Due to archeological excavations, the design drawings of the hotel and the church had to be redrawn. The “Magdala Archaeological Park” was opened (click here ) a few years ago, and the hotel…. was opened last year in November 2019!

So I had to come here and see!

What would the experience like, staying at the biblical “Magdala”?

Location

It’s literally at Magdala. And not in Tiberias, where many hotels are situated. 

It’s easy to take a bus from here to Tiberias or Safed! After getting off the bus from Migdal Junction, it will take about 8 minutes to pass through a local supermarket, gas station and cafes. It will not be particularly difficult to walk ~

I heard that the road from the hotel to the bus station will be open in the future! (It only takes 2 minutes to walk! It will be super convenient)

Though most people come by tour buses!

The look in the morning, wow.

Check-In

There was a nice scent in the lobby! It actually smells like a luxury hotel! In fact, it ’s only been 2 months since the opening, and the place was packed with international groups.

The receptionist was a Christian Arab (judging by the last name, plus this is a pilgrim house), next to it is the gift shop. The picture behind it should be the structure of the Magdalen Hall.

Official website: https://magdalahotel.com

It’s really a nice hotel, and not just a hotel… read on!

My welcome drink. It’s a hot drink made from pears..?! Pretty interesting, I loved it!

Facilities

There is an elevator! And there are comfortable seats in every corner ~ you can chat!

Let’s use the elevator.. haha… why not…

This is the second floor, there is a comfortable chair in the same corner ~ This place has amazing scenery during the day!

The Magdala Hotel has only two floors, and it feels very comfortable.

This is a photo taken on the second floor toward the lobby.

In the middle there’s a “fish pond”, and it’s actually from the time of Jesus/Yeshua… 2000 years ago!

The fishermen would throw their catch directly from their boats to the fish pond! This is THE fish pond! The designer moved the historic fish pond here, how cool is that!

Well, the way to the room ~ The hallway is super spacious and has a sense of luxury! !! The first time I felt that my luggage was not stuck! Haha!

Let’s go to 148~

The Room

Let’s see…. wait, there’s a bottle of wine on the table?! Wow!!

Let’s see the room at a glance ~ This is a super spacious guest room. There’s a luggage rack next to the TV, wardrobe, tea set, refrigerator, and the shower is next to the entrance!

This bed is awesome … First of all, there are 5 pillows!! 5!!! And then it is really wide. I can turn over…..  and turn over.

I think the bed was at least 1.5 times wider than an ordinary bed, at least!! It’s so wide that I doubted whether I was sleeping in a double bed! !!

Small tea set and refrigerator~  It’s nice to have a cup of tea and hot water in the room! (So important for Asians anyways, we drink hot water all the time)

The toilet … The toilet was very spacious ~ I wonder if as a backpacker, I got used to smaller spaces… Oh but it’s not difficult to adapt, I have already quickly adapted, haha!

In short, the toilet is awesome, and the washstand is separated ~

Wait, do you see what I see?

AHAVA is in the room! AHAVA is a Dead Sea brand, pretty famous actually. So there’s AHAVA lotion, shampoo, conditioner, and shower gel! Amazing! (Not a typical pilgrim house you’d expect!)

Because of the inspiration, I bought more Ahava products at the airport, haha!

Even though the room is shared only between me and my mom… the toilet is separated from the shower, and both are incredibly spacious! Wow!!

The hair dryer is also a normal new type, not a hair dryer that looks like a vacuum machine… (pretty popular from 1980s in Israel) ~

How it looks during the day ~ I got up in a panic, and then quickly looked at the scenery outside … Because I only saw the road at night, I was curious to know what it’d look like in the day

(again, this is really a spacious single bed)

The scenery from my balcony … There’s  a Jewish village in the first century AD, and Mt.Arbel~

Wow ~ I feel like I am in a resort … Only better…

There are 150 rooms at Magdala, this is the cheapest room ~ But this view is already incredible!

(There are rooms facing the lake, but the difference will not be too much)

Dinner

OK ~ back to dinner! The name of the restaurant is Tarichaea. Does it ring a bell? Taricheae, mentioned by historian Josephus, it means “place of salted fish” ~ See, Magdala has a lot of nice details

The dinner buffet is open daily from 7 pm-9pm! It’s time to eat!

You’d naturally expect quality dinner when the room was so nice … but I didn’t expect it would be so good! There were so many options!

First of all, I saw salmon!!!

Incredible!! I LOVE salmon!

So there are 5 choices for the main course alone! And besides salmon, there is also pork! !! Incredible! !!

Not enough space for salads, there are just too many options!

And the desserts!

The difference between the room+breakfast option vs half-board option is US$23 per person. But in Israel, you don’t get much with $23 (about 70NIS), maybe you can get a nice pasta, but not a buffet like this!!

