The Ibis Styles Hotel, which opened early this year, will not be the fanciest hotel on the market in the holy city. But it is modern, very comfortable, visually stimulating and matchless in terms of location.
There is no need to cab or take the Jerusalem Light Rail to get to the action – it is in the action.
There is one drawback, of course, to being in the center of the action: there is zero nearby parking.
But once you get yourself unpacked at the hotel even that issue is swept away by its neon colors, happy bicycle theme and funky hand-scrolled messages left on the windows of its eighth floor restaurant (they look just spontaneous enough, though it is clear they were professionally done).
The variety of foods at the restaurant covered the spectrum and could compete with any of the larger hotels, even in the dining room itself was a bit more mid-sized.
The menu included appetizers and entrées such as eggplant with raw tehina and silan, spicy shakshuka served with a challah and various types of pasta dishes such as gnocchi with a pesto cream sauce.
There were also a variety of options for someone like me with a sweet tooth.
Appearing to cater mostly to an international crowd from the heavy role of English throughout the hotel’s hallways, elevators and elsewhere, there were still a fair number of local Hebrew-speaking Israelis there.
The rooms themselves are in the medium range and not huge, but they have all of the hi-tech amenities you need and the bathroom and shower are a bit larger than in some mid-range hotels.
It was easy to slip into a deep sleep in the cozy and snug bed, though there might be some nights when the sounds of the city center might take a toll. This is probably less of an issue on the higher floors where we were.
Ibis Styles Hotel is the second hotel of Accor International Hotels to open here, after the opening of its first hotel, the Ibis Red. The chain has more than 4,600 hotels worldwide.
The hotel’s exterior mostly folds fluidly into the unique atmosphere of downtown and with inspiration from the Mahaneh Yehuda market. There are a variety of rooms at a variety of prices, with many rooms in the NIS 900 range, but some lower-priced rooms.
Ibis Styles is located at Ben Yehuda Street 4. It is walking distance from Zion Square, the Old City, the shuk at Mahaneh Yehuda and many other key tourist attractions.
Part of the magic of the hotel is being able to walk around the always-changing downtown scenery without having to travel home at the end of the walk.
And there still is the Light Rail only three minutes away for those who do not appreciate a downtown walk as much.
The writer was a guest of the hotel.