Joining the club in Haifa
haifa is often the overlooked, quiet cousin in the family of Israeli cities. built on the side of mount carmel, it doesn’t possess tel aviv’s hipness or jerusalem’s rich history, but it has its own character and charm.
Thanks to a recent stay at a jewel of a hotel in the city’s colorful hadar neighborhood, my wife and I were able to experience some of that charm first-hand. the bay club is a four-star (no pool) restored landmark from 1912, that evokes stately hotels like jerusalem’s american colony, with its lush gardens and ottoman-era architecture.
The 52-room hotel is situated in what once was the el Khalil house, the son of the governor of haifa in the 1870s. at the end of the british mandate period, it served as a police station and in the 1970s it housed haifa’s judicial courts.
The bay club was revamped into its current boutique hotel status six years ago, but the atlas chain did a sterling job in maintaining the beauty and atmosphere of a royal manor that evokes a mid-20th century mediterranean feel. Sitting in the art deco lounge or the public library sitting room, or at the complementary daily happy hour (with wine and munchies) you can imagine running into world travelers and hearing about adventures.
Situated next to the expansive Zikaron park, the hotel overlooks the mediterranean Sea and the haifa port (make sure you request a room which faces this direction). the amply-sized rooms come with every amenity that makes a hotel stay special, along with some extra touches, like a box of chocolates and a bottle of cabernet Sauvignon awaiting on the bureau.
Breakfast at the hotel was served in a lovely garden dining room, enclosed on all sides by glass. Israeli breakfasts have a worldwide reputation and the bay club’s offerings will do nothing to tarnish that reputation, from the made-to-order eggs to the fresh, delectable salads and pastries, to the fresh-brewed coffee.
For those in the jerusalem area who keep haifa off their destination list, thinking it’s too far for a quick get-away, I’m pleased to say that when driving on route 6, our door-to-door travel time was just under two hours. the hotel doesn’t offer parking, but there are ample free spaces on the adjacent street that abuts the expansive Zikaron park.
Room prices vary, depending on the time of week, and time of year. but a midweek getaway for two including breakfast will run in the vicinity of nIS 600-800. expect to pay more on weekends.
The desk clerk at the bay club was highly professional and friendly and was able to direct us to many of haifa’s favorite tourist destinations. and so, we spent time eating in the German colony at the base of the baha’i temple, wandering around the shuk in Wadi nisnas, hiking in the carmel Forest across from haifa university, and visiting a bedouin town just outside of the city. We will have to come back again to visit some of haifa’s renowned museums, spend time on the beach and, of course, eat at the famous falafel row in hadar.
But the bay club proved to be the perfect, centrally located, and pampering base from which to start exploring the bypassed cousin, haifa.
The writer was a guest of the hotel.