ELMA – Arts and Music Hotel in a Preserved
Building
ELMA stands for "Elstein Music and Art". It was established in the restored iconic building of Mivtachim
Convalescent Home that was designed by the architect Ya’akov Rechter who won
the Israel prize in 1972 for its design. Lily Elstein bought the building that
was doomed to be demolished and in a complex and expensive effort that took
years, she restored and refurbished each and every part of it while reserving
the qualities of the original architecture such as reproducing the original
floor design.
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| צילום איתי סיקולסקי |
The building has an extraordinary architecture
- it merges into the shape of the mountain, has large openings and windows that
allow natural light into the building and some unique shapes. The restoration
included conservation and restoring of original aspects with modern style. The
hotel is like a museum with artwork everywhere giving stage to Israeli artists.
The décor is also modern and spectacular. The area of the rooms’ corridor is a
changing art exhibition of local artists. In the upper garden there is a modern
art exhibit in a box. We took time to roam around the building exploring the
architecture and artwork.
The grounds have a groomed garden and a
mountain edge promenade romantically lighted at night and there are many quiet
corners and terraces overlooking the wonderful view. The weather is always
pleasant here in the summer evenings because of the higher elevation and the
breeze coming from the sea.
Every day there is a guided tour of the hotel
grounds that gives an overview of the history, architecture, artwork and vision
of the ELMA complex.
Musical Performances
Elma has 2 musical venues: the Concert Hall and
“the Cube”. The Concert Hall is a modern 450 seats special acoustic performance
hall featuring a moving stage and an under-stage orchestra space. In addition
to all the state of the art features it has a 1,414-pipe organ worth 420,000
Euros and two Steinway Model D concert Grand pianos. Israeli and International
artists play here on a regular basis and many productions such as operas and
classical concerts are staged here.
In addition, “the Cube” is an informal
performance hall with 150 seats with an inside bar. Almost every day various
artists play here, and they give stage to young artists. At the night we stayed
at Elma we enjoyed a jazz concert of two talented beginner female artists.
Rooms
Elma’s hotel rooms are spacious and beautifully
decorated with artwork. Each room spans over two of the older rooms and is like
a studio suite with two balconies and a large bathroom. One part is where the
bed is placed – facing the open view! In the other, there is a small living
room with a sofa and a desk, and a coffee corner with an espresso machine. The
floor is wooden and there is a closet with a large safe deposit box. The
bathroom is separated by glass doors – shower and toilet, leaving a large area
in front of the mirror and basin area. We were slightly disappointed that there
is no full bath here, but were so busy in the spa that it did not bother us
eventually.
We were so happy in the room. The bed was very
comfortable, the water flow in the shower was strong and we indulged with the
Israeli fashionable Sabon toiletries, especially the shower oil. Everything is
controlled here electronically – central lights control and climate control.
We sat to have an afternoon tea on the balcony of
the room that was facing the coastline and the sea breeze was remarkable! It
was a pleasure and so serene! The way the structure is built gave us ultimate
privacy!
The hotel also has suites and villas.
Pool and Spa
Elma has two swimming pools and a spa. The
external seasonal pool is very large and relatively shallow with a deck-edge.
It was open already for the season when we stayed there and the water were
surprisingly warm and pleasant. I was able to swim laps as the middle of the
pool had lanes marked and it was around 25 meters long. The pool is surrounded
by sun beds and has a great view of the coast plane all the way to the Mediterranean!
The Spa has a small but relatively lengthy
deck-edge heated pool that is open year round and allows some laps swimming. It
has glass walls and it is stunning to sit there! There are also a large Hamam
and spa rooms offering body treatments. And there is also a well-equipped gym which
we haven’t had time to try.
Oratorio
Like everything else in
Elma, the main restaurant has a unique name and décor. The name, Oratorio, is
borrowed from the music world - it is a large musical composition. The décor
designed by Baranowitz Kronenberg is shaped to encourage
social interaction. Oratorio is elegant; it has a library and a glass-doors
700-bottle wine cooler featuring local wines from the area and spanning over
the internal wall of the restaurant that also has an open terrace. There are different
seating options for couples, families and groups including bar area and large
tables.
The restaurant emphasizes fresh, quality local
ingredients with a Mediterranean touch. We had dinner and breakfast at the
restaurant. Dinner has a set menu for a fixed price that includes a
self-service antipasti bar. The main courses and desserts are selected from the
menu and are served to the table. Since we were in Elma during the middle of
the week and there was relatively low occupancy, the antipasti bar was rather
small. When I say small, the selection was enough and it was just like I like
it – less but best – each and every item served there was no less than
excellent! The bar included many different antipasti vegetables, mushrooms,
eggplant, smoked salmon and quality cold cuts, dips and a variety of fine
breads. The main courses menu had a good
selection of dishes including different plates of meat, fish and vegans. We
both ordered Beef Filet, which was exceptional, especially taking into
consideration that it is kosher. It was served on 5 creams of vegetables, which
was tasty and beautiful like an art creation emphasizing the location’s theme.
From the selection of desserts we picked a variation of Alfajores and a
chocolate net. The latter was superb!
Breakfast was buffet-style. It was one of the
best breakfasts I have eaten in Israel. The variety of vegetables, antipasti,
warm dishes, healthy choices and desserts was exceptional! Everything was so
tasty that I couldn’t decide what to eat first! We also had freshly squeezed
fruit juice and fine coffee.
The relatively new chef Ohad Levi does a really
good job here and they serve high-quality food that looks and tastes excellently.
Oratorio operates as an
independent restaurant, welcoming visitors from outside the hotel.
Summary
The area of Zichron Ya’acov is rich with
attractions and wineries, but there was so much to do in the hotel in term of
sports, culinary, arts and music that we did not have a reason to leave the
hotel. However, if you plan on a longer vacation, you can take advantage of it.
Information
The prices for a double room at Elma start from
NIS1200 midweek, and NIS1950 on weekends, breakfast
included. During July-August the third night is free. Hotel guests receive
10-50% discounts on concerts.
ELMA Arts Complex Luxury Hotel, 1 Yair Street
Zichron Ya’akov Israel. Website: elma-hotel.com, Tel:
+972-4-630-0111
Facebook: facebook.com/elmahotel
The writer was a guest of the hotel.
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