On our second night, we moved from Crown Sea Hostel to this 4-star hotel BY14 TLV on Ben Yehuda street. (Hence the name, BY = Ben Yehuda, 14 is its number). It used to be Hotel Mercure Tel Aviv City Center.
The Location of BY14 TLV
It’s close to the beach and the previous American Embassy. There are many restaurants and supermarkets around.
The new look from outside. BY14 TLV! I like how they rebranded this property.
The style fits Tel Aviv better. It’s modern and has an industrial feel.
This is the lobby? This is the conference room? Very informal, but I like it.
The coffee table area from the other side. You get natural sunlight from here. You will feel like you are sitting in someone’s sunroom. It’s so comfortable!
There’s a TV here. And free snacks (cookies), all kinds of tea bags, coffee machine and 2 other types of drinks. Everything is elegantly presented, and it’s so relaxing to be here.
Check-in
This is the reception! I like it! It feels like I was interviewing for a job! I love this hotel! The lady at reception was so kind that she let me check in early. And she gave me an upgrade! Why? I don’t know! But I am happy!
My upgraded room is on the 9th floor. This place used to be Hotel Mercure, so you can still see they haven’t rebranded everything.
The Room
Ooops, sorry about the setting. But let’s just look at the size. It’s about 16m2. I asked for 2 single beds… I guess this is 2 single beds, you just need to pull them apart by yourself. Haha!
Yay, back to correct setting. The beds are so comfortable. You get 2 pillows too! What a luxury!
Hey I can see the Mediterranean Sea from my window!
You get a TV, fridge, kettle… and a capsule type coffee machine. I don’t know how to use it though :/
The reception was supposed to send someone to help me when I called. But no one came. I didn’t care, but I didn’t want to wait and I went for lunch (Kukiza is a great lunch option, by the way, just 1-minute walk). And when I came back…. wait, what’s on my table????? Complimentary Wine? Cookies? Why??? So my new tase was try to open this bottle of wine. Haha!
The washroom. You will usually see a shower instead of a bathtub in Israel because water is in shortage in this area. It is crazy how Israeli has fixed this problem by inventing ways to recycle water.
An I have no idea why the hair dryer is like a vacuum machine. It’s funny when you dry your hair with this… it is even a bit scary! (Please don’t eat my hair)
A complete set of toiletries. The brand is Sea of Spa. It seems like all the hotels in Israel uses this brand.
Hello Mezuzah! The mitzvah from the Bible that Israeli still keep till today.
The Facilities
A gym! Of course, I won’t work out (I refuse!) I like the chairs outside. That’s more me!
The sunset. Well, it would look nicer if it wasn’t a cloudy day!
And a room for Dry Sauna. You need to make a reservation 1 hour earlier. But I don’t understand dry sauna…
Breakfast
The place where we have breakfast is kind of hidden. You need to walk through a hallway and go down some stairs.
The style is totally different. Maybe this has changed. (I stayed here in February 2018)
Let’s see what I had here! There are many choices. Kosher. So it means no meat…. but you get all kinds of bread, juice (artificial), and tea bags.
Fruits, olives, veggies, dairy products. If you are having dairy products then you cannot have meat. That’s the rule.
Cheeses~ They look the same to me, but they actually had very different tastes. So it is time to practice enjoying cheese! (It’s hard for Asian to like cheese, FYI)
Cereals. Eat with yogurt. Eat with yogurt made by Yotvata Kibbutz!
I ate so much!
Final Verdict
I like this place a lot! 24 hours snack! Good breakfast! Excellent service! But I will double check the price. If it’s less than $150, then it is a good choice!
BY14 TLV in Tel Aviv — 2018
Comment：Very friendly. Good breakfast. 24 hours snack in lobby. The room is not big.
