The 125-room Palm Beach Hotel has a lot going for it.
By LIAT COLLINSPalm Beach Hotel, Acre(photo credit: SIMPLEX HOTEL MARKETING)
Summer 2020 is definitely a different year from the vacation point of view. Along with the issues of cleanliness, comfort and convenience comes coronavirus-prevention regulations.Palm Beach Hotel (Hof Hatmarim) in Acre where we spent two nights is clearly aware of the problems and takes them seriously. The hotel took advantage of the COVID-19 closure to renovate its rooms and facilities including the lobby, which sports a huge screen with real-time footage of the beachfront.General manager Dudi Ben Gal is a hotel professional: He greets guests in a jacket and tie (and the de rigueur mask, of course) and makes sure that the hotel maintains the purple-tag requirements.There are automatic hand-sanitizer dispensers outside the elevators on every floor, at the entrance to the dining room and sports center, and elsewhere.Although the food was set up buffet-style, guests were not allowed to serve themselves except for the desserts in separate dishes. Staff in the dining room politely but firmly reminded guests of the need to wear masks when not sitting at their tables.The weak point was the elevators for which you could wait a long time if you only wanted to ride with one other person.The 125-room hotel has a lot going for it, particularly in these times. The location is perfect, a five-minute drive from the main tourist attractions, on the beach and with a beautiful view of the bay and Old City walls, which are lit up at night.The hotel’s facilities include a large indoor pool, an outdoor pool, tennis courts, a sports center and spa. There are spacious green lawns and an expansive deck area so that even though the hotel was at full capacity during our stay, it did not seem crowded and it was easy to keep spatial distance and relax.Our room was large and comfortable. Although it didn’t have a balcony, the sofa was placed by the large window giving us a great view of the beach and Old City. (At night I became slightly mesmerized by the flashing of the lighthouse across the bay.)With international tourism on hold for now, Ben Gal and the hotel (like the city in general) are looking more toward domestic tourism. The variety of the guests were clear from the outset. Since our stay coincided with Eid al-Adha and also the start of the three-week yeshiva break, the guests included both Jewish and Arab Israelis mixing in the way that is natural in Acre. The food was kosher, plentiful and tasty. Hotel guests arranged for a minyan for prayers.Evening entertainment, again adapted for the coronavirus-age, included Israeli music and a bingo event and plenty of activities for the children.The hotel is not the fanciest I’ve stayed in but it was family-oriented and friendly and was a good place to spend recreation time and to come back to after a day’s sightseeing.The writer was a guest of the hotel.
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