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ISRAEL : A Weekend Of Food And Design In Tel Aviv

If there’s something I’ve learned over the years, it’s that a birthday gift that comes in the form of an experience is worth much more than almost any other physical gift you can buy at the store. It may just be me, but I really think there’s something special and memorable about birthday celebrations that involve a certain attraction, much more than a regular gift – yes, even if it’s equally expensive {or even more…}.

This is also my way of looking at trips and traveling. I see them as a much bigger investment than the purchasing many other products, because they enrich life and memories in an amazing way. It seems that this meeting point of these two fields is what makes Daniel and I celebrate our birthdays every year in places we haven’t visited before. Doesn’t matter if it’s a nature trip, a trip to a bungalow, hotel or even a trip abroad – our birthdays are always celebrated in the form of a shared experience that makes us cherish the special moments we create and experience together each time.

This time, it was my turn to organize Daniel’s birthday celebrations, and after the birthday celebrations he arranged for me last year {among which we went to this perfect place} I really didn’t want to disappoint 🙂 The plan was to spend his birthday at the new boutique hotel, THE POLI HOUSE, in the heart of Tel Aviv, and along with the hotel's pampering options, to also include visits to two food markets near the hotel – the old and familiar Carmel Market and the young and intriguing Rothschild-Allenby Market.

A Weekend Full Of Food And Design In Tel Aviv | The Poli House Boutique Hotel Tel Aviv A Weekend Full Of Food And Design In Tel Aviv | The Poli House Boutique Hotel Tel Aviv

After all, how can you not enjoy birthday celebrations that combine both culinary and one of the most intriguing and designed hotels in Israel?

If you’re looking for an idea for an experiential gift for someone you love, or even just feel like going to Tel Aviv for a special weekend, this post is just for you 🙂

STAY

The POLI HOUSE is located in the heart of Tel Aviv in the famous Magen David square. The central location, which is a meeting point for six main streets in the city {Nahalat Binyamin, The Carmel, Allenby, Sheinkin, King George and Hillel}, makes the hotel easily accessible to the city's many attractions, whether by foot or by bus or taxi services {these can be found in abundance right outside the hotel).

The choice of the POLI HOUSE hotel for the celebrations was clear, and not only because of the excellent location. The hotel became well known even before it opened due to the innovative and unique design that the international designer Karim Rashid was in charge of alongside the “Nitza Smok Architects” office which was responsible for the restoration and historical preservation of the famous Bauhaus building after many years of neglect. This is in fact the story behind the hotel – a combination of old and historic along with breakthrough innovation that combines unusual colors, psychedelic shapes and transparency and reflection games alongside advanced digital technologies.

A Weekend Full Of Food And Design In Tel Aviv | The Poli House Boutique Hotel Tel Aviv

If you have read some of my previous hotel reviews, you already know how much the design of the hotel is important to me – a hotel is not only a place to put your head while traveling to a remote destination, but a large part of the experience itself… And that's exactly why I chose to celebrate Daniel's birthday at this hotel.

We met the unconventional design and style of the hotel from the first second we entered the hotel. The hotel's ground floor looks like a lobby at first glance – a carefully designed space with art and design books and a ton of cool guides about the city of Tel Aviv, as well as various seating areas where you can relax with a cup of coffee or tea and enjoy the most dominant wall in the space which is imprinted with brightly colored illustrations by the renowned designer. But after a few moments we realized that something important was missing in the hotel's lobby – the reception desk and check-in. These are located on the third floor of the hotel… So, the entrance floor doesn’t really function as a lobby but more like a specially designed lounge. Strange, but not surprising at all given the hotel's unusual design.

A Weekend Full Of Food And Design In Tel Aviv | The Poli House Boutique Hotel Tel Aviv A Weekend Full Of Food And Design In Tel Aviv | The Poli House Boutique Hotel Tel Aviv A Weekend Full Of Food And Design In Tel Aviv | The Poli House Boutique Hotel Tel Aviv A Weekend Full Of Food And Design In Tel Aviv | The Poli House Boutique Hotel Tel Aviv A Weekend Full Of Food And Design In Tel Aviv | The Poli House Boutique Hotel Tel Aviv

On the third floor of the hotel you can also find the hotel's two famous facilities – an infinity pool, with a wooden deck that has seating areas and pampering sun loungers, and a designed rooftop bar. Both of them overlook the Tel Aviv urban landscape right up to the sea line and it’s the perfect observation point during sunset.

