Weekend Travel

The Five-Point Weekend Escape Plan

Go Out With the Old in Tel Aviv

Since the White City was named a UNESCO World Heritage site, gorgeous historic buildings from the Ottoman and Bauhaus era have been repurposed as fabulous hotels, eateries, boutiques, and design museums.

By David Kaufman
Published Aug 28, 2008

1. Where to Stay

A room in the Hotel Montefiore, a newly reopened twenties mansion.

(Photo: Courtesy of the Hotel Montefiore)

Request a balcony room in the Ottoman-era mansion Hotel Montefiore (from $350), which opened two months ago. The dozen rooms have Bauhaus-era furnishings, artwork by local talents like Ohad Matalon and David Adika, and bath products by local olive-oil company Olia. Book several weeks in advance during fall Jewish holidays.

Neve Zedek Hotel (Deganya St., 4; 011-972-54-207-0706; from about $400) also debuted in July, in a more posh part of the White City. A top-floor suite has an outdoor Jacuzzi, but request suite one or two for garden access. Guests receive a discount at the excellent Near Eastern bistro Nana.

Tel Aviv’s oldest but still luxurious hotel, the Dan, (from $175) completed renovations last month. All 170 rooms have Wi-Fi, iPod connections, and LCD TVs. By October, the hotel’s four restaurants and lounges will be relocated for prime Mediterranean views. Get an ocean vista of your own when you stay in the Sea View Executive Room.