2009

Interesting - afaik this is the only high-end hotel in TLV with balconies and a nice sea view. (All the rooms with patios at the IC are on the 8th (?) floor and IIRC most hotels at the Dan Hotel do not have balconies).

I guess a room w/ balcony on the Exec. floor may be worth considering.

mike_la_jolla

I've been to both the IC and Dan in Tel Aviv recently. I don't recommend either one, but the Dan is much better than the IC. That isn't saying much as I had a disastrous stay at the IC. And I mean epic disaster.

I'm going to Tel Aviv next week and I'll be at the Hilton.

View from my room at the Dan Hotel:

ABG

For a leisure stay, going to the Ritz in Herzliya is better than anything along the beach in Tel Aviv proper. The Norman is one to watch.
Avoid Walforf and go with David Cit or Mamilla

Tour guides grow on trees in Israel... countless options, but buyer beware

Jasper2009

While the RC probably is nicer than the hotels on the beach in TLV, I'm not sure I'd recommend staying in a hotel that far away from the beach / restaurants / shopping / sites etc. The ability to walk to most places from the Dan or IC definitely is an advantage IMO.

IMO there's nothing inherently wrong with the IC for instance, the rooms (and especially the suites and club rooms) are fairly nice and some have excellent views, it's just the service which can be rather inconsistent. IMO the IC TLV is pretty average when comparing city center IC hotels, but obviously it's not on par with true luxury hotels.

Pierre&C�dric

I just added a few pictures of the Norman on page 3 here (post #45):
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/luxur...-israel-3.html

speedbird001

There are no great hotels in Israel and there is certainly not great service. In my opinion, the Hilton Tel Aviv is much better then the Dan's. Right on the beach with a decent pool area. The executive lounge food is very good.

I use Laufer every time I go in or out of TLV. They meet you at the plane and drive you in, expedite you through immigration and on the outbound, try and get you through security as quickly as possible. Not always possible depending on your profile.

CGRA

Thank you
They offer a gold / royal service where they pick you up from the plane and drop you at the "Massada" lounge where they claimed to take care of the immigration & bags , could that be true not to see a customs inspector at all, I did contact them and their reply is hard to understand.

CGRA

Thank you for your replies
Mamillia seems to be a good / acceptable hotel in Jerusalem and my Parents are willing to go there, so that's great, first problem solved

Tel Aviv : Dan . They were walked 30 years ago despite they reconfirmed their stay during a previous stay 2 weeks before. I remember something like "walking" from one hotel to another, it was cool )
The main problem is there is no agreement on this hotel between my parents

Thank you for letting me know about the lack of balcony at the Dan
Hilton seems to be acceptable and they have balconies ? (according to the picture they do)
maybe there is a separate thread for this hotel ? ; not sure how far diamond HH will go there
More important : my BOTH parents are willing to go there (second problem on the way of being solved )

Hard to give recommendation when you don't know anything about the country , thank you again all for your advices