5 Best Hotels in Haifa and the Northern Coast, Israel

The glitzier younger sister of the Dan Carmel up the road, this 21-story hotel is popular with business executives, thanks, in part, to a comfortable second-floor lobby with a circular bar. Rooms are spacious with blue-and-yellow design and pale-wood furnishings. Many look out onto the gold-topped Baha'i Shrine and the bay, while the rest have lovely city views. The hotel is connected to the Panorama Center mall, with casual eateries and boutiques.

At this three-story hostelry inside a former Turkish police station, original wooden doors lead in to a small lobby, where a painted plaster rosette decorates the gold ceiling. The lavish old-world design has received some updates—original bathrooms are beautifully modernized—but original stonework remains in the windows and walls. Double rooms are decorated in brown, caramel, and beige, and net curtains embroidered with flowers frame the windows. Each of the five family rooms has a loft with two beds so four people can settle in comfortably. The rooftop café showcases the lovely skyline of Old Akko.

On the western slopes of Zichron Ya'akov, a 10-minute walk from the center of town, this family-run hotel has a spectacular view of the coastal valley and the sea and rooms done in blues and yellows. The terrace restaurant specializes in meat dishes like oven-roasted duck in plum sauce. There's a pretty garden, a whirlpool-tub, and small aboveground pool. Less fit guests feel the climb to the sundeck on the roof; the three-story building has no elevator.

A private beach with exceptional views and a country club with state-of-the-art facilities make this hotel a great deal, especially for families. There's a huge outdoor pool in a sprawling grassy area where wooden walkways lead down to the curving bay. The views are fantastic: on one side you can see Old Akko's blue domes, skinny minarets, and stone walls; on the other, the Carmel mountains behind Haifa. For youngsters there's a children's pool, and for adults a Turkish bath with wet and dry saunas. There's also a bar in the cheerful lobby.

If you'd enjoy a dip in a pool ringed by olive trees while you gaze at the blue Mediterranean, consider this delightful lodging. Host Yakir rents three suites, each with a hot tub and stunning view of Atlit Bay, plus a kitchenette and a sitting area for reading or watching satellite television. A bountiful brunchlike breakfast costs NIS 60 per guest.