This is probably the hotel with the most beautiful view in Israel

It opened during the Mandate and all the "House and Houses" came to rest in it, including Ben-Gurion and statesmen from all over the world.

Now the Gali Kinneret Hotel has reopened, after "Mike Uber" of NIS 50 million, with a restaurant by Assaf Granit and a view that is hard to get a week away from.

Welcome to the "bubble" of Tiberias

Ziv Reinstein

02/12/2021

Thursday, 02 December 2021, 08:00

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The renovated Gali Kinneret Hotel (Photo: Ziv Reinstein, Editing: Nir Chen)

The Blue Sea of ​​Galilee, the Golan Heights opposite and the first buds of kibbutzim and Zionism - this is certainly what David Ben-Gurion saw from the balcony of his room at the Gali Kinneret Hotel in Tiberias, which opened in 1946.

It is no wonder, then, that the hotel, located right on the lake shore, attracted the best celebs of politics and the military at the time.

Now, 75 years after it opened during the mandate, he has passed "Mike Uber" in an investment of more than NIS 50 million that intends to attract Israel's new celebs.

And with what he offers, it will not be a difficult craft.

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The Sea of ​​Galilee and the Golan Heights in the background.

The view from the Gali Kinneret Hotel (Photo: Walla !, Ziv Reinstein)

The hotel underwent a "Mike Uber" investment of more than NIS 50 million (Photo: Walla !, Ziv Reinstein)

"Bubble inside Tiberias"

It is very interesting what has been happening in Tiberias in recent years.

On the one hand, it is becoming more and more anxious, closed on Saturdays, hugely missed the year of the 2,000th anniversary of its founding last year (a world-scale event that would have brought millions of Christians here, since Jesus acted in it) and is quite deserted and sometimes dirty.

On the other hand, in recent years luxury hotels have sprung up, such as Sofia, Stay, Kinneret Boutique, Migdal and now Gali, which offer a very high-quality vacation that brings an urban city from the center of the country, and not only, enjoy what Tiberias has to offer - and that is the Sea of ​​Galilee and all Having at the hotel.

"The hotel is indeed a bubble inside Tiberias," explains Gali Kinneret CEO Oshrat Yoav, who is aware of the city's situation and its unattractiveness for Israelis.

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The pool at the hotel.

Inserted ancient page titles (Photo: Walla !, Ziv Reinstein)

A statue that is also a cymbal shed.

The bar in the pool area (Photo: Walla !, Ziv Reinstein)

The pool is located almost on the lake shore (Photo: Walla !, Ziv Reinstein)

"Tiberias was his greatest love"

But even before the bubble, in the days when Tiberias was still historic, innocent and beautiful, the "Africa Palestine" company built the Gali Kinneret Hotel, which was designed by the architect Aharon Kempinski. Lotte Eisenberg was the hotel's general manager, who developed and turned it into a stone (basalt) that draws the heads of the Mandate at the end of its term, making it the most sought-after hotel in the north (not that there were many). , When she was 16. One way or another, with the establishment of the state, celebs of the country and from around the world, heads of state and even mammals who overlooked the border line continued to come through the gates of the hotel. Among our first leaders to stay at the place are Levy Eshkol, Shimon Peres, Haim Herzog, as well as Ben-Gurion, who won a suite named after him. At the hotel, it is said that when Ben-Gurion would always come to his regular room, Paula and Lotte would prepare the eggs for him just as he liked, and Paula would sit outside the room when he was in a daze (from the sun's mouth) so that they would not be disturbed.

At the same time, at a time when the hotel was thriving, the Murad family arrived in Tiberias in 1951 with their five children.

One of them was Ezekiel, who grew up in the neglected Tiberias transit camp, and became a wealthy contractor and businessman who loved his city and always developed it.

He did not inherit his fortune but accumulated it through hard work, from working in the bakery or selling popsicles in the stadium and on the beach.

He saved and bought a tractor, and from there began to work in earthworks and became an empire.