A Weekend Full Of Food And Design In Tel Aviv | The Poli House Boutique Hotel Tel Aviv A Weekend Full Of Food And Design In Tel Aviv | The Poli House Boutique Hotel Tel Aviv A Weekend Full Of Food And Design In Tel Aviv | The Poli House Boutique Hotel Tel Aviv A Weekend Full Of Food And Design In Tel Aviv | The Poli House Boutique Hotel Tel Aviv

One of the things I loved most about the hotel is that the design touches don’t end with the choice of accessories and furniture, but go down to the small details so that all of the hotel's branding materials, from the keys to the rooms to the toiletries, are all designed in the same style and contribute to the general vibe of the hotel’s design, bordering on modern art.

Like almost all Tel Aviv hotels {or those in big cities, in general), the rooms in POLI HOUSE are small. Even very small, yes – the suites, too, but they’re decorated in a functional and admirable manner. Really, I stayed in very small rooms in other urban hotels, but they've never been as well designed and equally impressive.

We stayed in the POLI Plus room – an 18m² room with a small balcony. The room, as small as it was, was very comfortable and equipped with almost all the accessories I would expect in a high-quality hotel room – an amazing bed, a large LED TV and even electric blinds that promised a long and especially quiet sleep and of course all the things that ensure a pampering experience in the bathing area – slippers and matching bathrobes, soft and fragrant towels, a waterfall shower and an extraordinarily large range of toiletries. Apart from all this, each room also has a small cocktail corner, which is equipped with two cocktail glasses, a shaker, a cocktail book {not the most useful, but totally enticing} and a small bottle of Arak – on the house 🙂 A small touch that adds a lot…

A Weekend Full Of Food And Design In Tel Aviv | The Poli House Boutique Hotel Tel Aviv A Weekend Full Of Food And Design In Tel Aviv | The Poli House Boutique Hotel Tel Aviv A Weekend Full Of Food And Design In Tel Aviv | The Poli House Boutique Hotel Tel Aviv A Weekend Full Of Food And Design In Tel Aviv | The Poli House Boutique Hotel Tel Aviv

On the other hand, there were two small but very noticeable disadvantages in the hotel room – first of all, there was no Nespresso machine in the room, not even a coffee maker or old-fashioned tea pot… When it comes to a high-level hotel, priced accordingly, I think it's absolutely essential in every room {Yes, even if there is a Nespresso machine in the lounge…}. Secondly, the air conditioner in the room couldn’t be operated on the cooling mode – the only option was to turn on the ventilation or heating mode. We stayed at the hotel in February and therefore, according to the hotel’s receptionist, there was no cooling option {not that winter is a good excuse in my opinion…}. The weekend we stayed there was very hot, and the only way to cool the room a little was to leave the balcony door or window open, which is a bit less desirable when the balcony faces the busy Allenby street…

A Weekend Full Of Food And Design In Tel Aviv | The Poli House Boutique Hotel Tel Aviv A Weekend Full Of Food And Design In Tel Aviv | The Poli House Boutique Hotel Tel Aviv

Like other boutique hotels I stayed at in Tel Aviv, the breakfast for hotel guests isn’t served inside the hotel but at a nearby café. In this case, POLI HOUSE collaborated with the Loveat Cafe, which is accessed via a private entrance directly from the hotel to the picturesque cafe garden. The hotel's breakfast menu includes the well-known Israeli breakfast, shakshuka, sandwiches, fruit salad and more. A fresh and tasty breakfast, but I expected a slightly more creative meal from such a unique hotel, yet the menu selection ensures diversity even if you stay at the hotel for 3 or 4 nights.

The bottom line is that the POLI HOUSE is a must for people who appreciate a unique design and are willing to pay for it. True, it's not cheap, but if you're not a fan of chain hotels {especially those in Tel Aviv…} and you won’t skip having a pool – it's definitely the hotel you have to book for your next vacation.

