Despite having lived in Israel for decades, I had never been to Bat Yam and certainly never thought of a “staycation” there. But one day, as I was scrolling through Facebook, I came across a boutique hotel called Almera in Bat Yam.
Later that week, my Ladies Who Drink were discussing where to go to celebrate our friend Robin’s birthday, and I suggested the Almera. The hotel is right on the ocean, and each room has a small balcony where you can sit and look at the water. Bat Yam is known as having a large Russian population, and even though it was November, the beach was still open and people were swimming.
My friends checked in before I did, and had a little trouble as the key cards were only set to open the room at 3 p.m. It eventually all worked out, and we got our rooms.
“The room was very nicely appointed, the bathroom and amenities were really nice,” Robin said. “The location on the boardwalk was amazing for sunrise and sunset right on the water.”
The rooms were large, and the bathroom, with white marble, felt luxurious. Each room came with an amenity kit (like the ones you get in business class on a plane) of high-end toiletries, which was a nice touch, and a robe and slippers, as well as a Nespresso machine.
In the summer, the hotel offers a happy hour with drinks and nosh as the sun sets. There is no gym, but there is a spa where you can book massages and treatments. There is a special weekend package that includes Friday night dinner of fish and dairy dishes, Shabbat breakfast, and a late checkout after Shabbat ends.
Breakfast at the hotel
On weeknights, the hotel only serves breakfast, not dinner, so for Robin’s birthday, we hopped on the light rail, just a two-minute walk from the hotel, and were in Tel Aviv in 15 minutes. We had a lovely dinner at Holy, a dairy wine bar/restaurant, where we raised the average age significantly, and were back in Bat Yam by 10.
The next morning, we came downstairs for breakfast around 8:30, and I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food. There were fewer choices than at a large hotel buffet, but the bread was still warm from the oven, the cheeses very high quality, and the salads were fresh and well-made. You can also order eggs from a menu, and the over-easy eggs were delicious. There was also a home-baked chocolate babka that was worth the calories.
We then took a nice long walk on the Bat Yam promenade that winds along the sea in the pleasant November sunshine before heading back to Jerusalem and the real world.
Almera Hotel
(www.almerahotel.com)
Rothchild 2, Bat Yam
Kashrut: Rabbanut
Rooms start at NIS 800 per night
The writer was a guest of the hotel.