Nicest little hotel in Tel-Aviv

All the rooms facing the street (either north or west) are attractive and comfortable. Those facing the back are less so. I arrived on Saturday evening, at the end of the Israeli weekend, and was given the only available room: No. 212, which is probably the very worst in the hotel. Avoid this room at all cost.

I demanded a better room and was given one the following day. My weeklong stay was quite pleasant. Breakfast is ample and made to order with the freshest ingredients. The best place to have it is on the patio in front of the hotel (where you can talk to the breakfast chef) or on the roof terrace. The breakfast room is tiny (I've never seen anyone eat there) but coffees, teas, hot chocolate, and cookies are available there around the clock at no charge.

Disappointing

We stayed at the De La Mer for two nights, Sept. 19 and 20, 2005. We chose the hotel because it was small and just a block from the beach. This is all true, but the hotel should not advertise a "sea view" as all rooms facing the beach overlook a large parking lot. The room we had was very small with no closets. I guess this is consistent with the "Feng Shui" concept. Sounds good, but doesn't make for a comfortable stay. The stall shower was not only small, but flooded our bathroom floor. The breakfast food was just adequate compared to other places we stayed in Israel. The staff was helpful, but they put us in a room that would be best suited for just one person. We thought we had made a great choice with the De La Mer, but it was not to be. There are several other small hotels (such as the Maxim) just a few blocks away, for about the same price, that looked like a better place to stay. We would not recommend this hotel.

Small and Friendly

We booked into this hotel because of its good location close to the beach and other hotels. There was limited parking but 2 pay car parks opposite. We arrived late and we found that one of the rooms for our party not made up but we were given another room instead. The rooms are a good size and furnished to a high standard. There was free coffee and iced water 24/7 The staff are very friendly and speak good English and didn't mind our grandson running about. We had breakfast on the roof terrace and the fact that they were different to the usual run of the mill Israeli fare combining Continental and European styles. Unfortunetly we had our bag stolen on the beach and the staff helped us with sorting this out. I would recommend this hotel to anyone who dislikes marble palaces and prefers small and friendly but good quality hotels. When we enquired about availabilty they replied straight away compared to other hotels that took several days.

Good value, a little weird

Stayed for just one night, when we arrived around 5 pm only one of the 2 rooms we had booked was ready, so we left our things there and went to dinner, when we returned at 8 pm the second room still wasn't ready! In spite of that both rooms were lovely, clean and very nice decor. The staff let us keep one room until 6 pm the next day since we had a late flight. we figured they had done the same thing for someone else the previous night, which was why our room wasn't ready.

Our breakfast order was forgotten and thus took an hour to arrive at our room, the bread was stale and food was just so-so. However, the staff was friendly if a bit unprofessional, and nicest of all, this hotel does not inflate it's rates during the high season. I wouldn't call this place a gem, but if you are looking for a nice, affordable base of operations near all the action, it works.

Loved it

Great service.....great breakfast......the ony but is the size of the room....a bit toooo small

Cosy and private hotel by the beach

The views of the ocean from the oceanview room are breathtaking (we didn't stay in that room, but we had a chance to peek in there), the service is very attentive and the breakfasts are fabulous. We got to know the guy who makes breakfasts, and he made all the breakfasts so personal, that it felt almost like it was our Mom cooking for us each morning.

We had a standard room with no ocean view. We felt it was the best value in Tel Aviv. The room and the bathroom were modernly furnished and felt fresh and new. The bed was very comfortable and the TV showed over a 100 channels from all over the world through satellite. The hotel is on the second row from the beach, in the middle of a trendy area and walking distance to most of the city attractions.

In addition to a good price we got a discount since we stayed there for 5 nights.

I recommend this hotel for those who enjoy small cozy places for good value. We have lots of positive and romantic memories left from that place! Can't say anything negative about De La Mer.

Enjoy your vacation in Israel, everybody!

Nicely decorated, close to the beach.

We stayed with our two children in the Hotel de la Mer. It has a perfect location, close to the beach, sea side restaurants and Shinkin area. The decoration of the room is low key but tasteful. The rooms are quiet, no problem sleeping. Staff is nice and helpful.

A real find!

I loved everything about De la Mer--its location, its Bauhaus architecture, its Feng Shui design, and the breakfasts cooked to order. To top it off, we were checking out on a Saturday but I did not need to get to the airport til 9:30 pm. Even though we had checked out alreaady, we had use of our room til the time we left, allowing us to get a nap in the afternoon!

Really recommend this hotel.

Very disappointing. We would not recommend.

Be worn! We arrived here in the beginning of January 2005, expecting a lovely, clean "gem", as described by another reviewer, boutique hotel.

We were terribly disappointed to discover that this old Tel Aviv building which was converted into a small hotel, had many downsides and very few advantages.

The worst part was the fact that this hotel is above Hayarkon street, one of Tel Aviv busiest, and across a parking lot, lies the Herbert Samuel main road leading from Tel Aviv to Jaffa. This area is very, very noisy. The windows had no double glazing, so it was impossible to sleep at night.

The rooms are OK, nothing more. The recpetion is unprofessinal and indifferent. The breakfast is served in a "nook" not really a room, and as it is terribly tiny, the tables spill over to the tiny Loby.

The food (we had ours up in the room, as we didn't like the look of the breakfast area) was fine.

The "spa" promised was locked and did not look like it is being used or operative at all.

We stayed only one night instead of the 3 we booked, and moved to the Dan Panorama. We paid there the same price, and found it to be more professional, with double glazed windows and proper large dining room with excellent breakfast.

De La Mer is such a missed opportunity, what a pity.

Small Gem

This smallish hotel by the beach on HaYarkon Street is a congenial alternative to megahotels. The hotel rooms are small but ample, with comfortable beds and bedding. The bathrooms are very small with showers not baths. We had two rooms; one for parents (king bed), one for our three kids (2 connected twins plus a rollaway). The decor is a light modern (feng shui); the facility itself is clean and nice. The price is very reasonable especially considering the high quality of the hotel.

The price includes breakfast and, although the menu is somewhat limited, the food is good and extremely well presented. Breakfast is in the lobby area where small tables are set up; they will also bring breakfast to your room. Good coffee! There are no exercise facilities, though I believe they have some arrangements with a facility off-site. We did not test the high-speed internet in each room (but note this uses an English-style network plug rather than a US style ethernet plug; I assume they have connectors if you don't have one).

We stayed for a couple of days at each end of our recent trip. The staff was very gracious and helpful, and all speak English.

The hotel is well located about two blocks from the beach and at the beginning of the street where the Dan Hotel and several others are located. (It's near the Opera Tower.) The rooms have small balconies, and one of ours looked out to the sea. There is parking at a (paid) lot across the street. The entrance is on a side street, so a taxi will need some help (though the building is on the corner of HaYarkon Street).

If you enjoy a more intimate hotel with a small European hotel flavor, you'll enjoy this hotel. We did.

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