Ruth Safed by Dan Hotels

We recently spent a long weekend at the Ruth Hotel in Safed. The hotel has a very good vibe, especially over Shabbat. However, there are a lot of little things that did not go well that put a drag on our stay and overall experience. Room - we had a room in the new building. I am not sure if we ordered a room in this building or if we were assigned a room in this section. Either way, the room and building are a bit run down and could benefit from an overdue renovation. "Upgrade" offer - after receiving our room, the front desk contacted us to offer us an upgrade to a room with a balcony. Just out of curiosity, we looked at the room. What the hotel was offering us was a room overlooking a parking lot that also sits on top of a maintenance storage area. This offer we of course declined. Reservations in dinning room - at first, the hotel refused to accept a reservation for dinner on Friday evening. The explanation we received was that they only take reservations from large families or something like this. After involving the hotel manager, we were finally able to make a reservation. Wine bar - we had a bad experience in the hotel's wine bar. The waiter quoted us one price for a bottle of wine and then tried to charge us another price. After again involving the hotel manager, the waiter and wine bar manager apologized to us and corrected our tab. Walking tour - the hotel offers a walking tour of Safed. The tour guide was not much of a tour guide. He only stopped every few minutes to sing a song, which was a really weird experience and a waste of two plus hours.

I was on a group trip and this was the hotel booked by the operator of the trip. It was not what I expected from a hotel under the Dan hotel flag. The ground are beautiful. However the room I stayed in was definitely not one that has been updated. The bathroom was dingy and not clean. Every surface has a layer of dust including the bed. There were bugs in the room. I don’t think the air condition filter has ever been changed and the unit has never been maintained. The picture of the rooms on the website are completely misleading. If I had been here on my own and not with a group, I would have checked out the moment I opened the door to my room. I wouldn’t have even requested a different room. I simply would have checked out and disputed any charge with my credit card company. Please save your money and stay elsewhere.

Hotel is lovely. Staff speak English and are very accommodating. Breakfast was included and was plentiful and delicious. Sitting out on the porch and enjoying the view was an added plus. A short walk from the art galleries