The closest hotel to the Kotel is this The Sephardic House (the Spanish House). Can you imagine sleeping just 3 minutes walk to where the Holy Temple stood? And the rate for a double room is $120-$150. If you are visiting Jerusalem, and if it’s been your dream to stay inside the walls overnight, then I think you’d love this place!
Location
It’s right in the Jewish quarter, in the Old City. The closest bus station is at Dung Gate.
And then you walk uphill…. (yeah the not so romantic part if you are traveling with luggage… )
Why is this place called “Sephardic House”? The Sephardic Jews spent a great fortune to buy this land from Ottoman Turks more than 100 years ago. The place was set up by Sephardic Jews and there’s a Sephardic synagogue adjacent to this hotel.
This place was turned to a refuge house after the six-day war in 1967 because of its unique location. It’s more like a mansion of a big family than a boutique hotel. This is the same courtyard as the picture above, well, if we came in warmer months, we would have breakfast served here!
95% of guests here are Jewish, and they travel as families. But oddly, as a Chinese, I didn’t feel uncomfortable walking around here. And I like mini lounge area in corners.
I think some rooms are classrooms!
And this is a Sephardic synagogue. I took this picture from the hall where we had breakfast. I think the building is connected, and maybe the idea is like other pilgrim houses in Israel, some portion of it is for religious study and the other part for hospitality.
I didn’t take any picture in the lobby because it was full of people … and noise. It’s just a small room with a reception and some sofas. And walking through the aisle there’s an elevator.
Check-in was on the 5th floor, so we are now going “down” to our room! There’s no 1st or 2nd floor. D is for Dining room…
The room I stayed was on the right! You can see the Sephardic synagogue through this big window on the left! That’s why I think the building is connected!
The Room
Voila! Well, I booked the basic double room for $120, but the manager was so kind that he upgraded me to this room. It probably is a $175 room. You can see from the arches that this was an old building! It was spacious!
Water kettle is available. And I think it’s hard to clean this carpet…
The toilet is small but cozy. Hot water was amazingly HOT. And the floor was heated! Yay!
Breakfast
They normally serve breakfast in the courtyard, but we were here because it’s winter. Well, I didn’t mind it, and I liked the Hebrew sound heard in my years, some even with some French accent in it. It feels so familiar because we have guesthouses like these for ‘teachers’ in Taiwan.
So many options! But guess what? There’s no meat! This is a kosher place!
Grilled veggies! But it’s cold 🙁 Hmmm
Cheese~ I didn’t take any because, well, I don’t know. Maybe I am 50/50 towards cheese? (Please give me meat!)
Lots of options for more veggies, tomato, olives, and spreads.
And the best part is….. squeeze your own orange juice! Unlimited! It costs 7 NIS a cup when you walk outside this door!
There’s a station for bread too.
Coffee and other hot drinks. And some pastries!
And finally… an egg station! Wow! I ordered an omelet. There were 2 waiters standing there all the time so I didn’t take any picture… I think it is pretty amazing!
The kosher certificate on the wall!
Final Verdict
Great Location. Super close to Kotel. Generous breakfast. Nice staff. Great atmosphere. Spacious room. Prices are good too! But don’t come here if you have 23kg luggage, haha!
Sephardic House in Jerusalem — 2018
