Solving the ‘what now?’ dilemma at Kfar Maccabiah Hotel - review

There are hotels that welcome children, and then there are hotels where children immediately realize they have struck gold.

Kfar Maccabiah, tucked away amid the greenery of Ramat Gan, falls very much into the latter category.

For families, particularly those with younger children, its great advantage is that there is simply so much to do. Our children had the best time, and it was easy to see why.

Between several swimming pools, multiple water slides, large outdoor playground spaces, and a seemingly endless choice of sporting activities, there was little chance of hearing the dreaded question that accompanies so many family holidays: “What are we doing now?”

The pools alone can occupy much of a day. For children, the water slides are inevitably the main attraction, and ours would happily have spent hours going up and down them. For parents, meanwhile, there is something particularly appealing about settling into a resort for the day without constantly bundling everyone into a car to find the next activity.

Complete with lawns and green spaces, Kfar Maccabiah feels removed from the city

That is probably Kfar Maccabiah’s greatest strength. Although it sits in the middle of the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, the hotel feels removed from the city surrounding it. The lawns and green spaces give it more of a family-resort feel than a conventional city hotel.

The scale of the wider Kfar Maccabiah complex also means that guests have access to far more than one would normally expect from a hotel.

There is a smaller fitness room within the hotel itself, but guests can also use the gym in the main sports complex – a serious, fully equipped sports facility rather than the handful of machines that too often constitute a hotel fitness center.

The hotel also offers studio classes, including Pilates, giving adults the chance to exercise properly during a stay rather than simply promising themselves they will use the treadmill once before breakfast. Guests can use all these facilities and classes for free.

The wider sporting complex includes indoor and outdoor basketball facilities and swimming pools, while the hotel’s program gives guests access to a range of activities during the week. It is one of the relatively rare Israeli hotels where sport feels integral to the place, rather than an afterthought.

In many ways, that is the whole essence of Kfar Maccabiah.

Next to the hotel is the headquarters of the Maccabi World Union, which organizes the Maccabiah Games and, alongside it, the World Jewish Sports Museum, which is well worth setting aside time to visit. The museum explores the history of Jewish and Israeli sport, but it does so within the much broader story of Jewish history, Zionism, and identity.

Its collection combines memorabilia and historical objects with interactive exhibits and the stories of Jewish sportsmen and women from around the world. That makes it considerably more interesting than the name “sports museum” might initially suggest, even for visitors who are not particularly devoted sports fans.

Its proximity to the hotel is another advantage. No journey is involved and no need to devote an entire day to it; you can simply walk over from the hotel and include the museum in your stay.

That ease is a recurring feature of Kfar Maccabiah.

The hotel is also close to the Ramat Gan Safari, the National Park, and a number of other family attractions, so anyone staying for several days has plenty of options nearby. Yet the point is that you do not actually have to leave. There is enough happening inside the complex to make staying put perfectly viable.

The accommodation also works particularly well for families. Kfar Maccabiah has family suites large enough to accommodate five people together, including a 57-square-meter suite with a bedroom and living room and a larger 72-square-meter option with two bedrooms and a living room.

For parents used to squeezing children, bags, toys, and assorted holiday paraphernalia into a standard hotel room, the extra space makes a considerable difference.

The hotel also has a spa for anyone fortunate enough to find some child-free time, with treatments, massages, and relaxation areas available on site.

For couples looking exclusively for a boutique city break, there may be more obvious choices, but for families – particularly families with energetic children – what Kfar Maccabiah offers is difficult to beat.

The children can swim, race down the slides, play and explore; parents can use a proper gym or take a class; everyone can eat extremely well; and there is even an excellent museum a few minutes’ walk from the room.

Most tellingly, our children did not need persuading to enjoy themselves; quite the opposite. The difficult part was getting them to leave.