The Tel Aviv hotels to catch some sleep in the city that doesn’t

Brown Beach House

While Tel Aviv’s beaches are arguably the liveliest in the Middle East, the city’s promenade was once dominated by soulless hotel chains with drearily uniform façades. Among the first to shake things up, Brown Beach House brought a boutique sensibility to the coast, with playful branding and eye-catchingly graphic interiors – from Elin Langlieb and Leopard Hospitality. Classic resorts of the 1950s provided the initial inspiration, and even though there’s a dash of Miami and a sip of The French Riviera in the design, the volume has been notched up to reflect Tel Aviv’s altogether more boisterous spirit.

64 Ha’Yarkon Street, Tel Aviv, Israel; Tel: 972.3 760 5000; www.brownhotels.com. Rates from: $167

Photography: Assaf Pinchuk

The Drisco

With its Ottoman inspired interiors, The Drisco veers from the unrelentingly hip mid-century and modernist styles more generally seen in Tel Aviv. Boldly patterned rugs, preserved oriental tiles and original murals evoke something of a bygone age – fitting, considering the hotel’s storied past. Built by Evangelist pilgrims in the late 1800s, it once played host to the likes of Mark Twain and Thomas Cook as the region’s most splendid stay. Over a decade’s work from architect and designer Ari Shaltiel has seen the hotel returned to its former glory, with 37 rooms, five suites and an ambient lobby bar.

4-6 Auerbach Street, Tel Aviv, Israel; Tel: 972.3 741 0000, www.thedrisco.com. Rates from: $230

Hotel Saul

A 1940s office building turned millennial minded boutique, the 34-bedroom Hotel Saul is as much a neighbourhood hangout as a youthful bolthole. Its ground floor features Tel Aviv’s first gourmet ‘sandwicherie’, Barvazi, while the fourth floor terrace is a space to kick back and make use of the board games on offer. So far, so retro. Dan Troyim’s whimsical interiors knit together flashes of decorative kitsch with handsome walnut furniture, while whitewashed brick walls play canvas to lolling pot plants. And if there’s any remaining doubt as to the joint’s target demo, rooms feature Netflix and buckets of popcorn to order.

17 Tschernichowski Street, Tel Aviv, Israel; Tel: 972.3 527 7700, www.hotelsaul.com. Rates from: $115

Lily & Bloom

An ode to Bauhaus and a tale of Tel Aviv given form, Lily & Bloom draws together the dual personalities of the city – on the one hand modernity, in the shape of the fictitious Ms Lily, and on the other, classic refinement, embodied by Mr Bloom. The 37-room boutique, and former 1930s bank, represents a compelling love affair between the two. Studio MU’s design incorporates period elements, such as the bank’s original safe, to hammer home a sense of history, while contemporary touches include specially commissioned mezuzas with Marc Chagall artwork, and handmade Italian furniture.

48 Lilienblum Street, Tel Aviv, Israel; Tel: 972.72 248 4848; www.lilyandbloom.com. Rates from: $190

Poli House

Situated on the frenzied Magen David Square and just metres from the raucous market stalls of Shuk HaCarmel, Poli House is an exercise in energetic aesthetics. It’s the first project from renowned designer Karim Rashid in the city, and his brazen signature style abounds in every bulbous, neon coloured piece of furniture and serpentine architectural line. Featuring 40 rooms and suites, the renovated Bauhaus building is now the square’s most defining structure, and on a typical weekend the throbbing music and crowd-chatter from its destination rooftop bar is enough to cut through the din of the traffic below.

1 Nahalat Binyamin Street, Tel Aviv, Israel; Tel: 972.3 710 5000; www.thepolihouse.com. Rates from: $170