When the first rains start and the weather cools down, it is the perfect time to go on a pampering and relaxing spa vacation. The Edmond Hotel combines the historic atmosphere of picturesque Rosh Pina with modern facilities including a gym, heated pool, Jacuzzi, saunas, spa treatments and fine cuisine.
Edmond Hotel is an adult-only boutique hotel that spans more than three floors with a total of 66 rooms and suites, some of which have balconies facing the pool area. Entrance to the hotel is limited to those age 14 and up. Accommodation is on a half-board basis, and there are many packages that include spa treatments.
The advantages of a boutique hotel are well felt here as everything is calm and quiet – there are no children running and screaming in the lobby and the dining room. The guests are calm and kind, and we quickly got to know them over a conversation in the Jacuzzi and at the dining room. The atmosphere is relaxed – there are neither busy buffets nor queues for the omelets, and coffee is served to the table.
The experience
The hotel is built in a classic European style. It is shaped as a U around the public areas including the pool and the huge open-air Jacuzzi. An intimate terrace, accessed from the lobby, is open to sit in and look out at the pool area. Two staircases descend from it to the pool area where cozy seating areas are scattered around. In the evening, the pool and Jacuzzi are lit and the ambience turns romantic.
One of the treats of being at Edmond is the well-heated pool. It is relatively long (20 meters), which allows lap swimming even on cold winter days. Because it’s a small hotel and the fact that only adults are accommodated here, the pool is never packed. It also opens relatively early (7:30 a.m.) allowing for a morning swim under the blue sky, a sheer pleasure! And if the weather is really cold – you can switch to the nearby Jacuzzi. It is huge, designed for six people. In the evening the water is lit red.
In addition to the outdoor pool and hot tub there is a spa and wellness center that includes a well-equipped gym overlooking the pool, a wet sauna and a dry sauna, and of course health treatments. The spa massage therapist was very professional and mastered multiple treatment methods.
The highlight of winter in my opinion is a hot stone massage. There is also a Thai-style oil-free massage that includes pressure and stretching, which was great! You can also have a fun day or spend an evening at the spa without staying at a hotel and enjoy a massage or beauty treatment, the spa facilities and a meal, or sit at the spa lobby and have herbal tea.
Culinary
The stay in Edmond is on a half-board basis with a breakfast and dinner buffet at the kosher Victoria Restaurant. The restaurant is small and relaxed, the buffets are close and there are no lines. Breakfast does not feel like a marathon from one buffet to another to bring the food to the table.
Breakfast includes salads, vegetables, fish and plenty of cheeses, including boutique ones from the Bat Harim dairy in Malkiya produced by cheesemaker Yoav Belhassan, which include Brie, goat cheese, Gouda and wine-aged Tomme. A hot buffet includes different types of shakshouka, dishes au gratin, steamed vegetables, savory pastries and omelets made to order.
A variety of breads from baker Gal Levi from Kibbutz Moran are available, along with sweets, fruits, pastries, cakes, halva and extraordinary confitures with pieces of fruit. Those who want a lighter breakfast can choose from the yogurt and granola and fresh and dried fruit, which even includes Goji berries. After such a meal we couldn’t have lunch. The cost of breakfast for an outside guest is NIS 130 per person.
Dinner is also served at Victoria. The tables are covered with white tablecloths and napkins and lit candles. The dining room is relatively small but has an outdoor air-conditioned enclosure.
The food is superb! It ranges from various salads and breads (sweet handmade challah, Jerusalem bagels, whole breads and baguettes) to the hot buffet, which had fish, poultry and quality cuts of beef such as sirloin. The side servings are also abundant and delicious, such as potatoes, Jerusalem artichoke, fresh broccoli, ratatouille and couscous with soup. An impressive selection of sweet petits fours awaits at the dessert buffet.
In the afternoon and after dinner, light food and drinks are offered at the Laurence Bar, as well as evening entertainment. The hotel has a wine room where workshops are held for guests to taste wines from the Golan Heights and the Galilee.
Hotel décor and rooms
The hotel was built and designed especially for its purpose. The building is a new structure covered and paved entirely with natural stone outside and classic Italian Carrara marble with black decorations in the open areas of the hotel. The hotel, rooms, lobby, restaurant and furniture are decorated in an Art Nouveau style, a design that radiates an atmosphere of the British colonial period of the early 20th century. The hotel has an intimate lobby with seating areas, a library room and a fireplace for cold days.
Edmond only has 66 rooms and suites. The compact rooms are decorated in shades of white and painted Jaffa tiles. Despite the compactness, the bathrooms have an extra large shower (double size)! There is a work area and next to the bed there is a small seating area. The rooms are modern and well equipped with everything you need from a multi-channel flat screen TV, free Wi-Fi, a safe deposit box to a coffee maker. The toiletries are from Sabon. We stayed in a room with a balcony and spent time there sitting with a cup of tea and looking at the pool.
Location and events
Edmond Hotel is located close to the entrance to Rosh Pina, behind the shopping center, which allows you to go shopping and have lunch without needing a car. The hotel hosts special events such as the Beaujolais celebrations, and women’s weekends. There is a synagogue on the grounds, three conference halls and an underground parking garage.
The hotel adheres to the guidelines of the Health Ministry and requires a Green Pass at check-in and at the spa. Wearing masks is required in indoors public areas including in the dining room.
The writer was a guest of the hotel.