1. The Ritz-Carlton, Herzliya — Herzliya Marina, HaShunit Street
The best hotel in the city and the only true international luxury property on this stretch of coast.
The Ritz-Carlton opened on the Herzliya marina at the end of 2013 and has been the city's benchmark ever since. It is a small hotel by the brand's standards, with around 115 rooms of which the great majority are suites, and that ratio is the point: it was built for long business stays and for Tel Aviv weekenders who want space rather than for coach tours.
The rooms look either over the marina and the yachts or out to open sea, there is a rooftop pool, and the spa is among the better hotel spas in the country. Herbert Samuel Herzliya, the kosher chef restaurant on the ground floor, is also the best restaurant in Herzliya, which means you can eat extremely well without leaving the building.
The trade-off is that the marina is a working marina rather than a beach: you are looking at boats and the harbour wall, and swimming means a short drive or walk to Accadia or Hasharon. For a business trip or a couple's weekend that is no loss at all. For a family holiday built around the sand, the Dan Accadia is the better buy.
Good to know: Ask for a marina-facing room on a high floor rather than a sea-view suite on a low one — the view of the harbour and the Tel Aviv skyline beyond it is the better one here.