The Dan Carmel hotel, set atop Mount Carmel overlooking the Mediterranean port city of Haifa, celebrates its 50th anniversary this year with an extensive renovation.
In honor of the property's semicentennial, Dan Hotels Israel invested in a $19 million renovation of the hotel that took place in the winters of 2012 and 2013 and featured the redesigning of the hotel's 227 rooms and suites as well as its lobby and banquet halls.
The rooms now offer more expansive panoramic views of the Mediterranean Sea and Haifa Bay, with additional floor-to-ceiling and wall-to-wall windows.
The rooms were also given a new look that the hotel describes as "classic yet modern," with a brown-and-beige color scheme. New amenities include 42-inch flat-screen TVs, modern furnishings and larger bathrooms fitted with fog-free mirrors.
The hotel also redid its banquet halls and upgraded and refurbished the lobby. The reception and entrance areas were completely redone in 2011.
The refit will continue this winter with a renovation of the hotel's Olympic-size swimming pool.
The Dan Carmel is a few minutes' walk from the Unesco World Heritage Site of the Baha'i Shrine and Gardens, the city's German Colony and more than a dozen museums.
Opened in 1963 as the first five-star hotel in northern Israel, the hotel has hosted international dignitaries and celebrities such as President Jimmy Carter, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, movie stars Sophia Loren and Peter Finch and the author James Michener.
"Travelers will find that the Dan Carmel offers a unique combination of luxury, elegance and history unlike any property in northern Israel," Rafi Baeri, vice president of marketing and sales for Dan Hotels, said in a statement.
Dan Hotels Israel calls itself the largest luxury hotel group in the country, with a history that dates back to June 1947, when the company opened a 21-room guesthouse called the "Kaete Dan" in Tel Aviv.
Today, there are 14 Dan hotels around the country.
For more information, visit www.danhotels.com.
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