Elkonin Hotel is a boutique hotel in Neve Tzedek, Tel Aviv, and the way to know it begins at the table. The day opens with a basket of house-made breads and pastries, vegetables and dips, coffee or juice of your choice, and a main dish picked from the range on offer. The evening closes on the ground floor, in a dairy kosher restaurant run by a chef. Between the two stand a building from 1913, 44 rooms and suites, and a neighbourhood of quiet lanes. Come to slow down, and let the meals set the pace.
Breakfast at a boutique hotel in Neve Tzedek: the basket, the dips, the main dish
Breakfast at Elkonin Hotel arrives in a sequence you can follow with your eyes closed. First the basket: breads and pastries made in-house, still the right temperature for tearing. Around it, vegetables and dips, the kind of small plates that turn a table into something to share. Then coffee, juice, or both, whichever you ask for.
The main dish comes last, and you choose it yourself from the variety on offer. It is a quiet kind of luxury: nobody hands you a fixed plate, and nobody hurries you through it. The hotel serves breakfast at an unhurried pace, and the schedule leaves room for it:
- Sunday to Thursday: 7:30 to 10:30
- Friday: 7:30 to 11:00
- Saturday: 8:00 to 11:00
If one main dish is not enough for a hungry morning, an additional dish per diner is available for an added charge. Ask at the table.
A morning that begins with bread rarely needs a plan.
Saturday morning: a buffet already laid out
On Saturday the format changes. Breakfast, served from 8:00 to 11:00, becomes a rich buffet of dishes and drinks prepared in advance. In practice that means the table is waiting when you arrive, with a range of dishes to move between at your own speed. The hotel is kosher, so guests who keep kosher can sit down without second-guessing the morning.
Rova Aleph: a chef’s dairy kosher restaurant on the ground floor
Rova Aleph is the hotel’s restaurant, on the entrance floor and led by chef Aviatar Malka. It is a dairy kosher chef’s restaurant, and it serves dinner from 18:00, Sunday to Thursday. Because it sits downstairs, the evening needs no plan. You can go out into the city and come back to your own table, or skip the city and let dinner be the outing.
For couples especially, a dinner a few steps from the room changes the shape of an evening. There is no booking a taxi, no checking the time of the last course. There is a table, a chef, and the rest of the night ahead of you.
The quiet cup upstairs: coffee and tea in the room
Not every pleasure of a stay happens in a dining room. Each room has a Nespresso machine, and a coffee and tea kit is provided at no charge, so the first cup can be taken slowly, in a robe, with the window in front of you. The views are either urban or of the Mediterranean, depending on the room. The rooms also have a minibar, a smart TV, a rain shower and complimentary wireless internet, but it is the cup that tends to set the tone.
All of the hotel’s rooms and suites were planned and designed by Adriana Shore. The sizes are worth knowing before you choose:
- Superior: about 20 to 23 sqm, in the historic building and in the glass tower
- Deluxe: about 22 sqm on average
- Executive sea view: about 25 sqm, king-size bed, for 2 guests
- Junior suite: about 30 sqm, with a bedroom and a separate sitting area
- Menachem suite: about 33 sqm, up to 3 adults or a couple with 2 children
- Malka suite: about 38 sqm, for 3 guests, on the top floor of the glass building, facing the sea
A house from 1913, and the two people it is named for
The table makes more sense once you know whose house it is. Elkonin Hotel was founded in 1913 by Malka and Menachem Elkonin, and it was the first hotel in Tel Aviv. Over the years it hosted figures such as Albert Einstein and David Ben-Gurion. After a renovation, it reopened in 2022, now part of the MGallery collection of Accor.
Two suites carry the founders’ names: the Menachem suite, after the founder, and the Malka suite, after his wife. The preservation work kept the building’s architectural details and its link to the streets around it, so that history can go on living in a present-day stay. The result mixes European elegance, local design and a Tel Aviv character, with the rooms, the public spaces and the roof forming one continuous thread between the old house and the modern city.
After the table: the roof, the spa and the lanes of Neve Tzedek
The hotel stands at the entrance to Neve Tzedek, a Tel Aviv neighbourhood of quiet alleys, restored stone houses, galleries and cafes. A slow walk after breakfast is the natural next course, and it works just as well after the spa.
On the roof there is an infinity pool looking out toward the Mediterranean. Downstairs, Spa by Clarins is the first Clarins spa in Israel, with five treatment rooms, one of them a couples room, plus a quiet lounge and a hammam. The spa is open to hotel guests and to the public. Take a moment in time for yourself, and let the day move from the table to the lounge and back.
Elkonin Hotel works best for guests who like their city stay measured in meals and moments of calm: a breakfast, a walk, a swim, a dinner. For reservations or questions about a specific room, reception is staffed around the clock.
Frequently asked questions
Is Elkonin Hotel a boutique hotel in Neve Tzedek, Tel Aviv?
Yes. Elkonin Hotel stands at the entrance to Neve Tzedek in Tel Aviv, in a preserved building from 1913. It has 44 rooms and suites designed by Adriana Shore, and it belongs to the MGallery collection of Accor.
What does breakfast at Elkonin Hotel include, and when is it served?
Breakfast includes a basket of house-made breads and pastries, vegetables, dips, coffee and/or juice of your choice, and a main dish chosen from the variety. It is served Sunday to Thursday from 7:30 to 10:30, Friday from 7:30 to 11:00, and Saturday from 8:00 to 11:00.
Is Elkonin Hotel kosher, and can I have dinner there?
The hotel is kosher. Its restaurant, Rova Aleph, is a dairy kosher chef’s restaurant led by chef Aviatar Malka, on the entrance floor. Dinner is served from 18:00, Sunday to Thursday.
How is breakfast served on Saturday at Elkonin Hotel?
On Saturday, breakfast is a rich buffet of dishes and drinks prepared in advance, served from 8:00 to 11:00. Friday breakfast runs from 7:30 to 11:00.
How much does a night at Elkonin Hotel cost?
Rates and offers change, so we do not list them here. Current prices for Elkonin Hotel in Neve Tzedek, Tel Aviv, are best checked with Elkonintelaviv directly.
Does Elkonin Hotel offer airport transfers, and is reception open at night?
Yes, the hotel offers shuttles from the airport, and reception service runs 24/7. That makes late arrivals easy to plan.
Does Elkonin Hotel have accessible rooms?
Yes, the hotel has accessible rooms. For details, contact the reservations department. There is an accessible entrance from Yehoshua Talmi Street, and the accessibility coordinator, Eva Ben Shoshan, can be reached at 03-5484011 for requests, issues and suggestions.
What should I know before booking a treatment at the spa?
Arrive at least 10 minutes before your treatment, since a late arrival does not extend the treatment time. A treatment cancelled less than 24 hours ahead is charged in full, with no refund. The spa can be reached at 03-5484023.