The Hilton in Tel Aviv is in a prime location — in a park, overlooking the sea, on the beach. But it's also a large, older hotel. How can they compete with the growing number of luxury, small, boutique hotels springing up all over Israel? Answer: By creating Vista, a boutique hotel-in-a-hotel, with spectacular views and top-notch service. We weren't sure what to expect when we went to Vista for a spur-of-the-moment weekend away, but we got all that we had hoped for, and then some. It's sort of like the business-class section of an airplane — you're still in the same plane with the folks in coach, but you are generally kept separate from them, and treated better. The key to Vista is the lounge, located on the 17th floor. That's where you check in (not in the main lobby — take the elevator straight to 17 upon arrival), and that's where you can get almost unlimited quantities of food and drink (more on that in a moment). That's also where you can ask for service. The service is cordial, helpful, and fast — we never had to wait more than a few seconds for service, and things were taken care of almost immediately. I just want to dwell on the service for a moment: I've been to many high-end hotels in Israel. And almost inevitably, the service falls short of my expectations. Not here. I'm not sure if it's Hilton in general or the Vista staff in particular, but the people were trained very well to anticipate our needs, go out of their way to be helpful, and make it a very pleasant experience. Our room had a fantastic view of the sea, as well as a small balcony with chairs and a table. The room was clean and nice, but a bit dated in its decor. But again, the Vista people did what they could to make things better and easier, with a complimentary bottle of wine, Ahava products, bottled Italian water, and a fruit plate all waiting for us when we arrived. Our room's air conditioning wasn't working correctly when we arrived. We asked for the Vista staff to check into it, and within minutes a technician came. When he saw that it would take a bit of time to fix, the staff put us in a different room down the hall. No fuss, no arguments... just making sure we're satisfied. The checkin person even helped us to move our things to the new room. Vista guests are guests of the main Hilton, which means you have access to the main hotel amenities. We swam in the salt-water swimming pool, and again, were impressed by the staff who helped us find a shady set of lounge chairs, and offered us chilled cups of water on the way out. (The salt-water pool was a fun experience, definitely different than the normal swimming-pool experience.) The pool is quite large for a hotel, allowing you to splash around with children and/or swim laps, at your preference. But again, the key to the Vista experience is the lounge, open from 6:30 a.m. until 11 p.m. The view from the lounge is absolutely breathtaking, with full-length windows overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, as well as
번역