In 1992, Yehezkel purchased Gali Kinneret from the Rimonim hotel chain, part of the Yishuv training group, for NIS 92 million.

This is not the first hotel he has purchased, which already in 2009 bought the Holiday Inn Hotel and the Tiberias hotspot complex from the heart of Leviev.

This coming February will mark the two-year anniversary of the death of Yakir Tiberias, and in the meantime his brother and four children have leased the hotel to the Canada Israel Hotels Group for 25 years.

This week, the first candle of Hanukkah, was inaugurated in an impressive ceremony hall named after him at the hotel.

"Dad loved simplicity and helping the residents," say his daughter Nirit, "and Tiberias was his greatest love."

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Since 1946. This is what the Gali Kinneret Hotel looked like in 1962 (Photo: courtesy of the Gali Kinneret Hotel)

Gali Kinneret Hotel in black and white.

The front of the hotel has not changed in the renovation either (Photo: Courtesy of Gali Kinneret Hotel)

Even then, guests used to sit on the lake and observe the view (Photo: Courtesy of Gali Kinneret Hotel)

Aimed at a high-level population

Canada Israel Hotels is a meteor in the real estate world, which has spread into the hotel real estate field.

As a chain that began to reach out to the field only two years ago, it already owns ten hotels in Israel and abroad (including Lake House Tiberias, Tamers Hotels - West Ashdod and Tel Aviv, Daniel Dead Sea - and Solei Boutique Eilat), making the right choice of locations and hotels that need Mike A serious Uber, such as the Nofei Gonen Hotel in the Hula Valley (in collaboration with Kibbutz Gonen), which from an old kibbutz hotel has become a holiday village with rooms in a nostalgic sixties and seventies chic.

The person who manages the group's hotel chain (and a partner in 20 percent of it) is Reuven Alex, who has a glorious past in managing our country's hotels, including the Fattal hotel chain.

According to him, Gali Kinneret is building on the fact that half of the guests will come from inbound tourism, and he is not afraid of the recent restrictions that stopped tourists from entering Israel.

"There is a decrease in bookings and cancellations, but it's temporary and we're definitely targeting a high-end population that can pay $ 350 a night and more," he says.

Indeed, accommodation prices in the hotel's 123 renovated rooms vary.

In a search on this week's site we conducted for December and January, we found rooms ranging from NIS 900 per night for a couple on Midday, including breakfast, to from NIS 2,500 per night in the Ben Gurion Suite, which is considered the most expensive. Not cheap, but there are definitely hotels that offer higher prices and level Less high.

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Ben Gurion Suite.

Classic design of yesteryear with modern innovations (Photo: Walla !, Ziv Reinstein system)

Molton Brown meets gilded faucets and spreads a luxurious scent.

The bathroom in the suite (Photo: Walla !, Ziv Reinstein)

On the design - get Saar Tzafrir (Photo: Walla !, Ziv Reinstein)

The designer who never "made" a hotel in Israel

Saar Tzafrir, who is considered a super-designer who has lived in Amsterdam for years, is responsible for designing the hotel. "He's never made a hotel in Israel and it's hard to catch him," Alex is proud of his achievement, and it's certainly noticeable that the design work is exciting to the eye. We will start with furniture in the lobby that combines harp-like rope chairs, through large, green flower pots with white and gilded lamps, a large library with vases, books and other sculptures. All this is laid on wooden parquet that corresponds with wooden ceiling fans as well. The same fans are also in Ben-Gurion's suite and other rooms - who would have believed that a ceiling fan could be a design detail that contributes to the atmosphere?

If already in Ben Gurion's suite, this is probably the room with the most beautiful view from a hotel in Israel. The huge terrace overlooking the lake, combined with the pool, white walking paths that blend into the lawns and the palm trees that have been planted - give a view that is difficult for a week from it. Try this sight at sunrise, where the sky is pink over the southern Golan - and you will have an equally pulsating experience. And quiet, lots of quiet.

