I knew our Shabbat weekend at the freshly renovated Chalet Wing of the Dan Accadia would be special the moment an unfamiliar number flashed on my phone mid-Thursday. “Mr. Small, we’re excited to welcome you tomorrow. Extra pillows for the kids? Anything for Shabbat?” That 30-second call dissolved half the packing stress and hinted at a stay where every detail was already sorted.
We pulled up late Friday afternoon with three travel-weary children (ages six, eight, and nine) and snacks enough for a lunar mission. Before we even reached reception, a bellhop knelt to eye level and presented each child with a gleaming metal lunchbox and a bright suitcase tag stamped with their name. My wife and I were greeted with roasted almonds, dried apricots, and two proper espressos – small gestures that instantly shifted our mood from frazzled to holiday.
Then came the room reveal. The Chalet Garden Room feels as though someone fused an old-world Israeli khan – one of those stone roadside inns that once dotted desert trade routes – with a sleek Tel Aviv design loft. Inside, smart-glass partitions mist over at the tap of a button, twin vanities end any sink squabbles, and cool stone floors soothe sun-tired feet.
The real magic is outside
But the real magic is outside: sliding doors open onto a vast manicured lawn that rolls toward the pool, with two private beach chairs waiting right on our patch of grass. All weekend, the kids treated that lawn like a personal runway – barefoot sprints from room to pool and back again. No corridors, no elevators, no towel hunts; just open the door and ninety seconds later, they were splashing.
We lit candles and walked two minutes to the hotel synagogue for Kabbalat Shabbat. Because locals joined the services, minyanim were effortless all weekend. The staff even slipped a note under our door offering a manual key for Shabbat observance – another potential worry erased.
Friday-night dinner may be the finest hotel meal I’ve had in Israel. Picture a glass-front dining room cantilevered above Herzliya’s beach, the sky turning cotton-candy pink, and waiters gliding out with dishes worthy of a chef’s tasting menu: seared sea bass on herb-studded freekeh, hand-cut pappardelle draped with slow-braised beef and gremolata, and dozens of salad and main-course stations. My middle child declared the cholent “better than Savta’s,” which either borders on heresy or counts as the ultimate compliment.
Saturday moved at kid tempo. The children’s club hosted a Shabbat-friendly marzipan-fruit workshop, keeping little hands busy rolling almond paste into bananas and cherries without crossing halachic lines. A genuinely talented magician appeared later in the lobby, coaxing coins from ears and belly laughs from parents.
Meanwhile, my wife and I reclaimed something we hadn’t enjoyed in months: uninterrupted conversation in those two beach chairs, cocktail in hand, while the kids toggled between lawn soccer and pool cannonballs.
Practicalities that normally gnaw at observant families were handled almost invisibly. Late summer checkout let us pack after Havdalah instead of racing at noon. Towels showed up before we noticed we needed them. When my youngest misplaced a swimsuit, a replacement materialized – folded – on our patio chair, no questions asked.
People will talk about the NIS 75 million price tag, the imported stone paths, and the contemporary Israeli art, but none of that matters if a hotel misses the human notes. Dan Accadia’s real upgrade is the way it sees families: not as logistical puzzles but as guests with rhythms, quirks, and a hunger for wonder.
By the time we rolled out of Herzliya on Saturday night, the kids were lobbying for a Sukkot encore, and my wife was already checking dates. If you’re after a beachside escape where luxury never smothers warmth – and where your children can dash from room to pool in bare feet – the new Chalet Garden Rooms deliver every shekel’s worth of peace, pleasure, and perfectly al dente pappardelle.
The writer was a guest of the Dan Accadia Resort.