Architecture · General · History · Hotel · Israel · Jaffa · Lifestyle · Photography · Tel Aviv · Tourism · Travel guide

Hotels in Tel Aviv

Tourism is growing and the hotel business in Israel keeps expanding. Here’s a list of some of our finest hotels. Contact us for more info and special rates/deals.

Royal Beach Isrotel – brand new

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Ritz-Carlton Herzliya – brand newScreen shot 2014-01-01 at 15.30.49

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Brown TLV HotelScreen shot 2014-01-01 at 15.38.34

Alma BoutiqueScreen shot 2014-01-01 at 15.40.05

Hotel Montefiore

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The VarsanoScreen shot 2014-01-01 at 16.04.23Screen shot 2014-01-01 at 15.43.59Screen shot 2014-01-01 at 15.44.14Screen shot 2014-01-01 at 15.43.51

Mendeli Street Hotel

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Atlas Hotels Chain – Melody, Cinema, Art+, Shalom Hotel

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Rothschild 96

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Orchid Pasha Tel Aviv-Jaffa Hotel  – under constructionScreen shot 2014-01-01 at 15.36.34

W Jaffa Tel Aviv – under constructionScreen shot 2014-01-01 at 15.30.25Screen shot 2014-01-01 at 15.30.07






 

Tel Aviv · Tourism · Travel guide

We like you too :)

Most of Tel Aviv recognizes this title by now. Or at least the photo. Another little hot spot in the city. A cosy coffee spot with great snacks. And the small details that make the difference, like those little dog snacks. I don’t even know the name of the place. It’s located on Ben Zion Boulevard right by Habima, the national theatre and where Rothschild Boulevard starts.

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General · Israel · Lifestyle · Tel Aviv · Tourism · Travel guide

Tel Aviv Beach Life

Let me know if I’m repeating myself but is there anything nicer than an extra-large-long summer? After being away in Belgium and Europe for a month and a half, seeing August semi-summer becoming September’s autumn with matching heaviness and melancholy, I have now returned to sunny Tel Aviv. What a pleasure it is to bike around town seeing these young and tanned smiley faces. Being back in this lively town where there’s movement outside and places are open late. Reuniting with my beloved city feels so good. We just had our Holidays season: Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippour and Sukkot and a lot of days off. Perfect timing. My other favorite season after May/June here: September/October. The outdoor temperature is perfect now, around 30°C during daytime and with a nice cool breeze at night. Blue skies. The sea is crystal clear and feels like the perfect cleansing. For a morning swim, an afternoon dive or a sunset moment, this is the time where I go to and enjoy the beach. Not every European or foreigner is made for beach life. We’re not used to this, we did not grow up with this. It’s a different concept. For us, beach means vacation, far away places, exotic locations that you only do once or twice a year. A thing to long for when it’s cold and dark and grey. Not your habit, not your daily activity. While here, it’s part of daily life. It’s what locals do in weekends. It just adds up to the quality of life living by the Mediterranean…

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Nick Drake’s Saturday Sun

Antwerp · Tourism · Travel guide

Touring with Tanguy

I have been so incredibly busy these last few weeks that Antwerp wasn’t well represented on our blog. Thank you Marilyn for making up my lack of free time with some great articles about (her life in) Tel Aviv.

Being busy isn’t always that bad though. For example last weekend, i was booked as a photographer for the nice people of the Yelp Community. Yelp is a social local review website, founded in America, with a focus on the “Real Reviews” feature where users could write and publish unsolicited reviews. And the more reviews you write, the more Yelp gives back to you. So from time to time a group of selected Yelp Elite members can enjoy a good Yelp Event, and this time this event was no less than a tour through Antwerp with – according to CNN – “one of the 7 savviest guides in the world”: Tanguy Ottomer.

Tanguy is quite the know-it-all when it comes to Antwerp and he has an entire wall filled with books exclusively about Antwerp to prove it. Like music is to John Miles, Antwerp is to Tanguy: his first and last love. Touring with Tanguy through my favorite city has been on my wishlist for quite a long time. However, our agendas never seemed to match so I was quite thankful to be booked on the special Yelp Tour. Tanguy talks with such fun and passion about his beloved city, it’s hard not to fall in love with it yourself (or re-fall, since i had actually already fallen for Antwerp’s charms when I moved here 10 years ago). He unfolds Antwerp’s little secrets in such an interesting and fun way. Even I didn’t know half the things he told us about Antwerp. Next to a brilliant guide, Tanguy is also a fashion-fixer, a personal shopper or just a guy with the proverbial key to some of Antwerp’s coolest and most unreachable fashion walhalla’s. Of course I’m not gonna spoil the fun and share the secrets here. If you wanna know, you’ll have to book a tour yourself. Tanguy offers a whole lot of special tours on his website. Go check it out. Can’t wait and want a preview? Watch a little tour Tanguy did for the Flemish TV show ‘Fans of Flanders’ here. Typical Belgian weather included 😉

Here are some of my pictures for the Yelp Community Event:

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Hotel · Israel · Tel Aviv · Tourism · Travel guide

First visit to Tel Aviv?

