Israel - Caesarea/Tel Aviv, anyone know any hotels?

[jumpingjackhash]

DH and I are off to a wedding in Israel (Caesarea) this summer and are looking for a nice but affordable hotel. Some guests are staying in Tel Aviv, I think there's a bus arranged to take people back there if they're not staying in Caesarea.

So, my questions are...Does anyone know / can you recommend a nice but relatively cheap hotel in Tel Aviv?

Would anyone recommend we stay in Caesarea (if so, any hotel suggestions)? We're going to be there for 5 days.

I've tried looking on TripAdvisor etc. and no joy!

TIA!

Have a great time in Israel and make sure you have time to visit some of the sights.

I wouldn't recommend staying in Caesarea, there's not much there apart from some really nice houses and the Roman ruins - which are worth a visit. For more beach/city location Tel Aviv is great, I would recommend to make sure that your hotel is on the beach front - there are the usual Sheraton/Hilton etc but there are also Israeli chains like Isrotel that are worth considering.

For somewhere a little quieter but still on the beach there are towns like Herzliyya Pituach or Netanya - but if you are going to a wedding doesn't it make sense to stay where everyone else is?

BTW if there is a bus laid on from Tel Aviv to Caesarea it makes sense to use it (it takes about 1hr to drive (and the driving is mad there) - but when we take a coach we also take our childrens car seats - the coaches there tend to have seat belts so it works.

If you want any more help just ask

Thanks Boxey - really useful! I was leaning towards Tel Aviv, so thanks for the reassurance! We've seen the Vital at the Weitzman Centre, which could be a back-up if we can't get one closer to the beach. We've seen quite a few nice looking hotels but they're all full on our dates, so we may end up staying at more than 1!

Is public transport reliable there?

Hi Yes public transport is reliable - taxis & buses go everywhere but remember that there are no buses on Friday nights & Saturday (until night) because of sabbath

The Vital is quite a way from the beach - are you taking children with you because it is probably too far to walk with little ones esp in the heat of summer (it would be too far for me in the heat)

There are some less well known hotels on the beach like the Renaissance where a friend of ours used to stay from time to time and was quite happy with it

In Tel Aviv I like the Dan Panorma Hotel. It is on the beach but away from all the mad action. It is 5 star and stunning ( the standard of hotels in Israel is very high) but as it is set away from the main hurly burly and is soemwhat older it is cheaper. I stayed there after our wedding and again a few years ago and both times were fantastic.

Dont know about ceaserea though .

Enjoy the summer wedding....