I am going to israel for the first time, and I am still figuring out my itinerary. My current plan is to spend four or five nights in Jerusalem. I am traveling alone, am of Jewish descent, but not very religious.

Though I have many questions regarding my trip, this post is focused on hotel choice only. I like staying in nice hotels, and I am considering three hotels, but would appreciate any other suggestions or general advice. My "standard" choices are the King David or the Inbal, which seems to be nice, and quite a bit less expensive than the King David. But there is a hotel in East Jerusalem, the American Colony Hotel, which seems to have a rich history, and a cool atmosphere, as well as being a nice hotel. Additionally, they have some attractive rates on single rooms.

When I mentioned the American Colony Hotel to a friend, he said he thought it was not very centrally located, and that is was located in an area that I, being American and Jewish, might not want to stay in. I have another friend (an American) who stayed at this hotel, and she had no reservations about recommending it to me. Is the location inferior or out of the way? And, culturally, or safety-wise, should I be concerned?

I was thinking it might be interesting to split my stay between the Inbal and the American Colony to experience two different sides of the city(?).

Thanks for the help.

I stayed at The American Colony many years ago and it was lovely. More recently when I went there, after the first intifada, the athmosphere had changed and I no longer felt safe there. The King David is beautiful and well located. If you can affors it, you can't go wrong staying there.

Have a great trip

We stayed at the Dan Panorama in Jerusalem. It was a great location. It's around the corner from the King David [both owned by the Dan co] It's a very nice hotel. It is less expensive than the King David and as well located.
I would avoid the American Colony Hotel curently, until things get more settled in East Jerusalem.

One of the major drawbacks of the American Colony is its location. Other than a few other hotels a few blocks away, there is not much else around the hotel and if you want to go out for something in the evening - a meal, some shopping, etc. you will have to take a taxi to the center of West Jerusalem or other neighborhoods such as Emek Refaim.

If you stay in the Inbal or King David, you can easily just walk out to take a walk, go a block or so in any direction and find restaurants, coffee shops, shopping and lots of other people out and about.

We stayed at the David Citadel and can't say enough good about it. The location can't be beat. Just a VERY short walk to the old city of Jerusalem. Every morning we ate breakfast outside looking at the Old City.

We were there recently for the first time (2 families of 4 with grown children). We stayed at the Harmony hotel and loved it. It's a boutique hotel in a convenient location (short walk to Jaffa gate), great services, an excellent breakfast and nice rooms. It's very moderately priced as well. We also stayed in another of the group's (Atlas hotels) hotels in Tel Aviv, Shalom, which was also fabulous.

Both hotels have rooftop patios and complementary happy hours.

Check tripadvisor for reviews of all the places mentioned here.

I am currently a guest at the Dan Panorama as I am writing this. That being said, as much as I enjoy the hotel it is NOT in the same class as the King David. The Inbal too is very nice, considered slightly nicer than this--but not in the same historic class as the KIng David. Personally, I like the Dan Panorama better than the Inbal. The Harmony is a small hotel with small rooms. It has a good location and gets good reviews. It is NOT in the same class as any of the aforementioned properties.

Despite the endorsement form teh American Colony employee, I would not feel comfortable staying there and going out alone at night. Her comment about Jewish and Arab workers getting along is irrelevant. ALL the hotels have Jewish and Arab workers. The Dan Panorama does too--and they seem to get along and all give excellent service to guests ( and I a repeat customer get a hearty greeting from all)

The Inbal is easily accessible to the City Center and Emek Refaim which is the German Colony and location of loads of restaurants, as well as to Mamilla Mall. ( these are all walking distance or an easy bus ride away) The American Colony is not accessible by bus--but you are dependent on taxis and hopefully honest drivers! ( in terms of fair price with the meter)