Израиль от News travel Israel from News travel

It is impossible to imagine that you yourself will choose this hotel for a trip to Israel, so you can get there only as part of a group excursion tour. If you have the opportunity to choose a tour to Israel without stopping at a hotel in Palestine, choose even if such a tour is more expensive.
The irresponsibility of the tour operator News travel allowed them to claim that the Alexander Hotel has 4 stars. It's not like that. It is absurd to talk about any star hotels in Palestine. Therefore, when going on a tour with stops at this hotel, be prepared for the next one.
The territory of Bethlehem is surrounded by a concrete wall. It can't be called anything other than a reservation. There are several checkpoints. Israelis are not allowed to enter. For guides, a special pass is issued, but a curfew is set. If you arrive as part of a group in a tour bus, your documents will not be checked. The checkpoint may be closed, for example, during the holidays, but the driver is well oriented and knows other checkpoints. Somewhere, but you will be released.

The hotel is located on the main street of Bethlehem, but far enough to the Church of the Nativity. Of course, you can walk, but it's better to go in a group. Palestinians do not bother with cleanliness, so construction and household waste is present at every step. The active use of car horns and the ability to loudly exchange information can also be attributed to the national peculiarity. In general, if you are not afraid of screams and dirt, you can safely go to Palestine.
The hotel is truly family owned and run by the owners. The hotel building has 6 floors. But entering from the street, you immediately find yourself in the foyer of the 2nd floor. There is a hall, reception and dining room. You can only communicate with the staff in English, of course, if you do not speak Arabic. The number of rooms on the third and fourth floors is old. Therefore, the photos of the rooms do not correspond to reality. The floor is carpeted, in the bathroom the shower cabin consists of a tray and a curtain. The number looks depressing.
The rooms on the fifth and sixth floors are new. There are tiles on the floor, normal showers and even new blankets. Duvet covers are not used at all, but for some reason on the 3rd and 4th floors the blankets are like on a train, but the new rooms are good.
If silence is important to you, you need to choose a room with windows facing the courtyard and on the left side when exiting the elevator (this wing is shorter). The hotel has an incomprehensible system that emits loud monotonous sounds that unnerve people trying to sleep. And it is located on the right side of the elevator on the last sixth floor.
The air conditioning system in the hotel is central, so you will not see the usual air conditioners. In the room, in front of the entrance door, a grille is built into the ceiling, and there is a control panel on the wall. Comfortable enough. You can independently set the temperature or turn off the air conditioner. Bathrooms have a problem with hooks and shelves, so if you decide to wash something, there is nowhere to dry it. There are no balconies in the hotel. But because of the warm climate, small things dry out quickly enough if they are hung on the handle of a cabinet or nightstand.
TVs are good. Since the majority of tourists in the hotel are from Poland, there are Polish channels and a couple of Russian ones. There are no refrigerators.

All the minuses of the hotel are extinguished by the over attention of its owner. I don't know where he gets patience, but he managed to make friends with every tourist from our group (49 people). Therefore, at parting there were hugs and kind words. If you want something, you will definitely get it. Hot water, tea, coffee, cold water, juice can be obtained at any time of the day in unlimited quantities. Hairdryer only at the reception. Breakfasts and dinners are normal. Almost everyone made sandwiches for breakfast and ate them for lunch. Of course, you should not expect high-quality sausage, but you will not leave hungry. Fruits and baklava according to the bill, are carried and put on the table in front of you. But if you want supplements, they will give you.
There are no dairy products for breakfast, such as porridge or cereal with milk. There is a carafe with milk to add to coffee, and after our request, they began to give two types of yogurt. They serve boiled eggs, fluffy scrambled eggs, pieces of sausage or sausages, cheese melting, several types of salads, wonderful jam, cold cuts. For dinner - several hot dishes (fish, meat with potatoes, vermicelli with meat), salads, soup (like broth and vegetables).
Living in Palestine has its advantages, it is relatively cheap. You will not see price tags in all stores. As a rule, even when buying something at the grocery store, you should ask the seller for a price. It is interesting to watch how they come up with a price by looking at you. Sometimes, for example, souvenir shops have price tags, but a 50% discount is given for all goods. This is stated on the sign behind the counter. They take dollars and shekels, but the dollar is preferred. In all tourist places in Israel, they want to get a dollar from you. At the same time, you can exchange the dollar for a shekel at the rate (at the end of October 2012) of 3.75, but when you decide to pay in shekel, you will be calculated the price at the rate of 1 dollar - 4 shekels. So when planning a trip, stock up on small bills.