![Israeli design hotels: Elma Arts complex and hotel](https://thespaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Elma_Arts_Complex_and_Hotel_west2-1600.jpg)
Tel Aviv’s White City is home to 4,000 glittering Bauhaus buildings and has long been a mecca for Modernism lovers. But this brand of architecture isn’t the only one to flourish in Israel: from Ottoman-era townhouses to beautiful Brutalist sanatoriums, the country’s architectural bounty traverses millennia.
We’ve rounded up five of our favourite hotels in Israel for design lovers, offering a taste of the country’s rich history.
The Efendi Hotel, Acre
![Israeli design hotels: Efendi Hotel](https://thespaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Efendi-Hotel.jpg)
This boutique hotel in Israel is formed of two 400-year-old Ottoman-era houses fused into a ‘palace’ in the 19th century. It was meticulously restored by its owner, chef Uri ‘Buri’ Jeremias, and the tranquil haven boasts an excavated 800-year-old olive oil factory turned wine cellar, as well as a private hammam.
ELMA Arts Complex, Zichron Yaakov
![Israeli design hotel: Elma Arts Hotel](https://thespaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/04_Elma_Arts_Hotel.jpg)
This wave-shaped Brutalist icon was originally built as a sanitarium, earning architect Yaakov Rechter the Israel Award for Architecture. Having fallen into disrepair, Rechter’s son Amnon’s practice handled its restoration for philanthropist and art collector owner, Lily Elstein.
![](https://thespaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/01_Elma_Arts_Hotel_Top-1980x1480-1973x1480.jpg)
Elstein has turned it into a hotel and arts complex (complete with concert hall) conceived as an ever-evolving gallery.
Villa Brown, Jerusalem
![Israeli design hotels: Villa Brown Jerusalem](https://thespaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/villa-brown-jerusalem-1.jpg)
Boutique properties are a rarity in this riveting city, and so the opening of a stylishly repurposed, 19th-century villa by the Brown Hotel group is a welcome addition. Exposed stone walls offer guests a palpable reminder of their historic location, while smart use of floor-to-ceiling glass allows Jerusalem’s sublime light to cast an intoxicating glow through Israel hotel’s public spaces.
The Norman, Tel Aviv
![Israeli design hotels: the Norman hotel](https://thespaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/the-norman_facade_008_hr.jpg)
Nestled into the heart of the White City, The Norman comprises two residences re-imagined as a refined contemporary hotel. A striking Bauhaus structure houses shared facilities, and was originally designed in 1923 by architect Leo Adler.
![Israeli design hotels: the Norman hotel](https://thespaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/The-norman-sivan-askayo-library-low-rez-14.jpg)
The adjacent suites building is of the Eclectic tradition. Both showcase original features such as tiled flooring alongside contemporary Israeli art, and a visit to The Norman neatly encompasses Tel Aviv’s design heritage.
The Jaffa hotel, Tel Aviv
![](https://cdn.thespaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/jaffa-hotel-john-pawson-amit-geron-2.jpg)
British master of minimalism John Pawson, and Israeli firm, Ramy Gill Architects and Urban Designers steered the W Group’s adaptive reuse of this former convent and hospital in Jaffa into a hotel and apartment complex.
Stucco walls, Arabic tiles and 12th-century stonework have been restored inside the former monastery, while the chapel has been turned into a bar with soaring vaulted ceiling.
Read next: 12 hotels for vinyl lovers