Author Topic: Mochjas TLV TR Summer 2018 (Read 10002 times)

zagguru · « **Reply #20 on:** July 12, 2018, 06:13:54 PM »

Quote from: mochjas on July 12, 2018, 06:10:56 PM

They said 1 per person but you can probably get more if you want. It would probably depend on your server.

I forgot to add that they had for the kids, hot dogs and schnitzel for the kids meal and the kids really liked it.

My kids wanted more hot dogs and they were happy to give them.

Did you try and use any of the hilton gift cards (amex offer) to pay for any parts of your stay?

mochjas · « **Reply #21 on:** July 12, 2018, 06:17:37 PM »

Quote from: zagguru on July 12, 2018, 06:13:54 PM

Did you try and use any of the hilton gift cards (amex offer) to pay for any parts of your stay?

Nope did not get a chance to do it. This was more of a last minute trip. Would have saved me $200 though

Yaalili · « **Reply #22 on:** July 12, 2018, 08:40:09 PM »

Thanks for all the pictures of the WAJ breakfast, nice spread!

Dan · « **Reply #23 on:** July 13, 2018, 12:08:58 AM »

Great TR!

Sadly, the Waldorf breakfast is not as good as it used to be. The Ritz breakfast was better, though not everything there is mehadrin.
Didn't make it to Cafe Cafe in Herzliya?

mochjas · « **Reply #24 on:** July 13, 2018, 05:26:59 AM »

Quote from: Yaalili on July 12, 2018, 08:40:09 PM

Thanks for all the pictures of the WAJ breakfast, nice spread!

Quote from: Yaalili on July 12, 2018, 07:19:16 AM

Great start of TR.

Bummer not to get 787 though you made best of it.

Glad you are enjoying

Quote from: Dan on July 13, 2018, 12:08:58 AM

Great TR!

Sadly, the Waldorf breakfast is not as good as it used to be. The Ritz breakfast was better, though not everything there is mehadrin.
Didn't make it to Cafe Cafe in Herzliya?

yes we all agreed that breakfast in the Ritz was much better.
We didn't really eat lunch after those big breakfasts and found it easier to feed the kids lunch in the hotel so we never made it there. We did get coffee from there when we were in the mall but nothing other than that

zagguru · « **Reply #25 on:** July 13, 2018, 06:29:47 AM »

Quote from: Dan on July 13, 2018, 12:08:58 AM

Great TR!

Sadly, the Waldorf breakfast is not as good as it used to be.

What was different about it?
It seemed like they have always offered the same stuff

Dan · « **Reply #26 on:** July 13, 2018, 09:25:15 AM »

Quote from: zagguru on July 13, 2018, 06:29:47 AM

What was different about it?
It seemed like they have always offered the same stuff

For starters, the pancakes and waffles are no longer made fresh to order or served a la mode.

mochjas · « **Reply #27 on:** July 13, 2018, 09:31:42 AM »

Quote from: Dan on July 13, 2018, 09:25:15 AM

For starters, the pancakes and waffles are no longer made fresh to order or served a la mode.

unless they run out. And even then it took a long time to come.

Z56 · « **Reply #28 on:** July 13, 2018, 12:12:11 PM »

Quote from: mochjas on July 13, 2018, 05:26:59 AM

Glad you are enjoying
yes we all agreed that breakfast in the Ritz was much better.
We didn't really eat lunch after those big breakfasts and found it easier to feed the kids lunch in the hotel so we never made it there. We did get coffee from there when we were in the mall but nothing other than that

Are there 2 cafe cafe?

There is one on the boardwalk

mochjas · « **Reply #29 on:** July 13, 2018, 12:15:00 PM »

Quote from: Z56 on July 13, 2018, 12:12:11 PM

Are there 2 cafe cafe?

There is one on the boardwalk

I believe it connects to the mall so you can access it from inside the mall. But I could be wrong

Dan · « **Reply #30 on:** July 13, 2018, 12:29:09 PM »

Quote from: mochjas on July 13, 2018, 12:15:00 PM

I believe it connects to the mall so you can access it from inside the mall. But I could be wrong

Nope.

mochjas · « **Reply #31 on:** July 13, 2018, 12:44:06 PM »

Quote from: Dan on July 13, 2018, 12:29:09 PM

Nope.