Beyond that, the bathroom in the suite has a shower and also a large round bath, although it is beautifully designed, it is less practical and convenient to use. Sitting like in a coffee cup and also the tube of the pen is not flexible enough and adjustable. Alongside this, Molton Brown soap and care bottles combined with Sabon soak up a good scent on the body and in the air. In general, smell is so important to the experience, and in the suite were placed two scent diffusers (in the entrance and in the bathroom), which give a luxurious feeling and smell and with quite a small investment (for the hoteliers' knowledge). What also gives a pleasant feeling, are massage pebbles made of pique fabric, not thick towel fabric, that are waiting in the wooden cabinets. Good choice.

The robe takes you straight down to the GALEI spa, and entering it is like stepping into paradise, where you have died and moved into a world of large curtains and purple light - all that is missing is a voice girl calling your name.

Then, on the waiting couch, she comes and invites you inside.

The spa has a wide range of treatments (from classic Swedish, through "catharsis" to "singing the siren" - 799 shekels for 140 minutes), but even those who do not sign up for a massage can enjoy a wet sauna, dry sauna and especially a huge hot tub for the cool days in the Galilee. And also at nights.

It is only worthwhile to turn on lighting when it is dark.

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Eclectic objects in a kind of library in the large lobby (Photo: Walla !, Ziv Reinstein)

"Harp" chairs in the hotel lobby, combined with pleasant lighting (Photo: Walla !, Ziv Reinstein system)

Like stepping into heaven.

GALEI Spa (Photo: Walla !, Ziv Reinstein)

Win a gland

The boom in capacitor design when crossing the lobby, and pass through one of the arches originality of the hotel - then come to the restaurant "Lotte" (the name that Lotte CEO) of Assaf Granit and his teammates' Mhniodh. "

Green waves of immigrants columns that supported the restaurant and threatened to crash On you, when you remain mesmerized.

The gland menu includes many local raw products, such as Sea of ​​Galilee fish, eggplant, hyssop, "El Erez" tahini and bloody vegetables. Tadeiri Kada pastry (NIS 56) with chard and caramelized onions alongside vegetables and tahini just melts in your mouth. The "Kinneret Sardine" dish (72 shekels) contained sardines, which the waiter swore that granite himself went to see how they were fished, and it was also a hit. Among the main courses, the Jerusalem artichoke Kelsons (NIS 68) was simply an experience, compared to the eggplant freak risotto (NIS 82), which was medium for my taste and also a small and unsatisfying dish. The cocktails, and there are a few on the menu, were nice, no more, and of the five desserts (60-50 shekels each), the "Knapsack of Liars" where kadaif, patisserie pistachio and rose ice cream was special.

Breakfast is also something you have never tasted in a hotel in Israel or in the world.

A chain of mazats and special salads (like herb jelly and celery and yogurt, cauliflower tabbouleh or hot cylindrical chickpeas), combined with taverine shashlik (excellent), borax treats or pancakes as main gave a twist to the brunch with great respect.

But if you have to choose one breakfast dish, do yourself a favor and go for Kaunas Benedict - a level chard stew, hyssop hollandaise and poached egg.

I could have blushed her more and more ...

The "Lotte" restaurant, named after Lotte Eisenberg, who was the hotel's first CEO (Photo: Walla !, Ziv Reinstein)

Eggplant Coal Office.

A tribute to Granit's "Broken" restaurant in Paris (Photo: Walla !, Ziv Reinstein)

Just an experience.

Kelsons Jerusalem Artichoke (Photo: Walla !, Ziv Reinstein)

Gali Kinneret Hotel renews its days, and its rooms, as before.

Its location is great, even though it holds its own private beach, as the shores of the Sea of ​​Galilee should be open to everyone.

There is also a boat parked where guests can rent a skipper for a cruise on the lake (NIS 1,600 for two hours).

Alongside this, this is a very big upgrade to Tiberias that is fading in the form of a hotel with the highest level of design, a restaurant that upgrades the cuisine in the north to a high level and allows escapism as if you are on Lake Como in Italy.

So yes, Tiberias also has its own bubble.

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