At the end of the fair an award will be given to the Most Promising Artist. The winner gets a monetary prize and a solo show in the following year’s Fresh Paint Fair. The fair also acts as a fundraising activity with proceeds going to the Tel Aviv Museum of Art and other non-profit organizations.

Source: Visit Tel Aviv

The hotel is a few minute walk to both Jaffa Gate of the Old City and the restaurants and bars of Jerusalem’s downtown district. The building stands out for its striking Greco-Roman, Gothic and Ottoman architecture and its expertly preserved 80-year-old exterior facade.

The Waldorf Astoria Jerusalem hotel offers 226 magnificent rooms including 33 suites and 2 presidential suites. Hotel facilities are spread over ten floors and feature 3 restaurants and a roof terrace lounge, the most modern fitness facilities, a full-service spa and a health club including two indoor pools, sauna and steam room. The hotel will make an obvious choice for major events with 8 state-of-the-art meeting rooms and a conference center as well as the Palace Grand Ballroom that will seat up to 708 people for a sit-down banquet dinner.

Source: www.itraveljerusalem.com

During the trip Mark Rutte was accompanied by representatives of the Tel Aviv municipality that show him the city’s sights. The route passed on Rothschild Boulevard and Dizengoff street, and ended near “Migdal Ha – Shalom” building.

“Tel Aviv is a lovely city – said Mark Rutte during the trip. – Here I saw an organic mix of people, atmosphere and the sea.” He wished the city administration active introducing the bicycle transportation in life – and then, on his opinion , ” this beautiful city will be even more beautiful”.

Source: 9tv.co.il

The appeal for these companies is the record number of visitors to Israel over the past half-decade that is increasing the demand for hotel rooms of all kinds, especially upscale ones. The addition of the Waldorf Astoria, Ritz-Carlton, and W Hotels reflects on the potential seen in developing Israel’s luxury travel market. But it started with the small, home-grown properties.

Isrotel, a locally based hotel chain, is a company that is both home-grown and big. The chain operates 17 hotels in Israel, nine of which are located in the Red Sea resort city of Eilat.

Its 23-story Royal Beach Tel Aviv opened on June 1 as the first newly built hotel on Tel Aviv’s iconic beach in 15 years. Later that month, the company’s 155-room Hotel Cramim opened on June 16 as a new spa hotel in the heart of the wine region of Judea, 15 minutes from Jerusalem.

The properties are the fourth and fifth members of Isrotel’s Exclusive Collection, a separate category designated for Isrotel’s five-star properties. They join the Royal Beach Eilat on the Red Sea, the Carmel Forest Spa Resort in Israel’s north and the Beresheet desert resort, on the edge of the Ramon Crater.
The new Royal Beach Tel Aviv offers a boutique hotel feeling but with all the facilities a larger property offers, such as a pool, spa, gym and business lounge.

Built among the monasteries, wineries and natural springs of the Jerusalem Hills, Isrotel’s Hotel Cramim is designed to be a destination for both spa and wine lovers; the spa’s signature treatments will use “vinotherapy” techniques, which incorporate wine and grape-based products. The hotel’s two-story spa has 23 treatment rooms, a solarium, saunas, Jacuzzis, and Turkish baths, with both indoor and outdoor pools.

The coming of the Ritz-Carlton, the Waldorf Astoria and the W properties to Israel is creating a lot of buzz within the travel community.

The Ritz-Carlton in Herzliya will have 115 rooms and suites, with their design inspired by the “marina lifestyle” on view from the balconies that overlook the largest marina in the country as well as Herzliya’s sandy beaches. The property will have a three-story spa as well as a rooftop bar and pool lounge that at night will serve cocktails and small bites. The hotel will become home to the first kosher Ritz-Carlton restaurant in the world, the Herbert Samuel.

The 220-room Waldorf Astoria Jerusalem was slated to open this year but is now accepting reservations starting in May. Steps away from the Old City, the hotel will open in a 1929-built structure that is undergoing an extensive renovation to restore intricate stone carvings and the decorative arches of its historical facade. The interior of the building is being completely rebuilt and will house three restaurants; a 5,380-square-foot spa and fitness facility with a pool; and expansive conference and meetings facilities.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts is opening its first W brand hotel in Israel in 2015, in a 19th century heritage building in Jaffa, the trendy and ancient port town next to Tel Aviv known for its bustling arts and culinary scene. The 125-room W Tel Aviv-Jaffa will offer panoramic views of the Mediterranean, a signature restaurant and destination bar as well as a spa, fitness center, an outdoor pool deck and a 24-hour business center.