So I guess it was a different coffee shop in the mall

Hjay · « **Reply #32 on:** July 14, 2018, 05:48:07 PM »

Great TR. Descriptive yet not dragged out, perfect easy reading.

I’ve been by the waldorf a few times & always enjoyed the Shabbat lunch way more than dinner. Dinner I’ve found to be just not good, but lunch I just fill my plate with those ribs & keep going back for more.

Z56 · « **Reply #33 on:** July 14, 2018, 10:52:23 PM »

Quote from: mochjas on July 13, 2018, 12:44:06 PM

So I guess it was a different coffee shop in the mall

I guess so. There is only one on the boardwalk

mochjas · « **Reply #34 on:** July 16, 2018, 04:58:14 PM »

Day 6 Sunday

After a restful and relaxing Shabbat it was time to get back into action. The plan today was to head to the Setai in Upper Galilee. We had a list of stops we wanted to make and split some for the way there and some for the way back.

We wanted to get to the Setai by 2 PM. This meant starting the day off early. I wanted to get 1 more prayer in at the Kotel so I decided to go for Netz. The Kotel was packed and there were even a bunch of tourists which was surprising for so early in the morning.

I got back to the hotel and we went down for breakfast and were on the road by 8:30.

First stop 2 hours later was The Kever of R Akiva and R Moshe Chain Lutzato which are right near each other.

View of Kinneret from outside the Kever

Next we went to the Rambam followed by Rachel the wife of R’ Akiva

Our final stop for the day was Rabbi Meir Baal Haness.

We finally got to the setai at 3 PM. We only had a day here and wanted to enjoy it as much as possible.

The property is on the newer side and beautiful. I didn’t need to ask for an upgrade as we booked their best room, the room with the pool! I knew going in that the pool wasn’t completely private but it wasn’t such a big price difference so I decided to go for it.

I was told that my reservation is for 2 adults and since I have 3 kids with me I would need to pay an extra 450 Shekel for the night. So if you book here make sure to announce any extra people you might have beforehand.

Lobby

Check in is at 4 and they did not have the room ready before. So we got changed in the SPA and headed for the pool. The grounds are beautiful and you have a great view of the kinneret.

Kiddie pool

At 4 the room was ready and again the room is very nice and modern.

Couch opens to a bed in all rooms and they brought us a crib later as well

The kids liked the main pool and decided to stay there. There is a small beach in front of the pool but it is a rocky beach not a sand beach.

Path to beach

beach

Sunset on the beach

It was getting late and the original plan was to head to Decks (half hour drive from the Setai) for dinner but we were so exhausted and needed to wake up early the next morning so we decided to get Pizza from the hotel.

Regarding eating here again I was told that dairy was ok and meat was not. But please do your own research. We got a bunch of Pizzas and after we finished we started heading to the room.

Dairy restaurant

Dinner with a view

The meat dinner that they were having looked AMAZING! But we had to pass. They didn’t have dessert in the dairy restaurant so we went to get some dessert from the meat place and they let us take a bunch of stuff for a little bit of money (she charged us for 2 sodas which was very reasonable) (The dinner is an all you can eat buffet) They were ok but they satisfied our sweet craving.

We went back and went to sleep as we had to wake up early the net day for our final day of our trip. This was the end of another great day.

mochjas · « **Reply #35 on:** July 16, 2018, 04:59:45 PM »

Quote from: Hjay on July 14, 2018, 05:48:07 PM

Great TR. Descriptive yet not dragged out, perfect easy reading.

Thanks

Quote from: Hjay on July 14, 2018, 05:48:07 PM

I’ve been by the waldorf a few times & always enjoyed the Shabbat lunch way more than dinner. Dinner I’ve found to be just not good, but lunch I just fill my plate with those ribs & keep going back for more.

We agree with this as well. However I guess most opt to go with breakfast followed by takeout

zagguru · « **Reply #36 on:** July 16, 2018, 07:47:57 PM »

Setai looks amazing!!
Thanks for the write up.

Cant wait for the finale!

ludmila · « **Reply #37 on:** July 16, 2018, 09:09:59 PM »

Thanks for the write up.

