The Crowne Plaza Dead Sea Israel is a hotel with its own private beach on the Dead Sea. This kosher-friendly resort has renovated rooms, a spa, top-notch dining options.
Location
There are 2 Crowne Plaza hotels located on the Dead Sea: one on the Jordan side and one on the Israel side. This is a review of the location in Ein Bokek, a hotel and resort district on the Israeli shore of the Dead Sea.
I’ve been to the Dead Sea several times staying in fantastic hotels…across the street from the sea. This is my first time staying at a resort with direct access to the Dead Sea and it definitely makes a huge difference. Specifically, my husband and I were traveling with his older Aunt we has had a botched hip surgery. The convenience of not having to do a lot of walking was very nice for us. The only downside of the location is that is a little removed from the hotel row so there aren’t a lot of dining options outside of the hotel. Specifically for those looking for a kosher meal.
The Dead Sea
The Dead Sea is a salt lake that’s also the lowest place on earth. How salty is it? It’s almost 10 times times as salty as the ocean. With a water of density of 1.24 kg/litre, you literally can’t help but float.
MY QUICK TIPS FOR A DAY AT THE DEAD SEA
- Stay hydrated.
- Don’t shave for at least 48 hours prior to entering the water.
- Don’t touch your eyes.
- Don’t splash around.
- Buy mud, let it dry, rub it off.
Mud
You gotta do the mud mask. The hotel sells packets of mud in their gift shop for $10 or $20. The Dead Sea mineral mud is famous for its natural healing elements. I like to let the mud dry on my skin and then rub is off in an exfoliating motion. Your skin will fell smooth as a babies bottom afterwards.
Service
I’ll be frank. This is my third trip to Israel in the last 7 years. I’ve spent a lot of time traveling around the country. I have found that while it’s a beautiful country, one of my favorites in the world, in general the service in Israel is sub-par and definitely not nearly as friendly as it was across the sea in Jordan. For example, we waited a ridiculously long time for someone to come take our order – every time we sat down to eat. No one working there ever had a smile on their face. If you asked for something they made it seem like you were bothering them. Heaven forbid I ask for water with my dinner. So while the staff and service was barely tolerable, this is no way a reflection of the hotel, it’s just what you get when you visit Israel in my opinion. I didn’t have a necessarily bad experience or issue; more so a typical experience.
Rooms
The hotel has recently undergone a renovation so all the rooms are clean, modern and updated. We chose a club room category room which is an adults-only room that comes with complimentary access to their new business lounge. The room was nice but fairly basic.
90% of the rooms came with their own private balconies…except the ones on our floor. Which was odd because we paid for a club room you’d think if anything those would be the rooms with balconies. Nope.
Dining
This is a kosher hotel so they don’t mix meat and dairy. Dairy is served during breakfast and lunch with meat at dinner. When we first arrived we settled at the restaurant for lunch. I’m not going to lie – I really wanted some meat! But I settled for a salad instead. Which was probably what I really needed anyway. It was great, very fresh.
Buffet dinner and breakfast was included with our room rate so we ate there during our stay. As with most Israeli hotels, the buffet was massive.
My husband’s Aunt is not only kosher but also vegetarian. She did not have any problems finding lots of options to eat. In general the buffet food was very good.
The real gem though was the food in the lounge. The business lounge has food and alcohol out pretty much all day for those who have access. The food here was so good we ended up eating most of our meals here.
Hotel Grounds
The hotel is very nice. It’s extremely clean and well maintained.
The spa is small but clean. There is a small, Dead Sea water pool inside next to the spa and a very large chlorine pool outside. Both have plenty of seats and lounge chairs.
The outside pool has bar service which we definitely took advantage of. The beach is nice and they provide not just lounges but tons of shade, several outdoor showers and bathrooms.
My only complaint about this hotel is the clientele. They were OLD. The average age of the people staying there was probably 75 and most of them were Russian. Vacationing with a whole bunch of old Russians is not high on my list.
If it’s just my husband and me, I would not stay here again. BUT if we have his Aunt with us, the hotel is definitely more accommodating to her needs.
- Location
- Service
- Rooms
- Dining
- Hotel Grounds
10 comments
The Crowne Plaza looks like the perfect place to stay whilst visiting the Dead Sea in Israel. The location couldn’t be better, neither could the view from your window of the Dead Sea. The food options look good, I learnt about Kosher when I visited Israel last year and discovered there is no cheese option for the hamburgers.
Crowne Plaza is one of my least favorite chains so I’m not surprised at all the old people! For some reason, they tend to gravitate towards it. Great location though, I’d love to visit the Dead Sea!
I really want to visit Israel. It’s great to get your insider knowledge on visiting as you have been so many times. Its somewhere I worried about visiting ad=s a female. But now not so much thanks to women like you writing about it ?
Wow, I’d love to visit the Dead Sea. And that buffet – something I’m not usually a fan of – looks amazing! Thank you for sharing.
I always find stays at chain hotels like the Crowne Plaza pretty good – although they may not be the best places to stay, you always know what you will get and for a reasonable price. The location here looks great – i’d love to visit the Dead Sea and with it being just across the street, it doesn’t get much better! I’m surprised at a chain hotel like this having poor service but if that’s just the way things are in Israel then fair enough. The buffet looks great, I love Israeli food!
I had stayed at lot of Crowne Plaza properties and generally they are good. This one seems to be nice too. That pic of an old russian is kinda funny. I agree with old people around it could get tad boring but the views are really nice.
Oh wow. love the idea of having access to the beach. Crowne Plaza looks like a wonderful place to stay at. Even if some people don’t understand how bathers work.
Wow, your view was amazing! I love how the hotel has direct access to the Dead Sea, that’s a good enough reason to stay here. Thanks for the tips on spending a day at the Dead Sea, I definitely would’ve shaved without knowing and would’ve regretted it haha.
Oh my, that Russian man and his well placed star ? I love the idea that the hotel was situated right across the road from the beach and of course that you can spend your day floating. I think your added tips for staying safe and un-sore from your time in the dead sea is great. It is a shame about the poor service however it sounds like you would have that anywhere in the area.
Hi every body,
Try not to shave anything for a day or so before dipping in the dead sea The water is very salty and you WILL feel the burn! The same goes for skin scrapes and cuts. While salt water can actually speed up healing, the burning sensation is not a treat.