65 Hotel Rothschild, Tel Aviv

An easy to navigate, cheap, morning bus trip got us from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv well before check in time. Shenav was the smiling, helpful woman at reception of 65 Hotel Rothschild when we arrived, who gave much of her time to help us with questions and immediately booked us a table for lunch at Messa, a renowned Tel Aviv restaurant, and an easy 1.6km walk from the hotel.

The streets around the hotel while congested with traffic, are actually great for pedestrians, with a wide walking and cycling path down the middle of the leafy boulevard, making it a pleasant way to get around. People were walking their dogs, children riding their bikes, a group of old men playing petanque, all giving the vibe of a neighbourhood rather than capital city.

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This hotel has such a small land footprint. It’s a circular glass building on the corner of Rothschild and Nahmani, and the lobby also functions as the lounge area and Café 65, which extends onto a spacious outdoor balcony. The economy of space is brilliant. Like Bezalel (the Atlas hotel where we stayed in Jerusalem), this place has only been open a year, so everything is ultra modern, cleverly designed, with some similar features between 65 Hotel Rothschild and the previous in terms of bathroom design and clever choices with storage and use of space in the rooms.

The lobby floor is squares of reconstituted grey stone, gridded up with the criss-cross of smooth black marble. The soft furnishings have accents of jade green and tan with black marble topped tables, diverse, yet complimentary. It all exudes ‘cool’.

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The palate of the room itself (a classic double) is a combination of chocolate, coffee and cream, with splashes of blue. A shiny electric blue lacquered tallboy and a featured chair upholstered in pale blue and brown herringbone are effective statement pieces in the stylish room. Being a circular building, the bed is placed with a fanned out view of the windows, which would be nicer on a higher floor, but being on the first floor, we didn’t really want to be having the blinds open!

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The bathroom is all chocolate marble with fantastic lighting – it even has a magnifying mirror within the main large mirror, perfect for those of us in need a little visual boost when applying makeup!

To give you peace of mind for your valuables, 65 Hotel Rothschild has the same large safe as our previous Atlas hotel in Jerusalem; great for a whole range of things of varying sizes, including laptops.

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The lobby breakfast was a dynamic and colourful way to start the day. The range on offer was an outstanding spread, including Perrier water and sparkling wine for those wishing to have a champagne breakfast. Everything was fresh and enticingly presented at various stations around the serving space. With full plates, we moved into the lobby area with its choice of table seating or lounges with coffee tables, and selected one of the many tables with a cheerful floral centrepiece and palm leaf printed placemats, and enjoyed the work of Chef Lotan.

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One of the greatest strengths of this hotel (apart from how gorgeous it looks!) is the friendliness and professionalism of the staff. Every single one smiled warmly and did everything they could to anticipate the needs of their guests. During happy hour on our first night, Assaf joyfully answered the many questions we had – he was clearly proud of his country and this city, and rightfully so! This sincere enthusiasm and professionalism was apparent in each staff member, making this hotel a standout.

While there are so many other Atlas hotels in Tel Aviv to explore, it would be difficult not to want to revisit the 65 Hotel Rothschild.

Our adventures continue in Israel with our time in Tel Aviv…

Accommodation: 65 Hotel Rothschild