Let's face it: a hotel vacation is always a cause for celebration, or rather, well, for a vacation. When that vacation is accompanied by a wellness festival, which is mainly about reaching a healthy lifestyle in different ways, the whole experience receives a certain upgrade – and this is exactly what we did recently at the second wellness festival of the Vert hotel chain, which took place this time in its Nathaniel branch.
Even before entering the hotel, it was impossible not to be impressed by its excellent location – literally a foot and a half from the city's promenade and a short distance from its beach, which also brings an impressive view, which contributed to the light atmosphere that the festival tried to convey among its guests, even when the scorching weather tried to disturb everyone (and luckily it has two pools that can chill when it's hot or a spa that left us pampered).
The festival itself, which lasted three days, included a variety of workshops and lectures on health and mental health, and even performances by Marina Maximilian, Alma Zohar and Nelly Tagger (all excellent, each in her own way), which left the visitors with difficult deliberations among the many options available to them. We tried to range from the wide variety of festival events (I wish we could go to even half of them) to real rest, as they do during vacations, so that we could feel if this combination works – and we came back with conclusions.
Nelly Tagger performing at the Vert Hotel Netanya, photo: Daniel Strobo
Between "tearing" and relaxation
Yoga and Pilates workshops were a big hit with festival goers, but these were not the only topics they dealt with: writing workshops, dances, sexuality, various workouts and an ice bath also starred, and indeed the large selection was many. We went to quite a few workshops, and among those that stood out was nutritionist and fitness trainer Karen Ann Gaiman's fascinating workshop on food for thought, which taught us more in depth about the connection between a healthy diet, physical activity and maintaining our health, while getting smarter and discovering some new things we didn't expect on this subject. Surely, it's time to cut back on junk food.
Another successful workshop was that of the well-known fitness trainer Ira Dolphin, who gave functional training at the festival. Want us to tell you the truth? We try to stay in shape, but even Dolphin herself managed to rip us off in an intense and adrenaline-filled workout that lasted about an hour, at the end of which we felt like we could win a gold medal in any Olympic field you choose. Undoubtedly, she certainly justified the fact that she became one of the leaders in the field of fitness in the country.
We found a calmer line in Mia Kramer's chakra workshop, who taught the basics of the subject and even gave yoga and meditation exercises to balance body and mind, which managed to calm us inside and out. Sometimes all it takes is to breathe deeply and do some exercises to find our peace.
Maya Kramer's Chakra Workshop // Photo: Daniel Strobo
Unusual combination
Setting aside the festival for a moment, there are other things you should also focus on when spending time in a hotel, such as the food. The hotel's restaurant offered a rich selection of dishes, some were excellent and some no more than reasonable. True, the global culinary wheel was not reinvented at Vert Netanya, and even if we didn't feel like we were eating at a gourmet restaurant, it eventually did the job.
Those who didn't do the job were the hotel elevators. 272 rooms and suites are spread over the hotel's 15 floors, so that at any given moment there are at least a few hundred people – but that still doesn't explain the fact that we waited for the elevator for 30-20 minutes on several occasions (and it was the same with other guests). This is unlikely to happen, especially when there is such a large amount of people in the hotel.
Food stall at Vert Netanya Hotel, photo: Daniel Strobo
Still, the bottom line is that Vert Netanya managed to put on a festival that was professional, interesting and surprising on its production and program level – even for those who don't tend to maintain the healthiest lifestyle possible (yes, we're totally talking about ourselves). The festival managed to give something to both our head and our body, which created an unusual vacation, one that simply did us good in our souls.
Alma Zohar performing at the Vert Hotel Netanya, photo: Daniel Strobo
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