More than 30 years ago, just after we had our first child, my husband was walking down Ben-Yehuda Street when someone stopped him and offered him a free dinner at a Jerusalem hotel if we would attend a time-share presentation.
We even debated whether it was wrong to attend if we had no intention of buying the time-share. But we hadn’t been out in three months, so we got a babysitter and headed out. There were 19 couples who attended, and 10 bought time-shares at Club Hotel, which hadn’t even been built yet! We got the third week in May, which is a great time to visit Eilat.
When our kids were young, we enjoyed our week in May at the Club Hotel. As they got older, we joined RCI (a time-share trading company), deposited our week, and exchanged it for a week in resorts around the world. In the past few years, our kids have spent their week with friends.
But this year our week included Shavuot, so we decided to use it.
Usually, the time-share does not include any meals, even breakfast, but a few weeks before our stay, Club Hotel called and offered us half board from Thursday to Monday, which included Shavuot, if we would give up the first three nights of our stay. It made sense for us for a few reasons.
A ship on the Red sea
At the last minute, my son in the army was able to join us, so we were five adults, and the Club Hotel upgraded us to a two-bedroom suite, which made our stay more comfortable.
The hotel resembles a ship, and all of the rooms are suites, meaning there is a bedroom for the parents and a pullout sofa bed in the living room, which share one bathroom. It is far more space than a regular hotel room.
There is also a kitchenette with a small refrigerator, a microwave, and dishes. If you ask for kosher dishes, they will bring you brand-new ones just out of the box.
Club Hotel has seven swimming pools, which gives a lot of space even when the hotel is crowded. There is a very large toddler area, with a water park for young kids, including a huge bucket that fills up with water and then overflows. It is shallow, perfect for families with young children, but I didn’t spend any time there.
I spent most of my time either at the main pool, which even has waterfalls. There is also a large deep pool that is heated in the winter. With all of these pools, it was not hard to find somewhere to sit, although I did wish people wouldn’t reserve chairs or lounges by the pool with towels and then never use them.
The hotel was full for Shavuot and Shabbat with some 1,700 guests, but it didn’t feel overwhelming. I spent hours each day by the pool relaxing, and it didn’t feel overwhelming.
The food was surprisingly good. We had half-board, so we had breakfast and dinner each day. Breakfast was what you would expect – someone making omelets; cheeses; smoked fish; fresh bread; and lots of dessert, including very good cheesecake.
Dinner on Shavuot, on which you are allowed to cook according to Jewish law, included freshly grilled steaks, as well as more than a dozen salads. There was even someone scooping ice cream cones for dessert, which was a big hit with the younger set.
Friday night dinner had a choice of several types of meat. One server was carving lamb shoulder, another prime rib, and a third asado. My carnivore children were in heaven.
There was also a daily happy hour at the pool with free drinks, and a welcome party for kids almost every day with popcorn, snacks, and lots of gummy candies.
I heard several parents saying their kids were enjoying the activities at the kids’ club. And I saw lots and lots of happy children running around enjoying every minute of their vacation.
clubhotels-israel.com/club-hotel-eilat
The writer paid for her stay but received a free upgrade.