Herbert Samuel by Orchid Hotels

This is a lovely hotel in the heart of a busy section of “new” Jerusalem; a short walk from the old city. It is elegant and well appointed and the staff is friendly and courteous. The rooms are modern and clean with gorgeous enormous bathrooms. Great Israeli breakfast on the top floor with views of the city and the delightful maitre d’ Raphael. (“Take some fruit for the drive”). The surrounding area is lively day and night with shops and cafes. The streetcar is right outside and goes to the Mehana Yehuda market as well as Yad Vashem. I would definitely stay here again next time I’m in Jerusalem, which I hope will be soon.

I had high hopes for this hotel after reading the reviews. The hotel itself is beautiful and in a great location if you want to be right in the center of the things. We stayed during the Sukkot holiday which I'm sure is more challenging for the staff, but a well trained and motivated staff should have been able to handle it. The hotel wasn't even that crowded, judging by the dining room and lobby. The room was nice, with a huge, luxurious shower. Maya, the guest relations person was quite personable and made an effort to address our concerns. It was an uphill battle for her though, because she's dealing with a really horrible staff. With the exception of Elad and Sami, the front desk staff was unfriendly, unhelpful and sometimes downright rude. Housekeeping was poor -- we couldn't get our room cleaned until late in the afternoon and the previous day they didn't change the towels in our room (and I heard other guests complaining as well). We were told, "Well why didnt' you call and ask for clean towels?" This is supposed to be a five star hotel! No turn-down service either. The mini bar/frig was hot to the touch, empty and non-operational the entire time we were there, which was apparently a hotel-wide problem. The closet was tiny and there were no drawers so we could unpack. Maya "comped" us our Shabbat dinners which should have resulted in a credit back on our bill (they charged the entire amount the second we checked in). Instead, we were double charged, still waiting to resolve that through American Express. This hotel has great potential but needs to improve its staff training and should study other five star hotels to understand what level of service is expected.