A Panoramic View
I was expecting a lot more from the Dan Panorama. This chain runs several hotels around the country and is considered quite classy. I found it rather rundown, although the location is great and the views are indeed panoramic.
With tourism hitting rock bottom these days, I walked in off the street and made a reservation on the spot. The cavernous marble lobby was sadly empty. Our room, on one of the higher floors, had a nice view of Haifa Bay, but it was very plain and ordinary-looking. The bathroom was marble, with a bidet, but my husband and I agreed hands down that we liked our bathroom at home better...
Unique Quality: The entrance to the hotel is inside a shopping center, but everything closes down at around 7 p.m. If you go up the escalator, there is a small movie theater on the top floor. In the evening, the hotel was practically deserted, although the Haifa Film Festival had just kicked off, and the streets outside were thronged with people. In the lounge, an entertainer played music just for the two of us...
The buffet breakfast was quite lavish, and served in a room with large picture windows and a stunning view of Haifa Bay. If the weather is nice, you can sit out on the balcony.
In short, this is a decent hotel but don't expect luxury. On the other hand, many of Haifa's major attractions are just steps away, and that makes up for a lot.
2011 UPDATE: We stayed here again in August 2011 and had a completely different experience. No complaints this time. Our room on the 9th floor was spacious and clean with a great view, the bathroom was stocked with toiletries and had glass shelves to hold our stuff, the food was amazingly abundant, the dining room staff plied us with attention (and free drinks) and the hotel was humming with overseas guests. The price was reasonable with 50% off the second night. While I was busy at a convention, my husband tried out the fitness room and outdoor pool, and received free tickets to an array of Haifa attractions. He went to the zoo, directly across the street from the hotel, and found the bat cave particularly intriguing...