Deals dealer · « **Reply #38 on:** July 17, 2018, 02:45:40 AM »

Thanks @mochjas !!! I really enjoy your TR. Looking forward for the upcoming posts..

mochjas · « **Reply #39 on:** July 20, 2018, 04:03:53 PM »

Day 7 & 8 Monday and Tuesday

The goal today was to enjoy the little time we had left at the amazing Setai and start heading back to Herzliya while hitting the spots that we wanted to get to on the way back.

As we have been doing this whole trip we woke up early again. There is no time to sleep when you are in Israel for a short trip. We prayed, and exercised in their very nice fitness center located in the Spa which was also top of the line.

It was now time for breakfast. The breakfast spread was amazing as well. I will let the pictures do the talking but suffice it to say I understand why Israelis do not eat lunch!

Checkout is officially at 11 but somehow I was able to get until 12. That is a win with an Israeli hotel.

The kids swam in the main pool until then and we fed them Pizza from the hotel before heading out of the hotel at about 1 PM.

Our first stop was Tzefat. We went to the synagogue of the Ari, his grave, and passed by the Mikva but did not actually go in.

Our next stop was Amuka. On the way there we saw the graves of the Benayahu ben Yehoyada and R Yehuda (from the gemara) (they are in separate places along the way right off the road) So I ran in by myself quickly

We then got to Meron. There is a small room upstairs where they say one of the R’ Abuchatzeiras used to learn (Im not sure which one) And we went into the Shul with the grave of R Shimon Bar Yochai.

That was our final stop and we headed back to the Ritz. After about a 2 hour drive we got there. As they promised they had our executive suite ready. We checked in, sent our bags to the room and went straight to Lechem Bassar for Dinner. We were starving and the food was really good. Off to sleep for another early morning 4 AM wake up as we had to leave to the airport at 5 to catch our 8 AM flight.

We woke up early and were sent on our way with chocolate milk for the kids and warm milk for my baby after a quick great stay at the Ritz. I was very impressed with the Ritz overall and hope to return one day. They really took good care of us and went above and beyond.

Check in for our flight on Tuesday morning was easy. Luckily we were in J and got to skip all the long lines. Within 45 minutes from arriving at the airport we were in the Dan lounge, after grabbing some pastries and drinks from aroma which is in the airport after security.

I prayed in the lounge and had breakfast there (from aroma) After there is a kids play area right outside so we let the kids play there. It was time to board and we boarded the plane via bus.

LH J TLV-FRA as you know is fake J so it’s a regular 3 seat economy row and they only put 2 people in each 3 person section. It was pretty empty and we each had a row to ourselves. For some reason they only gave us 2 KSMLs (this reminds me to email them for comp)! But honestly we weren’t eating it anyway so it didn’t affect us.

We arrived at FRA and got off the plane via Bus as well. We had to go through security again in FRA and we headed to the Lufthansa senator lounge. It was a short under 2 hour connection. We fed the kids tradition soup for lunch and were ready to board the next plane.

LH J FRA-EWR is a 2-2-2 configuration we got rows 10 & 11 by the left window which was pretty cool as it is its own little section and they gave us a bassinet in front of row 10 for the baby.

Service was great on LH and very kid friendly. Both in the lounge and on the plane they gave my kids tons of toys and games. The KSMLs were edible they were both the same and served twice (2 meat meals) This time they gave us 3/4 KSMLs that I ordered and 2 was enough for us.

The flight attendant asked, since she saw that we weren’t really eating all of it if she can give 1 meal to someone in Y who did not order a KSML and I said sure no problem. That was very nice of the FA I don’t know how many airlines would do that.

The seat was very comfortable. I liked that the armrest goes down and it is lie flat. The only thing I didn’t like about it was the narrow foot rest. You literally have to squeeze your feet in there. I wish it was more open.

We arrived and cleared customs very easily due to global entry. I almost got in trouble as I did not declare the candy we bought in Israel. I completely forgot about that. They made me X-ray all my bags but luckily they let me go with a warning.

This was a great way to end an awesome trip! Thank you to everyone who helped me by answering any of my questions, whether from how to earn the miles or how to use them. Both are equally difficult. I hope this trip report helps others who are planning similar trips.

Special Thanks to my wife for taking most of the pictures! If she can start writing TRs like Mrs. AJK that would be even better!

Feel free to reach out with any questions.