The Drisco Hotel in Tel Aviv’s American Colony neighborhood announced it will start welcoming guests on June 3 following the completion of a more than 10-year restoration process. The luxury hotel has 42 guestrooms and suites, high-end dining options, modern amenities and a building with a storied past.
Rooms & Amenities
The Drisco Tel Aviv has 37 rooms and five suites, all equipped with upscale amenities, new technology and Carrara marble bathrooms. The bathrooms have a large walk-in shower, oriental pattern ceramic tiles, ornate wall lamps and imperial vintage sinks and vanities. Most rooms and suites are available with connecting and adjacent units to accommodate families or groups.
Balconies offer views of Tel Aviv-Jaffa or the Mediterranean Sea while select rooms overlook cobblestone streets. Top digs is the historic Villa Drisco, comprising five rooms and the Norton Suite, complete with a private terrace overlooking the hotel’s inner piazza and garden.
Dining
Guests and locals can enjoy the dining options available at the new luxury property. The Drisco Bar, located in the lobby of the hotel, is expected to be a gathering spot for both travelers and locals. The lobby space will serve small bites, cocktails, premium wines and gourmet teas.
At Zada, the hotel’s restaurant, Chef Shahar Bitton will serve a contemporary take on Ottoman cuisine. Bitton will reinterpret classic dishes and with sustainable, local ingredients. The menu will also offer a selection of Kebab dishes and pastries from East Asia.
Design
Evoking a contemporary interpretation of the original Ottoman oriental design, The Drisco Hotel mixes restored historic murals and designs with 21st-century amenities, creating a blend of old world luxury and modern-day comforts.
History
The Drisco Hotel in its current form pays tribute to the original style of the property when it was established in 1866, when Evangelist pilgrims John and George Drisco set out to open the very first luxury hotel in the region, just outside the Jaffa wall. In 1870, Ernst Hardegg, a Templar hotelier, acquired the hotel and neighboring property, renaming it The Jerusalem Hotel.
Over the next century, the property hosted notable guests such as Thomas Cook and Mark Twain. Following the deportation of the German Templars by the British mandate authorities in 1940, the building was left abandoned. A restoration process began in 2006 to reconstruct the hotel, preserve its original architecture and revive the murals that recount its history. After more than a decade of work led by Architect and Interior Designer Ari Shaltiel, The Drisco is ready to open its doors on June 3.
Related Articles
The David Citadel Offers 20th Anniversary Packages
Six Senses to Open its Newest Resort in Israel