VISIT

As I already said in the introduction, we decided to spend the entire birthday weekend in the hotel area and we enjoyed a visit to the old Carmel market, the artist market in Nahalat Binyamin and the new Rothschild-Allenby market, which is less than a ten-minute walk from the hotel.

Rothschild-Allenby Market

I was introduced to the Rothschild-Allenby market as part of my never-ending browsing on Instagram… their story, which is always updated, often led me to open the refrigerator door only to find things far less interesting than what I saw on the screen. I decided that our short vacation in Tel Aviv was the perfect time to visit there – and not just to visit for the first time, but to arrange for my beloved a particularly tasty tasting meal among the market stands. One that can only be eaten on a birthday {Wait, on birthdays calories don’t count, right? I really hope that this also applies to the one accompanying the person celebrating…}. I won’t go into a detailed description of the market, because I think the pictures speak for themselves, but in my opinion it really is one of the best markets in Israel – there’s a big and varied selection of stands, the atmosphere is just wonderful and it reminds me of the Foodhallen market I loved so much in Amsterdam. I recommend going to the market’s website to read about some of the cool stands there {and definitely don’t skip the South African sandwich!!}.

A Weekend Full Of Food And Design In Tel Aviv | Rothschild Allenby Market A Weekend Full Of Food And Design In Tel Aviv | Rothschild Allenby Market A Weekend Full Of Food And Design In Tel Aviv | Rothschild Allenby Market A Weekend Full Of Food And Design In Tel Aviv | Rothschild Allenby Market A Weekend Full Of Food And Design In Tel Aviv | Rothschild Allenby Market A Weekend Full Of Food And Design In Tel Aviv | Rothschild Allenby Market A Weekend Full Of Food And Design In Tel Aviv | Rothschild Allenby Market A Weekend Full Of Food And Design In Tel Aviv | Rothschild Allenby Market

The Carmel Market

The next stop was the Carmel Market. Even though we’ve been to the colorful stands there many times before, and we were stuffed from the “tastings” of the previous market, we couldn’t afford to miss a small taste of the authentic atmosphere that was so abundant there, especially since it’s so close to the hotel. The market has become more eclectic over the years, even more than in the past – among the clothing stands, posters and souvenirs at the entrance to it and through the fruit and vegetable stands, spices and fresh fish, you can find there a particularly cool culinary scene that combines old fashioned home-cuisine restaurants with small boutique delicatessens, food stands and bars that are fun to sit at for a cold beer at noon. We couldn’t help ourselves and decided to buy fresh fruits and snacks to equip the hotel room for moments when our stomachs started rumbling… {For some reason, it always happens to me as soon as I sink into a comfortable bed!}.

A Weekend Full Of Food And Design In Tel Aviv | Carmel Market (Shuk) In Tel Aviv A Weekend Full Of Food And Design In Tel Aviv | Carmel Market (Shuk) In Tel Aviv A Weekend Full Of Food And Design In Tel Aviv | Carmel Market (Shuk) In Tel Aviv A Weekend Full Of Food And Design In Tel Aviv | Carmel Market (Shuk) In Tel Aviv A Weekend Full Of Food And Design In Tel Aviv | Carmel Market (Shuk) In Tel Aviv A Weekend Full Of Food And Design In Tel Aviv | Carmel Market (Shuk) In Tel Aviv

The Nahalat Binyamin Artists Fair

The parallel street to the Carmel Market is Nahalat Binyamin, which on Tuesdays and Fridays becomes a lively and colorful fair for artists. It’s fun to wander among the artists' stands, which offer special artwork, all of which are purely local, blue and white – made in Israel, which can’t be found anywhere else and simply absorb the special atmosphere of this area.

A Weekend Full Of Food And Design In Tel Aviv | Nahalat Binyamin Market A Weekend Full Of Food And Design In Tel Aviv | Nahalat Binyamin Market A Weekend Full Of Food And Design In Tel Aviv | Nahalat Binyamin Market A Weekend Full Of Food And Design In Tel Aviv | Nahalat Binyamin Market A Weekend Full Of Food And Design In Tel Aviv | Nahalat Binyamin Market

What’s the perfect birthday present in your opinion?

Share it with me in the comments below and, of course, please share it on Facebook and save the post on Pinterest!

A special thank you to the POLI HOUSE Boutique Hotel for your hospitality.

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