It could be such a good place... but it's not.
Certainly, the hotel is very well located. 10 minutes on foot to the Old City, 15 to the main bus station (or 2-3 tram stops), in a pedestrian area, a lively neighbourhood with shops, cafe's, restaurants etc. However...
infrastructure & cleanliness:
The building itself shows signs of age (as do virtually all in the vicinity); the entry hall is far from clean and judging by nose, neighbourhood cats sometimes mistake it for a sandbox. Decor is minimal but OK; reception and breakfast area (combined space) is acceptable but could be improved upon as well. Upper floors somewhat shabby and the 3rd floor (where our room was located) lacks any decor altogether. Again, cleanliness is an issue. The same concerns the rooms, while not outright dirty, they feel like cleaning could (should) have been more thorough. Only very basic furniture and the bathroom had the only advantage of being there at all.
Small (short) beds. Being 183 cm (6'0") tall I could use more space.
staff:
It really depends on who you talt to; upon our arrival there was a middle aged guy there (assume he's the manager) and everything was all right; on another day some younger guy tried to trick us into purchasing an organised trip to the Dead Sea instead of traveling on our own saying the price would be the same (in fact approx. 3x more expensive)...It could be such a good place... but it's not.
Certainly, the hotel is very well located. 10 minutes on foot to the Old City, 15 to the main bus station (or 2-3 tram stops), in a pedestrian area, a lively neighbourhood with shops, cafe's, restaurants etc. However...
infrastructure & cleanliness:
The building itself shows signs of age (as do virtually all in the vicinity); the entry hall is far from clean and judging by nose, neighbourhood cats sometimes mistake it for a sandbox. Decor is minimal but OK; reception and breakfast area (combined space) is acceptable but could be improved upon as well. Upper floors somewhat shabby and the 3rd floor (where our room was located) lacks any decor altogether. Again, cleanliness is an issue. The same concerns the rooms, while not outright dirty, they feel like cleaning could (should) have been more thorough. Only very basic furniture and the bathroom had the only advantage of being there at all.
Small (short) beds. Being 183 cm (6'0") tall I could use more space.
staff:
It really depends on who you talt to; upon our arrival there was a middle aged guy there (assume he's the manager) and everything was all right; on another day some younger guy tried to trick us into purchasing an organised trip to the Dead Sea instead of traveling on our own saying the price would be the same (in fact approx. 3x more expensive) - confronted with the official bus prices he resorted to 'I don't know' to any further questions. Ridiculous.
ambience:
As stated, the location is excellent, very close to most of the places of interest. It tends to be quite loud at night though, with pubs and building site nearby. All in all somewhat more resemblant of a students' dorm rather than a regular hotel.
The price was $90 per night incl. breakfast, which is pretty insane given the quality of service as compared to most European cities. Still, hotel prices in Israel seem to be rather high in general.More
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