I am 49 years old, I have traveled throughout the U.S., Europe and Israel, and I HAVE NEVER STAYED IN A WORSE HOTEL. Avoid this hotel at all costs. Sleep in your car or a bus station, but do not stay in this hotel. At check-in the front desk informed me that our reservation was cancelled, and blamed me for the problem. When I produced the voucher provided by the travel agent, they told me the problem was now the agents fault. Our family, including two young childen, stood (or slept on the lobby floor) for 3 hours until we were finally given a room with broken glass all over the bathroom floor. When I reported the problem to the manager, he called me a liar. When we were given a new room, an upgrade, we found water leaking out of the bathroom light fixtures. When it was finally time to check out, the bell boy refused to bring our bags to the car, and finally when I demanded that they load the luggage, they literally threw the luggage at the car. The hotel staff, from the front desk to the bellmen, is horrible. STAY AWAY.

I stayed at the Crowne Plaza in May this year. The hotel is in a great location on the beach at the North End of Tel Aviv. In many areas the hotel could do with renovation, the rooms are average at best. There is a pool attached to the hotel but this is partially covered by a retracting roof so not great for sunbathing. I had some problems during my stay with the room rate, when I arrived the manager said the hotel was full and offered to upgrade us for an extra 100 shekel per night. When I checked out they had charged me an extra 100 dollars per night (on a 140 dollar per night rate!). It took me about 45 minutes to check out (after another manager had been called) and in the end I had to accept 50 dollars per night extra (I had no evidence of the agreement). Speaking with one of the check-in clerks it seems that tricks like this are quite common at this hotel. They are definitely off my preffered supplier list!

We didn't have the most auspicious of starts to our stay at the Crowne Plaza: first they told us they didn't do Friday night dinner at the hotel (a first for israel!) and then told us they were over-booked so couldn't book us for dinner. After a little Israeli-style negotiation, a reservation got made and the dinner - buffet style - was good, if pricey. The experience wasn't helped by the waiting staff clearing up around us and tryin to get the last tables of diners to leave so they could lay tables for breakfast. We had booked 2 rooms but got a 2-bed suite which was lovely; spacious, clean and just what a family needs. But the hotel looks and feels a bit tired and the pool is pretty average, as is the local environment around the hotel itself. Apart from the initial tiff, staff were friendly and the concierge was especially good and the hotel isn't expensive by Tel Aviv standards. Tel Aviv is a strange mix of fabulous, expensive buildings cheek by jowl with run-down villas and tenements, but there were more of these than I'd expected to the rear of the hotel. It's probably because it's at one end of the fabulous promenade which runs right up to Jaffa; the hotel would be better just a little further along, although it did mean the beach was quieter apart from the usual Israeli "ping-pong" players! Saturday morning is a must on the promenade, and the impromptu Israeli dancing there was lovely to see. We liked Tel Aviv a lot more than we thought we would and it's not too far to walk from the hotel to many of the best sights (and sites). Carmel Market is a must-see and about a half-hour walk from the hotel, much of it along the beach. If we came in peak season we'd probably stay elsewhere, as Tel Aviv is just too crazy, but the hotel was a good choice for a well-located and not too pricey stay on the beachfront in the "city which never sleeps".

Avoid this hotel at all cost. Sleep on the street first.