Throughout Israel, a New Crop of Motels and Resorts are Hitting New Design Heights

Inside, walls and floors are covered in Israeli plaster using a Moroccan surfacing technique called tadelakt, the many layers of which create the clean yet sumptuous look of a light, cream-colored leather. Fittings, textiles and artifacts are sourced worldwide—carpentry was made from recycled teakwood from India and Thailand, and other furniture, and fabrics, were imported from India, Thailand, Morocco, Turkey, Italy and more—but there’s a distinctive emphasis on Israeli-procured and handcrafted pieces. Framing for the brass furniture and steelwork, for instance, were made by a local artisan framer, and ceramic lighting fixtures, textiles and looms, serving utensils and dishes were crafted by local potters. The vibe: Tasteful, Bedouin-chic.

The 64 sunken guest rooms and villas are equally, subtly sumptuous. Organic linens and wool rugs tend toward neutral shades with subtle pops of color, and furniture, including the built-in beds and deep, slipcovered couches, seems to emerge from the floor. Better still, the glass walls and terraces (mostly with pools), built like outcroppings, make you feel as if you’re living outdoors.

“We wanted to enable a modern, luxurious hotel to blend into nature [without] making it feel cave-like,” Plesner explains of their biggest challenge. Mission accomplished.

Six additional new Israeli hotels worth checking out— and checking in.

Efendi Hotel, Acre

At the 12-room Efendi Hotel, nestled in the Old City of Acre, what’s old is new again. Composed of conjoined 19^th-century Ottoman palaces—think ornamental ceilings with hand-painted motifs, and marble floors—the luxury hotel was restored by Israeli hotelier-restaurateur Uri Jeremias, archeologists and antiquities experts, and refreshed this year. Elegant rooms are a mix of antiques and plush modern furniture and fittings. Sip wine in its cozy, Byzantine-era cellar wine bar, and relax in the 400-year-old Turkish bath.

Debrah Brown, Tel Aviv

Little exemplifies a changing Tel Aviv better than the newly opened Debrah Brown hotel, a redesign of a 1964 luxury kosher hotel that, at 12 stories, was one of the tallest towers in a city now crowded with skyscrapers. The modernist building’s glamorous spin, complete with rooftop immersion pool, is from architect Prof. Yossi Friedman. The 89 guest rooms have a Great Gatsby opulence with lush emerald and gold velvets and brass fittings, perfect for a pre-dinner champagne.

Mitzpe Hayamim, Rosh Pina