Everyone has their own individual list of requirements when it comes to booking a hotel, and while my stay was for more unusual reasons — spending two weeks in Jerusalem to conduct a major investigation into corruption and human rights abuses perpetrated by the Palestinian Authority — they were no less exacting.
I needed to be in easy reach of various locations in Israel, somewhere comfortable, with superfast internet, where I could easily find myself dinner if I returned late.
And The Brown Machne Yehuda — the latest addition to the boutique hotel group’s rapidly growing portfolio and its fourth property in Jerusalem — turned out to fit the bill perfectly.
Barely ten minutes’ walk from the new Yithzak Navon station, from which twice-hourly express trains will whisk you to Tel Aviv in just 40 minutes, it’s also a pleasant stroll down the main Jaffa Street thoroughfare to the Old City and Jerusalem’s other major sights for those planning more conventional stays.
The hotel is almost next to the Machne Yehuda market too. Jerusalem is not, by any stretch of the imagination, a city that never sleeps. But it is much livelier at night than it used to be, and if you want to get a very decent Italian dinner or a Levantine feast late into the evening, Machne Yehuda is the place to go.
Just don’t expect it to be peaceful on Thursday nights, when Jerusalem’s youthful inhabitants mark the start of Israel’s weekend, dancing in the alleys to music emanating from some of the market’s many bars.
Designed by Israeli architects Keren Elboim and Amir Golan, the hotel itself is well-tailored to this hip, humming location. A spacious lobby and breakfast area is comfortably furnished, mixing urban chic with colourful influences conjuring up the nearby market vibes, and hung with outstanding contemporary art by Karin Perez.
Brown MachneYuda. Lobby. Photo Max Kovalsky (5)
Lobby at Brown Machne Yehuda (Photo: Max Kovalsky)
The 110 rooms — there are seven different types — all have a dark, opulent feel with parquet wood floors, mustard yellow and green velvet furnishings and gold finishings, along with original photos and artwork on the walls.
The king-size beds come with high-thread-count linen, plus you’ll also find marble rainfall shower rooms and, yes, internet of the speed you’d expect in the global capital of start-up high tech.
My own room also had a balcony — no, more than a balcony, a terrace — complete with a Jacuzzi in which to relax at the end of a long and taxing day, looking out over the rooftops of Jerusalem. For those who want to relax even further, there is also a spa offering massages, including couples’ treatments.
From Thursday to Saturday, the hotel also lays on breakfast: a typically sumptuous Israeli buffet, with salads, smoked salmon and hummus as well as more traditional fare. The rest of the time, you get a voucher to use in one of three nearby cafes, which I cashed in at the Café Lyon a couple of hundred metres up the road.
Staff are helpful and welcoming to a fault, whether you’re juggling the demands of work, laundry and Covid-related airport disruptions as I was, or looking for other assistance during your trip.
That summed up my stay. If you’re searching for a spotlessly clean, stylish and friendly place to stay in central Jerusalem, all without a luxury price tag, you will find it hard to do better than the Brown Machne Yehuda.
Rates
Rooms at Brown Machne Yehuda cost from around £270 per night.
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