Eilat, Israel, Master Thread

[shimino1]

Eilat in the summer will be very very hot. I would not go june,july, august
If you go, stay at the dan or royal beach

I was there last August, it was very hot, about 43c but it wasent unbarable becuse theres no humidity and in the shade with a cold beer its great :-)

[efflpetzel]

from what i hear, the summer is a bit tough there if u are religious, virtually everyone is skimpy, including mostly underage kids from school.

That's what usually happens when you go to a  hot city with a beach

[shiframeir]

That's what usually happens when you go to a  hot city with a beach

It depends. in this case, because school is out, lots of israeli kids are hanging out all day there, while if u go in the winter, eilat can be pretty empty even with regular 80 degree days, since the peeps there are more business as normal. its kinda like going to miami etc. in the summer, those places are best when its winter-time (imho).

[moto]

Thanks for everyone's opinions

I was looking into the Hilton but prices are a bit high and no points available for that night any other hotel of that calibre that I can go for using points?

Tia

[@Yehuda]

Does anyone know anything about hotels in Eilat besides for the 2 hotels left that can be booked with points (CP, Hilton)?
Has anyone been to a paid hotel?

[efflpetzel]

Dan panorama is probably the best hotel in eilat

[@Yehuda]

Dan panorama is probably the best hotel in eilat

How do you figure? (Just curious) It's #9 on TA.

[@Yehuda]

What does this mean about ElAl not flying to Eilat anymore? It's not safe? 

Following changes by the Civil Aviation Authority of Israel (CAAI) in the flight approach pattern and takeoff and landing protocols at Eilat airport for daytime flights and after the CAAI informed EL AL that the same changes will apply to night flights, EL AL's flights to Eilat have been suspended until further notice. EL AL will not compromise on the safety of its passengers. EL AL will renew its flights to Eilat only when a safe flight path is assured.

[efflpetzel]

How do you figure? (Just curious) It's #9 on TA.

IME

[@Yehuda]

IME

Any thoughts about the King Solomon?

[chuchem]

Dan and Royal beach, top 2 hotels

[shiframeir]

Does anyone know anything about hotels in Eilat besides for the 2 hotels left that can be booked with points (CP, Hilton)?
Has anyone been to a paid hotel?

back when i was in yeshiva, our favorite spot was the Club Hotel, which is in a great location in terms of the mall with the mehadrin cafe cafe, but is also surrounded by some sketchy outdoor clubs that can get a little icky at night. i believe it at least used to be the biggest suites hotel in the middle east (1000 suites) and prices are very reasonable (used to bargain down to about 400 shekel for a suite that we fit 6 guys in).

while it had bare bones-type rooms, there was a cute submarine theme for kids and its a huge place with like 9 pools (including some slides), an arcade and other stuff to do. because its so big, was always easy to go into the pool late at night with noone noticing. when i was there it was already a little bit rundown (pool floors needed some paint), so by now could be worse unless renovated. but because of the multiple choices it was always easy to find a pool to use that was empty/kosher.
TA reviews seem pretty bad these days, but i think its all based on expectations. if u want a low-priced family option in eilat in a good location (with a clean room), this would be a good value choice. http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g293980-d319642-Reviews-Club_Hotel_Eilat-Eilat_Southern_District.html

[@Yehuda]

Thanks for the opinions!
So, Zaidy is helping pay for the trip and wants us to go to Royal Beach or King Solomon, as he likes both of those. RB is much more expensive for the nights we want, so I think we'll go with KS as I find a nice deal there.
RT flights from TLV for 2 peopl and 2 nights at KS for $540 total.

Anyone know about Arkia airlines? Just the same as Israir or the ElAl flight that used to make that route? They all the same?

[chuchem]

You can't compare these 2, royal beach is much nicer
Sometimes you can get cheaper by booking hotel and flight seperate

[@Yehuda]

You can't compare these 2, royal beach is much nicer
Sometimes you can get cheaper by booking hotel and flight seperate

I'm sure it is. Zaidy only went to KS when RB wasn't available. Unfortunately, our dates are no flexible with Eilat and RB isn't available.
I got quoted $210 for the flight (total for 2 pax). Hotel directly wants $560 for the 2 nights. Sites like hotels.com and expedia say it's sold out for my nights.

[moish]

Anyone know about Arkia airlines? Just the same as Israir or the ElAl flight that used to make that route? They all the same?

pretty much

[@Yehuda]

pretty much

Thanks. Sure it's much better than a bus

[chuchem]

Check flights and hotel on Hebrew website of airline or hotel, always cheaper then English. I booked my israir flight for half price on Hebrew website

[@Yehuda]

Check flights and hotel on Hebrew website of airline or hotel, always cheaper then English. I booked my israir flight for half price on Hebrew website

I had checked the Hebrew sites of the hotel, but I actually saw that $540 price on Arkia English. Just checked the Hebrew site for the same package and it was 2015 NIS which is $580. So looks like Eng site was actually cheaper (surprisingly) in this case.

[@Yehuda]

Any ideas on...
Current Kosher restaurants?
Shuls with daily Minyanim?