The 10 Best Luxury Hotels in Israel (2026)

Updated August 2026 · 10 picks

The best luxury hotels in Israel are the King David and the Mamilla in Jerusalem and the Norman, the Jaffa and the Setai in Tel Aviv. The two cities offer entirely different things at the top end — Jerusalem trades on history and Old City views, Tel Aviv on design and the Mediterranean. Ten, below.

The list at a glance

The King David King David Street, Jerusalem
The Norman Tel Aviv Nachmani Street, off Rothschild, Tel Aviv
The Jaffa Old Jaffa, Tel Aviv
Mamilla Hotel Mamilla, Jerusalem
The Setai Tel Aviv Jaffa, by the sea, Tel Aviv
Waldorf Astoria Jerusalem Agron Street, Jerusalem
The David Kempinski Tel Aviv Seafront promenade, Tel Aviv
The American Colony Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem
The Drisco American-German Colony, Jaffa, Tel Aviv
The David Citadel King David Street, Jerusalem

1. The King David — King David Street, Jerusalem

The most famous hotel in Israel, facing the Old City walls since 1931.

₪₪₪₪ SplurgeBest for Couples · Families · Solo

The King David has hosted heads of state, signed agreements and survived a bombing, and it wears all of it lightly. The 1931 pink limestone building, the Art Deco lobby and the garden looking across the valley at the Old City walls are the reason to book it.

Rooms vary more than at a newer hotel — the Old City–facing rooms on the higher floors are worth the premium, and the standard rooms on the street side are simply a good hotel room. The service is old-school and genuinely excellent.

It is kosher, with the full Shabbat operation, and it sits five minutes from Mamilla and ten from Jaffa Gate.

Good to know: Specify an Old City–facing room at booking, not on arrival — they are allocated early.

Google Maps Website

2. The Norman Tel Aviv — Nachmani Street, off Rothschild, Tel Aviv

Two restored 1920s townhouses, and the best-run hotel in the city.

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The Norman occupies two meticulously restored 1920s buildings on a quiet street just off Rothschild Boulevard, and since opening it has been the benchmark against which other Tel Aviv luxury hotels are measured.

It is deliberately small, and that is the whole proposition: the service is personal, the rooms are shaped by the original buildings rather than laid out on a grid, and the rooftop pool and garden feel private. There is no sea view and it does not need one.

The location is ideal for eating and walking — Rothschild, Lev Ha'ir and Neve Tzedek all within a few minutes, without the noise of the boulevard itself.

Good to know: Ask about the rooms in the second building — quieter, and several have private terraces.

Google Maps Website

3. The Jaffa — Old Jaffa, Tel Aviv

A 19th-century French hospital and chapel, converted with real conviction.

₪₪₪₪ SplurgeBest for Couples

The Jaffa occupies a converted nineteenth-century French hospital complex in Old Jaffa, with a preserved chapel now serving as the lounge and a contemporary wing designed by John Pawson alongside it.

The contrast between restored stone and new build is handled unusually well, and the excavated Crusader remains in the grounds are part of the hotel rather than a display beside it. The pool courtyard is one of the most beautiful spaces in any Israeli hotel.

Jaffa is a fifteen-minute walk from central Tel Aviv and a completely different atmosphere — older, quieter, more layered. Choosing it over the seafront is a deliberate and usually correct decision.

Good to know: Even if the room rate is out of range, the chapel bar is open to non-residents and worth a drink.

Google Maps Website

4. Mamilla Hotel — Mamilla, Jerusalem

Piero Lissoni interiors, a rooftop restaurant facing the walls, and the best location in the city.

₪₪₪₪ SplurgeBest for Couples · Solo

The Mamilla sits at the top of the Mamilla promenade, about three minutes' walk from Jaffa Gate — the shortest distance from a luxury hotel bed to the Old City anywhere in Jerusalem.

The interiors are contemporary rather than heritage, and the hotel's signature is its rooftop restaurant and bar, which looks straight at the Tower of David and the walls. Non-guests can use it, which tells you it is genuinely good rather than a captive amenity.

Rooms are on the compact side by luxury standards. What you are paying for is the location and the roof.

Good to know: Book the rooftop for about 45 minutes before sunset even if you are not staying.

Google Maps Website

5. The Setai Tel Aviv — Jaffa, by the sea, Tel Aviv

A restored Ottoman prison on the seafront — the most dramatic conversion in the city.

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The Setai occupies the Kishle, a nineteenth-century Ottoman fortress and later prison at the edge of Jaffa on the water, restored around a central courtyard with the original stone left very much on show.

It manages to be both a serious seafront resort hotel — rooftop pool, spa, sea views — and a genuine historic building, which is a combination almost nothing else in Tel Aviv pulls off. The courtyard is the heart of it.

It sits between Jaffa and the southern end of the promenade, which puts the beach, the flea market and the Old City all within a short walk.

Good to know: The rooftop pool faces west over the water — go up for sunset whether or not you swim.

Google Maps Website

6. Waldorf Astoria Jerusalem — Agron Street, Jerusalem

The grandest rooms in Jerusalem, behind a restored 1929 façade.

₪₪₪₪ SplurgeBest for Couples · Families

The Waldorf occupies the rebuilt Palace Hotel building on Agron Street, and the arched, high-ceilinged lobby is the most theatrical hotel space in the city.

Rooms are large — noticeably larger than the Jerusalem average — with marble bathrooms and a level of finish that is more international-luxury than local. If the King David feels like history and the Mamilla feels like design, this feels like money well spent.

It is kosher, has a proper spa and indoor pool, and is a short walk from both Mamilla and the city centre.

