Tel Aviv's Montefiore boutique hotel made Condé Nast Traveller magazine's 2009 hot list as one of the world's top 70 recommended hotels. The hotel, with rates set at $350 per night for a couple, made the list's 23rd place.
The magazine, that is based in the United States and England, belongs to the group that owns the prestigious New Yorker, Vanity Fair and GQ magazines, and gave a broad list of accommodations, from lodges in African reservations to spa hotels in Abu Dhabi, a luxurious urban hotel in Beverly Hills and a sexy Miami hotel.
The list also includes hotels in Beijing, Thailand's Phuket islands, Dubai, Tuscany, San Francisco, New York City and Abu Dhabi.
The 12-room Hotel Montefiore offers spacious elegant rooms and is located in the heart of the White City on 36 Montefiore Street, just above a restaurant owned by the hotel's owners, Ruthie and Mati Bourdo.
The hotel is located in a Bauhaus-style building that was constructed in the year 1922, and its décor includes high ceilings and windows, Israeli art, wooden floors and marble bathrooms.
Rooms include sheets made out of Egyptian cotton, goose-feathered pillows and comforters, robes, a terrace with garden furniture, a mini-bar with alcoholic drinks and snacks, a flat screen television and a personal library in each room.
The hotel also offers laptop computers at the guests' disposal.
The hotel's manager and co-owner Oren Schnabel said the building housing the hotel was bought for that purpose, and the owners thoroughly considered the best way to make use of the space.
"Our calculations showed that the best thing to do was to build an urban hotel, and it was obvious that we couldn't build more than 12 rooms. It's a small, homey hotel, that gives an urban experience, without the sea and without a pool," he said.
Schnabel said much investment was put into each room, "and because of the hotel's size it offers exceptional personal service that we are very proud of."
Schnabel said occupancy in the hotel was very high, even during the current economic crisis, "and many of the guests come back to it".
The hotel's restaurant that features bistro cuisine blended with Vietnamese tastes is located on the building's ground floor, and is owned by the hotel's owners that also own the Coffee Bar and Brasserie restaurants.