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.

These are the websites that I recommend!

1.HotelsCombined

Hotelscombined is good for comparing prices. If you already know which hotel/hostel that you want to stay, it’s not a bad idea to ‘double check’. 

2.Booking.com

I use Booking.com. This is my “go-to” booking portal because the interface is much easier to use. I think the prices is presented as clear as possible. And you get some perks being Genius member.  Booking.com works with local credit card companies, so make sure you check what’s available in your country.

3.Hotels.com

If you are looking for “proper” hotels, in terms of quality, Hotels.com has better listing (there are exceptions though).  The game here is if you stay 10 nights you get 1 night free (average price). I use it when I want filtered hotel-like accommodation.

4.agoda

There was a day when agoda was popular. It’s not so popular in my home country now (and many places) mostly because the quality of listings are not verified, the hidden costs and hard to use filters. They’ve now got this rule for giving you rebates. If it’s hard to find accommodation in your budget, try Agoda. You might find something cheap but with bad reviews.

5.Expedia.com

I used this website 10 years ago…..  and I did a research on the prices offered for “Flight+accommodation”, well, you can save about 16% if you choose the deal of the day. Otherwise it’s about the same as other websites.

6.Hotwire.com

Don’t use hotwire in Israel. At least my experience in 2017 was not good. You get blind deals but a ‘deal’ never existed.  The ‘40% discount’ claim was the price of this hotel comparing to simialr hotels in the neighborhood. How can you compare oranges to apples? What’s the point for presenting price difference of two different hotels as 40% discount?

7.Priceline.com

Priceline is similar to hotwire. You don’t know the name of the hotel until you have a deal. There is a function of  “Name Your Own Price!” Again, in my opinion I don’t think this model would work in Israel….

8.Airbnb

If you want to stay in a room with kitchen, then it is better that you rent an apartment/studio. Expect to pay $20 per head at least, so the price is about the same with dorm-bed if you are a group of 2-3 people, except you have way more privacy.

9.Flipkey

Similar to airbnb. The listing seems to be superior. It’s a brand of Tripadvisor!

10.Home Away

Like Airbnb. This is a brand of Expedia. It purchased VRBO. The options look good actually!

11.Couchsurfing

Israeli love traveling and hosting. You can easily find a host in Israel, and personally I think it is a good way to see a country through the eyes of a local. It’s very time consuming to find a host though, and it costs $25 to be a member now…

 12.BeWelcome

Similar to couchsurfing (before it is commercialized). But the interface is so basic and there aren’t as many hosts on it.

 13.Home Exchange

You need to pay $150/year to be a member, so it’s for serious users only. But I think it worth a try if you are a house owner and if you can work something out!

 14.WWOOF

You are allowed to volunteer as a WWOOFer not longer than 30 days with a regular B/2 visa (the visa you get when entering Israel as a tourist).  The membership fee is $48 a year. There are many good oppurtunities which actually sound fun!

 15.Craiglist Israel

If you are considering short-term rentals, you can use craglist. The term is for minimum a year I think.

 16.Janglo

Similar to Craiglist. Lots of ads to check.

 17.Facebook Group

Good for sublets. You’ll find 1-2 month oppurtunities in these two Facebook groups. A room without bath is typically 2000NIS/month. You are sharing the common area with other roommates. Often you’ll see SS/SK, SS means roommates are shabbat keeping (SS: Shomer Shabbat) and SK means the kitchen is kosher (SK: Shomer Kashruth）

1. https://www.facebook.com/groups/JerusalemApartments/
2. https://www.facebook.com/groups/121562707980013/

18. Pilgrim Houses

There are many Christian pilgrim houses. Many require you to write emails to check availability (like the Casa Nova I stayed in Tiberias)

19.Zimmer

If you feel like having a can somewhere, check out zimmer. I find it expensive though. Check: www.israel-tours-hotel.com , www.weekend.co.il (in Hebrew)、www.zimmer.co.il (in Hebrew)

20. Camping

There are free campsites in Israel (Ein Bokek, Masada, Tiberias), but I’m not sure what facilities there will be except toilets. If you go to national or private campsites, expect to pay ₪65-₪70 ($16-$17) a head! Unless you love camping, you might as well go to a hostel. For more information:  http://gocamping.co.il/apage/71496.php

Hopefully you will find one of these websites useful! Happy searching!

From the bus station, it’s a mostly flat walk to this building. It’s just a regular house. It’s hard to imagine how they run a hostel inside.

There we go! You need a code to get in!

When you enter, it’s a tiny area for reception. It can fit 3 people. But don’t let the size fool you, this place is professionally run. The receptionist quickly checked the other guest in, and he came back for us.  He patiently went through the formal greeting procedure, despite the fact that I already heard everything.

Common Area

And … Wait, a lounge? In this tiny hostel? I haven’t seen a desktop computer for a while… looks like some people don’t travel with their laptops or smartphones. Otherwise I don’t understand who still uses a desktop computer…

So it’s incredible how there was a lounge for desktop, and a locker, and 2 more chairs in this tiny hallway.  The desktop computers are placed below the TV by the wall.

And then 2 more areas, serving as kitchen.

On the left, the preparation area. On the right, cooking area. But I doubt anyone cooks here. Wait, I asked my tomatoes here. So I actually I used the kitchen, kind of.

The Room

There are 4 rooms in this tiny hostel. All guests share 2 bathroom (toilets and showers are not separated). It’s insufficient. But everyone in this hostel was courteous, so strangely I didn’t face any inconvenience.

Mezuzah, it’s a Mitzvah from the Bible. It can also be seen as a symbol of Almighty God’s protection, because that is His name, El Shaddai.  It’s at the entrance of every room. I wonder if anyone else noticed.

The kitchen used to have a Mezuzah. Hahaha! What happened?!

The room size…  It’s small, even if you use it as a basic double room, it is small. But now it is used as a dormitory, it makes sense as it is just a place to sleep. There’s not much room if you are traveling with a larger suitcase.  But again, it cost only $21 per bed!

There is an individual bedside lamp. And outlet.

Surprise Breakfast!

I have no idea why breakfast was ‘complimentary’, it’s not included in the room price, but it is ‘complimentary’. I was told about this when I checked in.  I’m happy for any free food! Israel is expensive, so when you get to have surprise breakfast for free, it’s like…..YAY!

What a beautiful morning with ocean breezes and free breakfast!

Breakfast items were laid by the table next to the lockers. Buffet style everyone! Wow! But there was sand in my lettuce… I think they don’t wash veggies in Israel…

On this table you find drinks and coffee. Free! So I see why there’s hgh review for this hostel. I will also give them high score because the receptionist has always been patient and friendly.

Since there wasn’t a big common area, it was relatively quiet at night. No wild parties. Everyone was here just to sleep. So I think that’s good management.

Check-out time was at 11AM. Free juice all day (artificial though)

Final Verdict

Good option if your budget is $20-$25 a night. Free breakfast (not sure if it’s temporary) makes this place so good for value! I will consider staying here again because of value. But there are only 2 washrooms for 4 dorm rooms here… I will be hesitant.

Crown Sea Hostel in Tel Aviv — 2018

Comment：Good location, quiet at night. Good for value. But only 2 washrooms for 4 dorms. Free breakfast?  (6-bed dorm $21)