Source: travelweekly.com

Meanwhile, the cash payment procedure causes some inconvenience for many passengers: not all of them has sufficient amount money, and in a particularly difficult situation are foreign tourists, who must specially change their currency to the Israeli Shekel for a trip in a taxi.
According to MigNews.com it is more convenient to take “non-cash” for the taxi drivers as well – it saves them from having to constantly keep the change,. Possibility to pay by credit card in any car which licensed by taxi companies should appear next year in Israel. However, it should be borne in mind that the drive with payment by credit card will cost the passenger 2-2.5% more expensive than a cash payment.
It should be noted that the payment service by credit card in the taxies is becoming more widely available. Already a lot of taxis in Europe, Japan, the U.S. and even in Russia have been equipped with devices for reading credit cards.

Source: travel.mail.ru

Hilton is transporting New York’s Waldorf Astoria experience to site of the former Palace Hotel in the form of the 226-room Waldorf Astoria Jerusalem. The new venue blends the architectural grandeur of old Jerusalem with the hotel’s renowned state-of-the-art amenities; it is set to open just before the start of the summer tourism season.

Given the large expenditure from the Hilton chain and the hotel’s owners, expectations are running high. “Our high-end customers will enjoy the best of everything,” says the Waldorf Astoria Jerusalem’s general manager, Guy Klaim, “from unprecedented service and beautiful rooms to incredible gourmet kosher food prepared by our executive chef, Franco Luise, who was the executive chef in one of the most exclusive restaurants in Venice.”

Kleiman said the hotel has already attracted many advance bookings all the way into 2015.

In Tel Aviv, the 23-story Royal Beach Tel Aviv Hotel, which is set to open in May, is the newest addition to the Isrotel chain’s “Exclusive Collection” of five-star luxury hotels. The 240-room facility, which is located on the beach promenade in the heart of the city, is, like the Waldorf, aimed at the high-end traveler. “For many years, Isrotel was known as a typical hotel company that operated some quality hotels in Eilat for the locals and European winter tourists,” says the chain’s CEO, Lior Raviv. The Royal Beach, he suggests, will be different, with large rooms with ocean views, a high-quality spa and a chic beachfront kosher restaurant. “We decided to change our strategy and aggressively target the business traveler and upscale tourist markets, because we believe that the high-end service we already provide in our Exclusive Collection hotels (Bereshit, Carmel Forest Spa, etc.) as well as the new Royal Beach Tel Aviv, will enhance our image as offering the best ‘destination’ hotels.”

“In June, Isrotel will also open the Cramim Spa Hotel as part of its Exclusive Collection. The 156-room boutique hotel, which is located in the scenic hills between Jerusalem and Modiin, will target young couples and business travelers who can enjoy a unique spa experience amid the beauty of the area, which is adjacent to forests and mountains,” says Raviv.

Within the scenic Herzliya Marina (located just north of Tel Aviv), the Ritz Carlton Hotel chain is preparing to open its first luxury facility in Israel in June. The hotel, which sits atop the tony Herzliya Arena Mall, features 197 rooms and 82 suites, with balconies overlooking the marina and the Mediterranean coastline. Amenities will include a rooftop pool, multi-level spa and health club, as well the chain’s first kosher restaurant.

Source thejewishweek.com

Of Israeli flight attendants write that their “cute smile” calming effect on the passengers and help to feel on board, “at home.”
The Israeli newspaper “Yediot Ahronot” says that in the manual airline “El Al” has not yet received official notification of the victory in the “professional beauty contest.”

According to Chinese media, the top 10 most beautiful stewardesses and stewards of the world are as follows: 1. Airline “El Al” 2. “Airlines of Argentina”, 3. “Shenzhen Airlines”, 4. “Qatar Airways’ 5. “Asian airlines”, 6. Taiwanese airline “China Airlines”, 7. “Air India” 8. “Air France”, 9. “Srilankan Airlines” 10. “Sichuan Airlines.”

Source newsru.co.il