Whoever reads it, don’t miss out on the dinner!

And this is not over yet! In fact, the buffet is divided into two sides, the other side has a more complete set of dishes. Visually, I would say there were at least 40 kinds of salads, and there’s also soup!

The seating area~

The second night, the place was packed!

And I found a group of Taiwan!! (I’m from Taiwan too)

The next day there is no salmon, all 5 main dishes were different and so delicious. I think there was sea bass and duck meat.

Finally, I felt satisfied with eating, because as an Asian, my diet isn’t hummus, falafel, shawarma, shakshuka… I need something …else! Haha!

Plus, if you want to eat something more formal, it’d cost at least 100NIS, yet there won’t be so many choices … this is just incredible!

Drinks were probably billed separately (with room number), by the way, really not a good time to drink Corona beer -_-

Facilities 2

Let’s see what it looks like during the day! Remember these two chairs? Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, you could see the synagogue, market, and village outside …

The scenery on the second floor ~ Super super, super worth staying here! (Even just for sitting here!)

The fish pond during the day. Is there a sense of confusion in time and space?

Life is a gift. Hehe!

You can walk out from the glass window behind the fish pond!

More seating area, I guess it’s a part of the cafe. I heard that there will be new restaurants in the future!

The menu. Even if you are not staying here, come for coffee! The latte is only 14NIS!

A gym is somewhere here. And a swimming pool!!

In a short distance (Magdala is not that big), you’d see the prayer center, which is built over the ancient harbor!  Very cool!

When you stay here, you can come here as you like, even after the business hours, and I guess you don’t need to pay extra for the ticket.

Let’s walk to the lake, but not an ordinary lake! It’s the Sea of Galilee! (It’s a lake) If you can spot a little bit of blue, that’s the lake ~ how interesting!

This is a small worship corner, it is very suitable for groups to come here for the morning prayer!

You can read more about the Magdala archaeological park here! I wrote about it 1-2 years ago. So this is the 1st-century synagogue where Jesus/Yeshua taught! Behind it, it’s the Magdala Hotel!

At first, the prayer center was meant to be built here, closer to the road. When the foundation was dug, wait, an ancient synagogue was found!

Isn’t this a miracle?

And we found Magdala!!! Incredible! In order to maintain precious archeological findings, the blueprint of the Magdalen Hotel and the location of the prayer center had to be modified to what we see today.

Breakfast

Breakfast buffet is open from 6: 30 ~ 09: 00, basically most people come with the group, so it’s super quiet after 7: 30 ~

There are many breakfast options too!

Eat your veggies, even in the morning, it’s good for your health. Haha!

For the hot food, there are three kinds of eggs ~

The special feature of breakfast here is that the coffee is served by the waiter (and they are super polite), and it is really good American coffee!

My happy breakfast!

Conclusion

The standard, the service, the quality, the room for this price, I’d say it’s the most amazing accommodation you’d see in the Tiberias area.  If you have budget, I really recommend it!

I can see how this place will be packed with tour groups, and it will be difficult to reserve a room. In fact, I don’t need to predict, just go online and see how many dates are already blocked out, and the Magdala Hotel has opened just for 2 months! Incredible!

If your group is taking you here, you are lucky! This is definitely the best place to stay in Galilee! Everything is either new or 2000 years old!

I loved this place!

By the way, I heard that a hostel will/might be built in the near future, in the basement of the Magdala Hotel because there are many hikers in the area. I hope this plan will work out

Official website: https://magdalahotel.com

It’s funny how I was hesitant about staying here. Even though I grew up in a church, I don’t see myself as a pilgrim in Israel. So I worried about feeling uncomfortable there…. Well, it turns out I worried too much! Everyone is welcomed here.

Location of Casa Nova Tiberias

The location is literally next to the sea of Galilee. It’s like 2 minutes walk! There are many restaurants nearby. Although… Tiberias is not a big city anyway, everything is relatively close.

The walk from Tiberias Central Station to Casa Nova Tiberias is mostly flat. It’s a 10 minutes walk.

The building of Casa Nova Tiberias is made by basalt stone, typical in Galilee. Parking is at entrance. Ring the bell (though it is scarily loud!)

Check In

The reception… I was shocked. It was so clean! Incredibly clean! How did I book my accommodation? I simply wrote to Casa Nova Tiberias (casanova@koinoniagb.org), and someone with the name of Giacomo confirmed my reservation. No credit card, no down payment. He simply trusted my arrival.

When I checked in, the reception asked if I was XYZ. And I was like…..  It makes sense because I have an Asian name. And so I asked if he was Giacomo？ He said yes! It was a very fun moment to meet someone who’s been corresponding emails with you in real life!

