Passover away from home

Israel’s hotels almost 100 percent booked for Passover; besides tourists, thousands of ultra-Orthodox, secular Israelis choose to spend Seder at hotels, but at no small charge
Danny Sadeh

It appears that many Israelis have not started planning their Passover cleaning and shopping list for the Seder meal. They don’t have to.

 

A little over a month before the holiday, hotel reservations for Passover stand at over 90%, Israel's leading newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported Monday.

 

At vacation spots like the Dead Sea, Tiberias, Eilat and various kibbutzim, hotel rooms were booked ages ago, and many of them are nearing full reservation capacity.

 

Besides the thousands of American and French tourists planning to spend Passover in Israel, many people from the religious and ultra-Orthodox sector have also reserved rooms at Israeli hotels.

 

Hotel industry officials said that ultra-Orthodox guests tend to book rooms for a period of seven to ten days, to be freed from the hassle of koshering their home for the holidays. Secular guests, on the other hand, usually reserve only for the night of the Seder.

 

Celebrating Passover at a hotel is not cheap, according to Yedioth Ahronoth’s research.

 

Is it really worth it?

 

A Passover Seder at the Tel Aviv Hilton bears the highest price tag: NIS 1,100 (about USD 240) per adult and NIS 395 (about USD 86) per child. Dinner at Jerusalem's King David hotel costs USD 195, and a Passover meal at Eilat’s Herods hotel can be purchased for between NIS 150-580 (USD 34-130), depending on the package.

 

The Le Meridien hotel at the Dead Sea charges NIS 290 (USD 65) per adult and NIS 140 (USD 32) per child, while Nahariya’s Carlton hotel charges NIS 200 (USD 45) per adult and NIS 100 (USD 22) per child.

 

So is it worth avoiding all that cleaning and cooking?