worldiswide

I also agree that the hotel was very generous in providing breakfast. It's a nice spread so enjoy. It is not part of WA benefits even for Diamond members although there are Waldorf that have decided to provide it pretty regularly.. those in China for instance I don't think it was provided as an exception based on your status, as there are plenty of elites that have stayed or want to stay at this property. The hotel is trying to find its clientele and price point so maybe you will return, and the incremental cost of providing breakfast to you is very negligible since the food and service is fixed already. If they felt they could get the revenue they would.

BJfly

How much does the breakfast cost normally?

BJfly

benberg2013

$30.

But the selection is not as good as some other 5 star hotels in Israel, for example Leonardo Jerusalem, and hilton and herods in Eilat, David by the Dead Sea etc. For the Waldorf I would expect a bigger selection. It is a buffet but all the food is in one smallish room off the dining room where you take the food from. However the service is the best I've seen.

levman

Does anyone who's stayed at this property know whether it (1) has a self-laundy on premesis, or (2) has any place nearby (walking distance) where a small load of laundry can be done without spending a fortune? Thanks!

lyst

I was pleasantly surprised after I emailed them asking about gold benefits and breakfast. They emailed back, saying they did provide the breakfast buffet, which was wonderful. We stayed last October. Great to hear they still do it!

Aldebaran

Stayed at the WA Jerusalem last week with an award night. First of all I have to say that they don't offer free breakfast on award stays for HHonors Gold and Diamond members. After reading this thread I emailed a few weeks before my stay to check and they confirmed they don't provide breakfast. So they appear quite inconsistent in offering free breakfast.
Anyway at the reception I was given a couple of vouchers for free cocktails at the King's Court Bar and in the room I found as a gift a bottle of local red wine and a bottle of chilled sparking wine.
Award stay was 80.000 HHonors points, in my opinion a very high amount for the hotel, paid stay would be at $ 400 for the superior room (the basic one).
I was upgraded to a deluxe room with balcony at the 3rd floor. View was not exciting. Room very nice with a lot of tech gadgets, including an iPad. Bathroom very big (about half of the size of the room) but on the amenity kit I found the vanity kit box empty and a few hairs on one of the two sinks.
Most annoying issue was the music: in the corridors there are loudspeakers, and the music is active until very late after midnight and it will start again at 6. It is classic piano music and you can hear clearly when in the bed, disturbing your sleep. At first I guessed it was the pianist in the King's Court playing until late in the night (many rooms on the first 3 floors face the internal court, so you can hear clearly the music) but after checking I realized it was the music from the loudspeakers in the corridors. Very annoying but I was too tired to ask the reception to move to another room (and I was not sure the other room would avoid this problem).
The hotel is very nice and the staff is wonderful but I have some difficulties to believe that this is rated as one of the best hotels in Israel.
Nothing at the level of the WA Shanghai on the Bund (so far the best hotel I stayed in), but I would rate at the same level of the WA Berlin.
In any case an award night at 80.000 points is overpriced for the overall quality of the hotel.

worldiswide

Ditto but you are comparing apples and oranges. This is definitely one of the best hotels in Israel, the view issue can not be fixed, and if the room can be had for 400 that would, that would be a good deal compared to its competitors like King David or Citadel, with their wonderful views of the Old City, great breakfasts, and lower than prices even a few months ago. They are probably trying to figure out the right price point And need to keep it as high as possible. The opening was overdue by years, and many staff who were promused jobs had to find others untuk the hotel actually opened. What did you find wonderful about the staff. We were there in October and found some good and the front desk unorganized and unresponsive. I could not agree more about WA Shanghai, but there was a strong emphasis on training and customer service from European management to the local workforce, and you don't have the same situation in Israel. The WA Jslml needs to figure out their service culture and customer experience and train a staff from differing backgrounds. Not to misconstrue, I found the bellhop and front door ..local to be excellently trained, but the American guest relations staff to be condescending and unhelpful. Managing a hotel in Israel is not easy, and the owners have put additional constraints, no writing on Shabbat by the concierge for instance not sure about housekeeping that will make it difficult to build a world class hotel. On a side note, I believe you were one of the first to Write a review of the WA Shanghai and stayed in the old hotel suites .. weren't they great.. before the tower was open. We were a couple of weeks behind you and realky excited based on your review and have made it a stop on many trips since then..I compare the interest of the staff as they were opening up there vs Jerusalem as an indication of what customers mean to a hotel and we'll, there is just no comparison. We had both an award stay followed by a paid stay 10 days later in Jerusalem and we did see some improvement so as the eternal optimist maybe there is hope for this hotel to step up its game.

Aldebaran

You are right and I agree with all of your comments! After visiting other hotels during my trip in Israel (and the following day the Crowne Plaza Jerusalem, probably the worst hotel in town) I realized the hotel standards in Israel are quite low, so this is one of the few that can really be considered 5 star luxury, even if the overall service was not at level of a 5 star. Maybe I was too generous considering the staff wonderful, but if I compare the other stays I had in Israel I must anyway say the staff is well above the average.
I hope that in the future the WA Jerusalem will really become a true jewel in the WA collection.

d'Yquem

Blingy and nouveau riche, like its customer base.

It's the Kim Kardashian of Jerusalem hotels.

Hlnsa

which of the 2 hotels would u recommend?

Hlnsa

would u recommend the waldorf over the king david?

worldiswide

What are your criteria? What is your party and purpose? Where have you stayed before in Israel and other cities?

It's not a simp l e one over the other. Although the front doors are a couple blocks apart, the views are completely different. The king David has a great terr a ce and views of the Old City. It has old charm, but a little haughty based on its history. Waldorf is new with beautiful interiors and high tech rooms, and is the new kid on the block. We would all I think like it to succeed and provide a high level of service, food and experience v

helosc

I am having an issue with booking a twin superior room (standard room).

According to their website they do have these rooms but I have searched many random dates and they do not show up. I have also searched for both cash and reward stays so the issue is not that twin superior rooms cannot be booked as a standard room reward.

So my questions are:

Has anyone managed to book a twin superior room recently?

Is the bed in the king rooms actually two beds pushed together as is often the case in Israel or is it one bed?

And a small extra question :
Can the windows be opened in the rooms without balconies?

freestay

I love the King David and have been staying there for close to 50 years, but do think that the location of the WA has become more convenient for walking to Old City (thru Mamilla Mall) and shopping/restaurant areas.

Breakfast at KD are over-the-top, but I would expect the WA to improve with time as the Hilton Tel Aviv has wonderful buffets and same top management.

Two things to keep in mind when making a comparison: yes, WA rates/points are high but the rates for newest/view rooms at KD are much higher. (The recently redone 6th floor Old City rooms are truly large & luxurious but were over $800 on our last visit.) Other deciding factor (for me) would be time of year as the KD swimming pool in summer is worth everything and a wonderful retreat...in cooler months, I'd choose the WA location.

d'Yquem

Hilton top management (Ronnie Fortis) is hardly a reference point for good leadership, good service or even competence. He is also totally invisible, refusing to speak to guests who, at best (and I intentionally don't use the phrase "if they're lucky"), get to speak to Shai Maderer. If Fortis is responsible for the WA, I'd opt for the KD any day.