Ohalo Manor Hotel

I stayed at the hotel for a couple of nights as part of an academic writing retreat. The location is actually quite good—right on the shores of the Kinneret, which is especially pleasant in February. The hotel also features extensive gardens, and its nice to roam around. I really enjoyed spending time there with colleagues, sitting by the Kinneret and talking. The rooms, however, are extremely basic. Even the desk was just a wooden plank attached to the wall. Cleaning left something to be desired, with a strong smell of cheap cleaning solution lingering in the room. I saw the upgraded rooms and they are not much better, either. The restaurant was decent, serving both breakfast and dinner, and the food was fine overall.

Let me start with the positive. The hotel's location is great. It's right by the Sea of Galilee (the Kinneret), with plenty of the region's attractions a few minutes' drive away. But that's it. Let me also qualify myself by saying that there are several buildings in this complex and that there seem to be significant differences between them. The maintenance standard at the old and crumbling building we stayed in was atrocious. You call this a hotel? I wouldn't even call it a Youth Hostel. The dorms at a military base would be more inviting that these rooms which offer nothing. And I do mean nothing beyond the barest of bare essentials, and occasionally not even that. For example, there are soap and shampoo dispensers, but they did not make sure they were full before we came. They didn't equip the room with enough towels and we had to ask for more. The dining room is very crowded and very noisy. The food is occasionally inedible -- I encountered some undercooked meat. The table we were assigned to was not set completely or available at our assigned time and we had to wait for it to become available. Another negligible but annoying point relates to soft drinks. If you want any, you need to pay extra and buy bottles from the refrigerator. There are drink dispensers, but for some reason they only work in the morning. Thirsty in the evening? We're afraid you'll have to settle for tap water. How people would agree to pay such a fortune for this is beyond my comprehension. There are so many alternatives in the area, and it would be difficult to find a worse standard of hospitality than the one we were unfortunate enough to experience here.

In Israel most hotels in old condition, they give you only one towel per person, minimum of shampoo, and body wash, the breakfast is not for free, you have to pay extra fees usually no one will tell you about it. Please be aware.