I stayed at the Sheraton Tiberias Hotel last weekend. It was a fine stay; I simply had to ignore the details and focus on the larger picture.

As an aside, my last stay at a Sheraton Israel property was in 2006. I stayed at the Eilat and Dead Sea properties. I could not have been more mortified, and I think the Dead Sea property might have been the filthiest hotel I have ever stayed in. So I felt like I was taking a massive gamble in choosing to stay in the Tiberias property, and the gamble paid off.

We booked a standard room and a suite. Both were very comfortable and clean. The bathroom in the suite was a little disappointing, since it was identical to a standard room, the only difference being that the standard room bathroom had a shower curtain; the suite bathroom had a partial glass divider. (I can't stand those dividers since, whenever I have one, water ends up everywhere.)

The suite is done entirely in hardwood. There are two wall-mounted plasma TVs -- one in the living room and one in the bedroom. A partial wall (not a door) separates the two areas. A long desk/table area provided plenty of room to work. The walls were sparsely decorated, but that seems to be standard throughout Israeli hotel rooms, at least compared to those in the USA.

The standard room was fine. Like the suite, it had been recently remodeled. The biggest difference from the suite (aside from the size) was the carpet (as opposed to hardwood). We stayed on the eleventh floor and had a fantastic view of the sea.

Breakfast was limited, but adequate. I thought the biggest drawback was the lack of variety of hot foods. But the milk for the cereal was cold, and milder "American" coffee was provided as an alternative to the more common, potent stuff.

While I enjoyed my stay and would return, you probably won't be happy here if you insist on looking closely at the details. For example, even though the room had been recently redone, the paint was peeling above the bathtub, the door frame was beat up, and the exterior of the hotel is badly weathered. In the common areas, the elevator doors were badly scratched and the (presumably remodeled) hallway to our room was already showing signs of wear. My concern here is that if the remodeled portions of this hotel are already showing somewhat significant signs of deterioration, then I would be leery of staying at Sheraton Tiberias a year from now.

Also, I don't think all the floors have been remodeled. When our elevator stopped on the third floor, I briefly looked into the hallway -- which didn't look to be at all remodeled. Judging from the looks of it, I don't think my stay would have been anywhere near as satisfactory had I stayed on an unremodeled floor.

In both rooms we were given a large bowl of various, unripe, hard-as-a-rock fruit. The complimentary bottle of champagne was cloying. Oh well, it's the thought that counts!

Wireless internet access was 70 shekels/day.

You can view my photos of the hotel here:
http://travel.webshots.com/album/572870988jXzjVK

All in all, I would return to the Sheraton Tiberias, and I'm sorry this hotel will be leaving the Starwood family.