Good to know: The afternoon tea in the lobby is open to non-guests and is the cheapest way to see the room.

Google Maps Website

7. The David Kempinski Tel Aviv — Seafront promenade, Tel Aviv

The newest of the big seafront hotels, and the most polished.

₪₪₪₪ SplurgeBest for Couples · Families · Groups

The David Kempinski sits directly on the promenade and is the most recent addition to Tel Aviv's seafront luxury tier, built tall with the sea views that implies and finished to a standard the older neighbours have had to respond to.

It offers the full large-hotel package — spa, pools, several restaurants, proper conference capability — with a level of finish that is closer to a European grand hotel than the Israeli seafront norm.

For visitors who want a sea view, a pool and a hotel that simply works, rather than a restored building with character, it is the strongest option on the strip.

Good to know: Higher floors on the sea side are a meaningful upgrade here — the building is tall enough for it to matter.

Google Maps Website

8. The American Colony — Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem

A 19th-century pasha's palace in East Jerusalem, and the most atmospheric hotel in the country.

₪₪₪₪ SplurgeBest for Couples · Solo

The American Colony has been a hotel since the 1900s, in a stone house built for an Ottoman pasha, and its courtyard, cellar bar and garden have been the neutral ground of Jerusalem journalism and diplomacy for a century.

It is not the most modern luxury hotel in the city and does not try to be — the appeal is the stonework, the courtyard fountain, the library and the sense that the building has seen a great deal.

It is in East Jerusalem, about fifteen minutes' walk from Damascus Gate, and it is not kosher, which makes it one of the few genuinely non-kosher fine-dining options at this level in the city.

Good to know: The Saturday brunch in the courtyard is a Jerusalem institution — book it well ahead.

Google Maps Website

9. The Drisco — American-German Colony, Jaffa, Tel Aviv

An 1866 hotel brought back to life, with one of the city's best restaurants inside it.

₪₪₪₪ SplurgeBest for Couples · Solo

The Drisco reopened a hotel that first operated in 1866 in Jaffa's American-German Colony, following a long and unusually careful restoration of the original building.

It is small, quiet and considerably grander in feel than its size suggests, and it houses George & John, among the most ambitious kitchens in Tel Aviv. The colony around it is a strange and lovely pocket of nineteenth-century timber-framed houses.

It suits travellers who want history and calm rather than a pool deck and a sea view, within walking distance of both Jaffa and the promenade.

Good to know: Book George & John for at least one dinner — it is one of the reasons to stay here.

Google Maps Website

10. The David Citadel — King David Street, Jerusalem

Old City views, a large pool and the most family-capable luxury hotel in Jerusalem.

₪₪₪₪ SplurgeBest for Families · Couples

The David Citadel sits on King David Street between the King David and Mamilla, and it splits the difference between them — contemporary Moshe Safdie-influenced interiors, but a big hotel with big-hotel facilities.

It has the largest outdoor pool of the central luxury hotels and a substantial kids' club, which is why it fills with families over the holidays. The upper floors on the east side look across at the walls.

It is kosher and runs a full Shabbat operation, and its lounge is a standard meeting spot in the city.

Good to know: Ask for a high east-facing room — the Old City view is the whole difference in price.

Google Maps Website

Frequently asked questions

Which is the best luxury hotel in Israel?

The King David in Jerusalem, if you weight history and location facing the Old City walls. The Norman in Tel Aviv, if you weight service and room quality in a small hotel. The Jaffa is the most beautiful building of the three. They are genuinely different propositions rather than three rankings of the same thing.

How much does a luxury hotel in Israel cost?

Roughly $450–$900 a night for a standard room at the top tier in normal season, and considerably more over Pesach, Sukkot, Rosh Hashanah and Christmas, when the best hotels sell out months ahead and rates can double. January and February are the cheapest months by a wide margin.

Should you stay in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem?

Both, if you have the nights — they are 45 minutes apart and completely unalike. Jerusalem for history, the Old City and the desert day trips; Tel Aviv for the beach, the food and the nightlife. Splitting a week three nights and four nights between them is the standard and correct answer.

Are luxury hotels in Israel kosher?

In Jerusalem, almost all of them, which means separate dairy and meat kitchens, no cooking on Shabbat, a Shabbat elevator and a cold Saturday buffet. In Tel Aviv it is mixed — the older Israeli-owned hotels tend to be kosher, the newer design hotels generally are not.

Which Israeli hotel has the best view?

For the Old City, the King David's garden-facing rooms and the Mamilla's rooftop. For the sea, the Setai in Jaffa and the Hilton and Carlton on the Tel Aviv beachfront. The Setai arguably wins outright, because it looks back at the Tel Aviv skyline as well as out to sea.

When should you book a luxury hotel in Israel?

Three to six months ahead in normal season. For Pesach, Sukkot, Rosh Hashanah and the Christmas week, six to twelve months — the top hotels in Jerusalem in particular sell out that far in advance and the festival rates are set early and do not soften.

1. The King David — King David Street, Jerusalem

2. The Norman Tel Aviv — Nachmani Street, off Rothschild, Tel Aviv

3. The Jaffa — Old Jaffa, Tel Aviv

4. Mamilla Hotel — Mamilla, Jerusalem

5. The Setai Tel Aviv — Jaffa, by the sea, Tel Aviv

6. Waldorf Astoria Jerusalem — Agron Street, Jerusalem

7. The David Kempinski Tel Aviv — Seafront promenade, Tel Aviv

8. The American Colony — Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem

9. The Drisco — American-German Colony, Jaffa, Tel Aviv

10. The David Citadel — King David Street, Jerusalem

Frequently asked questions

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