EL YAM — Hotel in Netanya

We were to check in on the Saturday (9pm due to Sabbath) and when the staff turned up at 9pm, they didn’t know much about the booking at all. We then sat and waited as we watched people checking out at 9pm, still waiting for the guy to tell us what was happening. Instead of keeping us updated, he called his friends and was laughing and joking with them until eventually at 9:30pm, we interrupted to ask him what was actually happening with our room. Our reply was that the rooms were being cleaned and that it would be at least half an hour. We told him this wasn’t good enough as we had been travelling since early and were getting up early again the next morning. He then went to chase the cleaner up and we eventually got into our room at 10pm. The internet connection didn’t work either otherwise we would have booked into a different hotel. We had a knock on our door five minutes later to ask when we were paying and to say that it was cash only. We pointed out that booking.com app said it took all cards and after a phone call, we were told that we could pay by card. In the morning, we had to wait fifteen minutes at the office to check out, unable to find any staff to help us. The same guy came along but didn’t know how to work the card machine and asked a holiday maker friend to do it for him(?!). The guy then tried to charge us 350ILS to which we pointed out that it was actually 299ILS. We then had to try and get on the Internet (with their poor connection) to prove it was the 299ILS. The room was nice enough (which is the only reason it is getting a 2 star) but the customer service is so, so poor that it just left the worst taste in our mouth. We also emailed the manager, who emailed us frequently regarding check in times etc, to inform them of this but surprise, surprise no answer. There was nothing luxury about the service we received! Do yourselves a favour and book into a more...

First of all this is not exactly a hotel. It is more like a resort with a few complexes near each other with a joint eating hall amd synagogue. Each complex includes 10 hotel rooms more or less, a pool, jacuzzi, kitchen and more. There are many amenities and what you can do there is very versatile. From a beach-front wedding to a bachelorette and more. Each complex has a different standard from basic small rooms to luxurious big ones, the same applies to the pools. The complex is on the beach it takes 5 minutes to reach the sea. (The exit/entrance to the beach needs improvement) We were 2 big families who took 3 different complexes for a shabbat hatan. The service was good, they really wanted to provide us with all our needs and were helpful when needed. Each complex has its own pool which was great for privacy purposes. It is also a great place for kids, there were bouncy castles, many table games and trampolines. The food was OK, some things were really yummy and some less. The resort still needs to work on finishing touches around each complex and also in the rooms so that it would be more aesthetic. The place was clean, not sparkling clean but clean enough that I didn't feel the need to use my own sheets or towels that I brought, the toilets were clean but the showers could have been cleaner. But again it depends in which complex you were in, some of the rooms are so brand new that they were sparkling clean and some less... All in all it was a really relaxing and enjoyable...

The staff were charming. However, mouse droppings in multiple rooms, no working heating in multiple rooms, filthy toilet bowl (I thought I had low standards, but this really opened my eyes! Hairs and dirt. No toilet brush), stains, hairs, and dead bugs on the sheets, leaking ceilings (it rained inside as well as outside), no soap in the bathroom, dirty sideboards, pillows with no covers, uncomfortable beds, and very cold dining room, with birds in it, all sort of canceled out the good impression made by the staff. ||Sure, it's cheap, but it was really horrible and I would advise everyone to avoid this like the plague (which they probably have as well (though for legal reasons I stress that the plague reference is a joke, and for all I know the mice have immaculate...