Neve Shalom

The meals are fabulous, and the place has a lovely atmosphere and a pleasant view. The rooms are a bit small and rustic, nothing fancy. I've stayed twice and would be happy to come back.

The village itself is beautiful, with gorgeous views, and would be nice to visit for the day. Staying there was another matter. My room felt old, dated, below standard, and really uninviting. The smell of cleaning chemicals was so strong that opening the windows and balcony door didn't clear it. The reception staff weren't warm or particularly caring or accommodating. The restaurant food was generic and not very tasty, coffee included.

The room was perfect, and the hotel itself is lovely. Seeing the older negative reviews, I assume they've done some renovations recently. Still, the person at reception, who I think was the manager, was unpleasant. She was rude on the phone during check-in, then spoke aggressively the next morning when we ordered coffee and demanded payment. There was no reason to make a fuss over 20 shekels, of course we were going to pay. The strangest part was someone unlocking our room and coming in at 8 a.m. while we were asleep. That was a complete breach of privacy. They could at least have offered the coffee. A shame, since the place has real potential.

The pool is fantastic, the gardens are lovely, and the view from the location is marvelous. Breakfast was simple and basic, but fresh, well organized, and tasty enough for me and my family. The coffee machine is unbelievably slow, so the line gets long, though the coffee is great once you finally get it. Waiting was worth it 😊. When we sat outside with food and refreshments, though, a few dozen wasps joined us. I'm not sure there is anything the hotel's gardening staff can do about that, but it wasn't pleasant, especially with kids. The reception staff really were very friendly and welcoming. Still, when we reported the cold showers and lack of WiFi on the first evening and again the next day, we were told they knew and someone was fixing things. It seemed the staff were just as aware of these issues as they were of the generic answers. We were following the instructions to turn on the water heater, too. It's been a long time since I stayed in a hotel room where I had to set a water heating timer an hour before taking a cold shower. The general maintenance needs improvement. The lobby interior is beautiful, but that matters less when a family is trying to enjoy a short getaway and can only get cold showers.