Once a pasha's palace, this cool limestone oasis with its flower-filled inner courtyard has been a hotel for more than a century. It's a 10-minute walk from the Damascus Gate, in East Jerusalem, but worlds away from the hubbub of the Old City. A favorite haunt of American and British expats, foreign journalists, and diplomats, the hotel (Swiss-run and affiliated with The Leading Small Hotels of the World) is famous for its ambience: turquoise-and-blue tilework, Damascene wood inlay, potted palms. The best, exceptionally large rooms breathe elegance, with rug-strewn flagstone floors and vaulted or antique painted-wood ceilings. At press time, the hotel was being renovated, one wing at a time, with some guest rooms redesigned in an antique style. Pros: Old World aesthetics and international atmosphere; good English bookstore; free Internet access. Cons: dead neighborhood at night; a cab ride to most attractions and restaurants.
Reviewed by petekendall from London on 1/21/07
We were lucky enough to stay in room 16, right off the Courtyard. I don't know how they got that room so quiet right bank in the middle of everything. The food was great, there was no one at the pool when we were there ( it was a little cold but October can be like that) , and the atmosphere just drips history and charm. we will return, (when I can afford $300 or so per night).The free broadband is a nice touch
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