Ohalo Manor Hotel

O halo Manor Hotel is probably the closest example to what living on a kibbutz is like. The positioning adjacent to the Sea of Galilee and very close to the River Jordan is spectacular. The meals in the dining room were excellent albeit slightly crowded over the Sabbath. All in all it’s very pleasant but basic.

Let me start with the positive. The hotel's location is great. It's right by the Sea of Galilee (the Kinneret), with plenty of the region's attractions a few minutes' drive away. But that's it. Let me also qualify myself by saying that there are several buildings in this complex and that there seem to be significant differences between them. The maintenance standard at the old and crumbling building we stayed in was atrocious. You call this a hotel? I wouldn't even call it a Youth Hostel. The dorms at a military base would be more inviting that these rooms which offer nothing. And I do mean nothing beyond the barest of bare essentials, and occasionally not even that. For example, there are soap and shampoo dispensers, but they did not make sure they were full before we came. They didn't equip the room with enough towels and we had to ask for more. The dining room is very crowded and very noisy. The food is occasionally inedible -- I encountered some undercooked meat. The table we were assigned to was not set completely or available at our assigned time and we had to wait for it to become available. Another negligible but annoying point relates to soft drinks. If you want any, you need to pay extra and buy bottles from the refrigerator. There are drink dispensers, but for some reason they only work in the morning. Thirsty in the evening? We're afraid you'll have to settle for tap water. How people would agree to pay such a fortune for this is beyond my comprehension. There are so many alternatives in the area, and it would be difficult to find a worse standard of hospitality than the one we were unfortunate enough to experience here.

The rooms are fine. More like a motel. My bed was lovely after I added two comforters to the top to sleep on and we had a family room with an additional room to walk through to get to bathroom. I wore shower flip flops to give you an idea. But we parked right outside our gate, and gorgeous views of the sea. The breakfast buffet was lovely quite plentiful. Refrigerator was large. AC worked great!! Staff were nice. Borrowed a hairdryer from front desk. But the families around us were hanging out in the front till 10 pm yelling, talking in phone, had cars running, one even put her toddlers potty box in front of my doorway to have him go to bathroom. Just thoughtless. But again it was inexpensive and convenient and 1 night as we got baptized at yardenit. So it was worth it. I wouldn't stay there more than 2 days. FYI KFC is 5 minutes away if you miss American fried chicken!

We were part of a 14 person tour. Spent two nights at the hotel. Towel bars falling off the wall. Staff were rude and catered to the locals versus everyone. Children running around dining room not mashed by parents. We could not even talk to each other. Staff unwilling to talk to parents. Many of our group left without eating. On Shabbat morning we were unable to get proper coffee (not unexpected). However this did not prevent the staff from having their coffee which they snuck fro under the cloths covering the machine! No bar - only sold one type of wine. Would not allow us to open a bottle we had bought that day at a local winery.

This is an older property in a beautiful spot on the Sea of Galilee. It is clean and well maintained and the staff is very welcoming and responsive. Few of the rooms have more than a garden view, but there are great views from the public areas. The Sea is actually a bit below the hotel. There is a path down to it, but the shoreline is undeveloped with no access to the water except for slippery concrete steps with big warning signs. The adventurous may put a toe in the water. The hotel’s buffet at breakfast and dinner was great. The location is convenient for sightseeing all of Galilee.

We stayed here overnight and found a clean, beautiful place- fairly priced and staffed by professionals who did whatever was needed to make our stay pleasant. Also there was a great breakfast included in the price. Would definitely stay here again.