I booked 2 dorm beds (90NIS/$25, including breakfast). Giacomo told us that we were the only guests here tonight. I was like, “How come???? Is it because the church doesn’t want to receive guests?”  And he said, “We do. It’s just… it doesn’t seem to have backpackers who want to stay with us…. Most people who come here prefer double room with private bathroom.” Well, who knows?

“So, is your role here mostly receiving guests?” I asked him.

“I’m actually a Father.” He gently said.

And my face was like….. :O

I had a bad day in that morning, but when I saw the humbleness in him, I realized there was so much that I still need to learn from people like Father Giacomo. It wasn’t a religious place like I thought it would be, it was like, home.

Casa Nova belongs to Catholic church. In the evening there are masses. It’s at 7PM on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursday, and 6:30PM on Fridays and Saturdays. And then the chapel opens from 08:30AM to 6:30PM on Sundays, (Note that in Israel, Sunday to Thursdays are working days. Friday evening to Saturday evening is shabbat.)

To the staircase. Yay, basalt architecture!

We are right beside the sea of Galilee. This building is built on a slope. The reception was on ground floor, but that’s actually 2nd floor… from the other side. The breakfast is downstairs, the balcony and shared kitchen is upstairs.

Common Area

Chapel is on the “real” ground floor. Or basement. Try to remember that Mass is at evening 7pm. It’s only for half an hour. Everyone is welcomed.

The dining area upstairs. You can have tea here. And on this balcony, you can see the Sea of Galilee! I watched sunrise from here!

There are 2 balconies actually. Different angle.

The second balcony… wait, I think this is the rooftop of the chapel??

The place is historical. I cannot believe I stayed here for only $25! In this picture, you can see Casa Nova Tiberias is one of the few buildings that existed back then. Like 1935 or something. Very old.

I love this area so much! Actually I had my dinner here (leftover food from another restaurant). Where was everyone else though? Probably most guests here come with groups. So they were not back yet!

I tried to see the light show here. Hmm. I didn’t see any.

Oh, and the communal kitchen. It’s super tidy and clean!

There are kettles, ovens, microwaves, kitchen utensils, cutlery, plates, and cleaning supplies. Everything is neat and organized. It shows that they actually want people to be able to cook here! That’s called friendliness!

The Room

Next to the dining room, you see the double room. It’s actually not that costly, maybe $80?

My dorm is on the real ground floor.

This is the dormitory for girls! 7 single beds! No bunk-beds! Yay! Towel is on the bed. There are 2 sofas and a basic closet.

The toilet and washroom is on the other side of the hallway. You will see 4 bathrooms (shower and toilet) behind this door on your left.  Don’t go all the way to the end of this hallway because that’s their storage space!

Bathroom. Very basic but it’s clean! Toiletries was provided. It was a pity that hot water wasn’t hot enough. I borrowed hair dryer from Father Giacomo, but I didn’t have a chance to use it.  But again, I thank him for showing me what humbleness is.

Breakfast

I passed by this altar or monument…

And arrived at this hall for breakfast (the white one)

From the main building where I stayed (basalt) to this hall, there are 2 churches in between. I think that’s the chapel of Casa Nova, and the other is St.Peter’s church! (The entrance is from the Sea shore side) 

Breakfast timing is from 07:30-08:30. Don’t sleep in! Don’t waste your life! Haha!

The hall was built by basalt. I think 30-40 people can fit.

Let’s see what breakfast options are!

Next to the toaster, is a kettle and tea bags. A variety of jams.

Cereal. Sweet cake (very Italian for breakfast!), hams (chicken?), olives, boiled eggs, butter.

Hot coffee and artificial juice.

It’s basic…. but less it more!! Life is more than enjoying good food! Right?

About curfew, I remeber you are supposed to be back by 11pm. I don’t think it’s a big deal for most people sicne Tiberias is quiet. Cash only. (So I went to ATM).

I left my luggage here after checkout. And I think people here were so kind. A sister moved my luggage to another room, and carried it back….  with smiles. And I think she was younger than me, but she finds delight in all these things. I’m just so happy for them, and their lives in Israel!

So, to make a reservation, write to casanova@koinoniagb.org. Father Giacomo replies in a day! It doesn’t matter what your religious background is, everyone is welcomed!

Final Verdict

Great option. Highly recommended.  The only problem I had was with hot water Otherwise for $25 a night you get to stay in such as historical place! I like the ambiance a lot. So it’s a big yes from me!

Casa Nova Tiberias— 2018

Comment：Not that religious. Safe. Clean. Friendly. Just life home. Amazing balcony for watching sunrise. Basic breakfast.  (7-bed dorm $25/ double room $80)