Leonardo Privilege Eilat

The staff are great, always smiling and ready to help, and the food was surprisingly good, with lots of choices for different people. The location is also handy, within walking distance of the icemall, the beach, and good restaurants and bars. But the hotel is laid out in an open square, so there’s a lot of walking, and the elevators are limited and can be far from your room. The rooms feel old-fashioned, with worn wood, carpets, basic equipment, and poor quality materials. Sound carries through the old, non-soundproof doors. I’d say it suits young families who want activities and don’t spend much time in their rooms. If you don’t mind walking and aren’t after peace and quiet, it’s a decent choice.

The best thing here is the food. And the ice-cream and slushy guy is the best staff member. The bedroom itself is nice, with a closet, fridge and kettle, but the bathroom ceiling is so low it could cause trouble unless you’re short. There’s a lot of noise, with kids running, screaming and hitting each other. I was most annoyed by having to walk around the whole hotel to reach the dining room because the area around the pool was so crowded. Kids splashed water on me no matter what I wore or what I was doing. Just before I started writing this, one knocked on my door and tried to splash me with a bucket. I was lucky I hadn’t opened the door all the way, though some water still got in. The check-in and check-out lines can take hours because there’s practically no line system and they don’t seem to care. A lot of people there seem angry or act like they’re trying to be cool with you. Service was OK, but not the best.

The rooms are just mediocre, and some have a connecting door to the next room that lets in a lot of noise. On the plus side, the hotel is next to the Marine, has parking, and serves nice food three times a day.

I had an all-inclusive deal, so the bartender made me a special drink she’d invented using what they had at the bar, without charging me. That made my day. The staff were very kind and helped with everything, and I had a lot of fun at the hotel. I also liked the food and the relaxing music by the pool.