My phone buzzed with an unknown number. Before I could even say hello, the disembodied voice, sounding very peppy, asked me a question. “So are you excited?”
“Excuse me,” I answered coolly. “Who is this?”
The voice ignored my question. “Because we are so excited to meet you!” it responded. “Who is this?” I asked somewhat aggressively.
There was a pause. Then, sounding a little hurt, it said,
“This is Ibrahim from the Dan Jerusalem Hotel. We spoke yesterday about your stay tomorrow. And please come wearing sneakers. The hotel is huge!”
I never met Ibrahim during my 24 hours at the Dan Jerusalem hotel, but I am sure he exists. In any case, everyone I encountered seemed genuinely happy to see me and to care about the hotel, which is, as Ibrahim said, very large.
There are more than 500 rooms and suites, and when we were there, the occupancy rate was about 30%.
There is also a free parking lot, which is a welcome perk.
On weekends, staff told us the hotel is fully booked with mostly religious guests of all stripes, some celebrating events like a bar mitzvah or a Shabbat hatan.
There is a synagogue in the hotel, but if the group is large enough, they will also use a ballroom as a synagogue. There is also a large outdoor pool that is open from Passover to after the holidays in the fall.
The Dan Hotel chain is currently running a promotion for an overnight stay during the week that includes breakfast on the day of your arrival, early entry to the room if it is ready, and a free massage.
Since my favorite husband doesn’t like massages for some reason, I invited my favorite daughter to join me on this little staycation in Jerusalem.
We arrived at the hotel around 10 a.m., half an hour before breakfast ended, so we left our luggage at the check-in desk and rode downstairs to the buffet.
The kashrut is Rabbanut Jerusalem. All vegetables are Gush Katif, and dairy products are chalav Yisrael.
The arrangement of the hotel takes some getting used to, as you enter on the sixth floor, while the dining room and spa are on the first floor.
The large dining room is arranged beautifully with the buffet in the center of the room. All of the vegetables were fresh and presented aesthetically, as were the salads. At the entrance, there was a hummus station, with a large bowl of freshly made hummus and all kinds of toppings, including za’atar and olive oil. A waiter stood there ready to make your bowl for you.
Dan Hotels’ ‘omelet man’
THERE IS a station with an “omelet man” making omelets to order, and there were small pans of green and red shakshuka. I tried the red one, which was tasty and not too spicy. There were three cheeses and two kinds of herring (although unfortunately no lox). Among the hot dishes were excellent mushroom burekas and a baked cheesecake.
We then went back upstairs to check in. In my first conversation with the elusive Ibrahim, I had asked for two separate beds for myself and my daughter. The hotel generously gave us a suite on the second floor with a living room with a sofa bed (where my daughter slept) and a bedroom with a comfortable king-sized bed. Each room had a large flat-screen TV. The balcony had a beautiful view of the Old City
of Jerusalem.
After getting organized, we headed down to the spa, where we would later have our massage. There is a heated indoor pool, a dry sauna, a wet sauna, and two Jacuzzis, one in the ladies’ locker room, which we had all to ourselves. There is also a Turkish hammam, which was a special treat.
The spa has exercise classes that are open to hotel guests as well as spa members. I really did mean to make it to the 7 a.m. Pilates class, I promise, even if it didn’t happen.
About an hour before our massage, we headed upstairs to the Share Spa, one of a chain of spas throughout Israel. The Dan promotion includes a 45-minute massage and access to the relaxation area, which has unlimited wine, beer, tea, and cookies. My daughter and I relaxed with a glass of decent rosé and a cookie (or two).
The massage itself was very good. My masseuse, Rana, asked me how much pressure I liked and was able to apply just that amount. The 45 minutes passed way too quickly.
We had dinner in the main dining room, and there was a Christian group from Collinsville, Illinois, having a reflection session before heading to the airport. Pastor Myles Holmes said he has brought nine groups to Israel over the past few years to show his support.
Dinner included some nice additions that elevated it from a regular hotel meal. There was a falafel station at the entrance, which I skipped as it’s not my favorite, and a grill station with a chef making fresh kebabs, chicken breast, and merguez, all of which were good hot off the grill.
I especially enjoyed the well-made antipasti of about 10 different vegetables and a tasty goulash in a tomato sauce. Best of all, there was a self-serve parve ice cream machine with serve-yourself sprinkles. (Diet starts tomorrow).
After dinner, we watched a movie on Netflix and went to sleep. The next morning it was time for another great breakfast before regretfully heading back to our real life.
The hotel also offers “Fun Days.”
The writer was a guest of the hotel.