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“Shalom” and welcome to Tel Aviv  תֵּל־אָבִיב  تل أبيب-يافا

This is “Marilyn’s-all-you-need-to-know-about-TLV” guide for your first visit:

General

Tel Aviv is the second most populous city in Israel. It has a population of 410,000 of which over 50% are aged between 25 and 45 thus making Tel Aviv one of the youngest cities in the world. The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in central-west Israel, containing 42% of Israel’s population. Tel Aviv was founded by the Jewish community on the outskirts of the ancient port city of Jaffa in 1909. Tel Aviv and Jaffa were merged into a single municipality in 1950, two years after the establishment of the State of Israel. Tel Aviv’s White City, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003, comprises the world’s largest concentration of Bauhaus buildings. Tel Aviv is an economic hub and it is the country’s financial capital. Tel Aviv has the second-largest economy in the Middle East after Dubai, and is the 31st most expensive city in the world. With 2.5 million international visitors annually, Tel Aviv is the fifth-most-visited city in the Middle East and Africa. It is known as “the city that never sleeps” and a “party capital” due to its thriving nightlife, young atmosphere and famous 24-hour culture. Like they say: “Jerusalem prays, Tel Aviv plays” (more info: WikiPedia)

dsc_3054Practical

When you land at Ben Gurion International Airport – yes there’s free WiFi – please consider the security procedures and be patient: it’s nothing personal and unfortunately in Israel it’s no paranoia but a must to keep us safe. Don’t forget to pick up a copy of the English edition of Time out on your way out by the luggage pick-up. To get to Tel Aviv you can either take a taxi that shouldn’t cost more than 150NIS* or the train for about 15NIS (*New Israeli Shekel). Rates for the shekel are: 1EURO=4,7NIS or 1USD=3,6NIS. Foreign currency can be exchanged at the exit of the airport. Feel free to contact us if you’re interested in booking airport escort services and/or vans, buses or other vehicles.

Accommodation

you can book a hotel room varying from a top leading hotel chain to a hostel (our favorite hotel is of course the Brown Hotel and you can get special discounts and upgrades if you book via us) or rent an apartment via AirBNB or Tellavista

Transport

walk, bike (sharing bike service Tel-o-Fun) or drive: taxis are easy to find and not too expensive although they may try to raise the price when they notice you’re a tourist. Renting a car is not too expensive either but makes more sense if you plan to visit Jerusalem, the Dead Sea etc. In the city I’d suggest the “monit sherut” which are those little yellow taxibuses (share taxis) ; the main lines are the 4 (Ben Yehuda&Allenby Street) and the 5 (Dizengoff&Rothschild Street). They follow the bus track but they stop wherever you call them to. Cost: 6NIS and the money can be passed on from and to the back through the hands of fellow passengers. Have a look on the map to get a better picture of the city.

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Top neighborhoods

definitely visit the Rothschild area, Neve Tzedek and Jaffa

Food

check out our TOP 5 food post and keep in mind many places are open late night and some even 24/7

Bars & nightlife coming soon

Some Hebrew words

  • שלום shalom hello & goodbye (and peace)
  • מה נשמע ma nishma? how are you?
  • תודה toda thank you
  • בבקשה bevakasha please or there you go
  • סליחה slicha sorry (not as widely used as should be)
  • בסדר beseder ok
  • יאלה yalla very important word yalla yalla yalla meaning let’s go or move it
  • Sababa is probably THE word that will get you everywhere and it mainly depends on how you say it. Literally it means cool but just use it in the tone of your mood. So if you’re happy just say Sababa in a happy way, and if you’re not just say Sababa in sad way and so on.

Climate

Tel Aviv has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate with mild rainy winters. Humidity tends to be high year-round due to sea breeze. Girls: this means that from June to October you mostly sweat so just forget about your hairdoe. In winter, average temperatures typically range from 9 °C (48 °F) to 17 °C (63 °F). In summer, average temperatures typically range from 24 °C (75 °F) to 30 °C (86 °F). Heatwaves are most common during spring, with temperatures as high as 35 °C (95 °F). There are barely any days in the year without sunshine, and even during the winter there are many clear days. 300 days of blue skies!

Excursion Depending on the length of your stay you can of course visit other places in Israel like Jerusalem, the Dead Sea, Eilat, the North (Galil, Golan, Tiberias, Acco, Haifa) etc. I suggest a day trip combining Jerusalem and the Dead Sea with a rented car or guide with a vehicle. In the North I’m a fan of the Tiberias lake (sweet water) and the beautiful green nature.

about Israel Area: 22,072 km², population: about 7 million inhabitants – 76,1% Jewish; 16,2% Muslim; 2,1% Christian; 1,6% Druze; 3,9% other, official languages: Hebrew and Arabic – though English is widely spoken and more and more French too, date of Establishment: 14th of May 1948, currency = New Israeli Shekel NIS or  ₪

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