Hotels: post-modern and beyond

Making something new out of something old is something the Tel Aviv hotel industry is very good at, but it's a fairly recent development. In 2014, after two years of renovations, a nearly 200-year-old building in the heart of the Jaffa market opened its doors as the Market House Hotel. The only hotel for the time being in the port city, which was founded 3,000 years ago, this charming boutique hotel The glass floor highlights the 7th-century remains on which it was built.

Its owner, the Israeli chain Atlas, was one of the first to launch the boutique concept in Israel some fifteen years ago. It all started with the Cinéma hotel, in 2000, in a lively district of Tel Aviv. Then came the Melody, the Shalom, the Yam and the Art +, themed hotels that were very contemporary, a little offbeat and all located in strategic districts. They immediately attracted a business and leisure clientele looking for something new.

Building on its success, Atlas has opened one restaurant after another, and currently has eight in Tel Aviv and three in Jerusalem. The latest addition, 65, opened in September 2016 at number 65 on the famous Avenue Rothschild. For this 74-room establishment, Israeli designer Lea Mahler has optimised the space by playing on colours and a retro spirit that is very much in tune with the times.

Punchy and crazy

Of course, the concept has flourished and some real hotel gems are beginning to appear.
to shine here and there, most often in the renovated Bauhaus buildings with talent. That's the case of the craziest of them all, Hotel Cucu, which opened in October 2015.

The boutique concept is flourishing and some real hotel gems are beginning to shine here and there, usually in artfully renovated Bauhaus buildings.

In this establishment, every detail is a humorous wink, like the lift-camera button, the Kinder eggs offered in your room instead of the classic chocolates, or the giant, multicoloured poodle statues that are moved almost every day. Hence the strange name, Cucu, which in English means 'cracked' or 'a bit crazy'. Housed in a handsome four-storey building dating from 1932 and surrounded by a garden of orange trees, the hotel will soon be three storeys higher.

"For old buildings, legislation requires that a difference in style distinguishes the old part from the new part.explains Guy Bartal, the young owner. It will therefore be built in a contemporary style."The Cucu will also be equipped with a rooftop swimming pool and will increase its number of rooms from 32 to 54, a significant increase in a city where hotels are still expensive, not least because the supply is still too limited. In a less mischievous but very, very select spirit, the Lily & Bloom has taken up residence in a former bank dating from 1935, with black marble floors and an extraordinarily simple, pure-lined atrium.

While boutique hotels have taken over the Bauhaus buildings in the city centre, the seafront remains the preferred location for business establishments, a location favoured as much by the big names like InterContinental (image left) as by newcomers like the Royal Beach (image right).

Opened in June 2015, this 37-room building is one of the 4,000 Bauhaus buildings in Tel Aviv that have been classified by UNESCO and are now being given a new lease of life and a new function. Art galleries, foundations and now hotels are gradually taking them over... Stepping into this beautiful place is like plunging into the past, as even the designer furniture has been second-hand. A real success story.

Bauhaus and art deco

Just a stone's throw from Lily & Bloom, the Norman is another wonderful, even sublime achievement. These are two 1920s buildings, one Bauhaus, the other Art Deco, located on a street perpendicular to the Avenue Rothschild, where one architectural gem follows another. Adorned with astonishing details, the masterly blue and white façade of the main building sets the tone for this 50-room luxury hotel, which opened at the end of 2014 after eight years of renovation. There is no lack of taste, everything is perfection, something rare in the hotel world. Even the collection of contemporary Israeli art blends skilfully with a very elegant retro-chic style. Among its many attractions: a magnificent restaurant in the garden shaded by grapefruit trees, the cocktail bar with its cosy atmosphere and the roof terrace with its beautiful swimming pool overlooking the sea and the town...

However, Tel Aviv's hotel industry is also, and above all, that of its seafront. That's where it all began. As well as large establishments with a long-standing reputation, such as the Dan Hotel, the city's first luxury hotel, new buildings have sprung up higher and higherand ever more beautiful. In addition to their hotel services, most of these hotels also offer long-stay residences. Such is the case of the InterContinental, built some twenty years ago. Featuring several business lounges, this huge 555-room ocean liner is currently being renovated and, from October 2018, will offer a second Residence Tower with around fifty flats.

Also in front of the promenade, a superb contemporary tower was inaugurated in 2013 and houses the 230-room Royal Beach Hotel, part of the Israeli Isrotel chain. Offering superb views, it boasts a dream spa, an outdoor swimming pool, a spacious lobby with bar and restaurant, and an 'altitude' business lounge. In short, it is one of Tel Aviv's top hotels for business travellers.

The most eagerly awaited opening - the W Tel Aviv - is still to come and will take up residence in the former 'French Hospital'. This magnificent 19th-century building, a 10-minute walk from the port of Jaffa, will offer 126 rooms and residential flats. We'll have to wait until 1 May to discover this chic and fun concept... which is sorely lacking in a city as festive as Tel Aviv.