Parents' suite

Starved for some quiet, alone time, a tired young mom and dad found peace in a ‘no kids’ guest house in the north.

By EHUD ZION WALDOKS
Bayit Bateva 311 (photo credit: Enav Mor)
Bayit Bateva 311
(photo credit: Enav Mor)
It was to be the first time that we were leaving our youngest overnight with the grandparents, so we wanted to find a really nice and romantic guest house to make the most of our short break, and we found it.
Nestled in an orchard of fruit trees, meandering stone paths and greenery, Habayit Bateva (The House in Nature) is truly a restful break from urban life. Situated in Moshav Sde Eliezer, the four-unit guest house overlooks natural sites like the Hula and nature trails, and is only a short drive from Rosh Pina and Safed.
While there are many attractions close by, my wife and I were really just looking for some peace and quiet to read, watch TV and sleep through the night, without interruption from extremely cute but also demanding children. We were content to relax in the surprisingly spacious, but still cozy guest house.
The four units are all located in their own stand-alone buildings, and due to the forethought of the original designers, each of the ground-level porches faces a different direction into the garden to afford privacy.
The rooms themselves are simply but elegantly appointed with care taken with the smaller details – always a good sign in a guest house. There are designs and patterns drawn on the ceiling and light fixtures to subtly enhance the room, for instance.
The bedroom and bathroom are both tastefully appointed and there was plenty of hot water with good strong water pressure in the shower. There’s a wall-mounted AC/heater unit in the living room as well as a kerosene burning stove that heats the entire space and gives a romantic ambiance. Due to the rainy weather during our stay, we found it most comfortable with both the heater and the stove on.
The living room features a flat-screen TV with cable and two comfortable loveseat-type couches. It was a perfect place to curl up and exchange some of that daily life stress for the calm and quiet of the moshav.
The open-plan kitchen comes stocked with a coffee maker and other necessities.
There’s a small table in the kitchen too, but we ate breakfast on the table on the porch, which was beautiful even in the cooler morning air of winter. Even the outside walls are decorated with pictures of climbing vines and clever drawings of flower pots. An intertwined green latticework covers the porch which looks out onto the garden with its paths, streams and trees.
Breakfast was varied and tasty, and came in such copious amounts that my wife and I couldn’t even finish everything – and we’re both hearty eaters. There was fresh bread, omelets, locally made tehina, a cheese platter, lox, salad, granola, an apple tart, locally made olives, homemade jam, goat yogurt, a mushroom quiche, a very tasty lemonade and tea freshly brewed from the garden’s herbs.
What’s more, to order breakfast, all you have to do is SMS owner Tali Nevo a half hour before you want to eat. Nevo spent 15 years in the big hotel business working for the national Dan hotel chain before deciding to buy Habayit Bateva from the original owners, who had moved to France to open a hotel villa.
Now, she’s settled down with her family in the countryside and runs the guest house with grace and an easygoing but attentive atmosphere. There’s a real sense that anything the guest wants can be procured.
Habayit Bateva also has a number of surprises that we didn’t even discover until we ventured farther down the orchard on our second day. There’s an outdoor Jacuzzi and sauna, which we didn’t sample as it was fairly cold outside.
There are also ample places to sit and relax in the garden like a hammock near the Jacuzzi and benches scattered amongst the trees. While we had been hearing occasional animal voices, imagine our surprise when we discovered that Nevo and her family even have a horse and chickens picketed out past the guest units in the lower portion of the 13-dunam orchard.
Habayit Bateva is great as a romantic getaway – it’s quiet and peaceful, spacious but cozy. And it could also work for a reasonably-sized extended family on vacation (children are allowed only if all four units are reserved together).
Kashrut: All of the items served for breakfast are kosher and it is served on glass plates. Disposable plates and silverware are also available.
Prices: Until the end of March, NIS 700 a night mid-week and NIS 850 a night from Thursday night through the weekend.
The writer was a guest of Habayit Bateva. www.bayit-bateva.com