Beit Sarah at Ein Gedi: Sleepover at Sarah’s House
by gilabrand
Apart from the fact that I’m partial to the name Sarah – it’s my mom’s name - I have only nice things to say about Beit Sarah (literally Sarah’s House), a guesthouse in Ein Gedi right next to the nature reserve, and just across the road from the Dead Sea.
Now, Beit Sarah is not the Hilton, but if you are prepared to skip the frills, it offers very nice accommodations and surprisingly good food in a setting that will leave your mouth hanging open – and all this, without breaking the bank. The guesthouse/youth hostel is housed in a cluster of whitewashed buildings surrounded by flowering bushes and trees against a stunning backdrop of pinky beige cliffs.
The rooms are dormitory style, pretty spacious, with 4-6 bunk beds, a toilet and shower (no bath) and a small refrigerator. Nothing fancy, but quite adequate, and the extra beds (if you don’t need them all) are good for lounging and repacking suitcases without having to bend down.
The Kibbutz Ein Gedi guesthouse, which is very beautiful – the whole kibbutz is set in an exotic botanical garden – is nearby, but Beit Sarah is considerably less expensive, and the location can’t be beat: It’s just a five-minute walk to the Nahal David spring, the site of the ancient Ein Gedi synagogue mosaic and a free beach.
Meals are served in the dining hall, in a separate building. You sit at the table looking out huge glass windows with a view that is not to be believed. If you didn’t know better you’d swear it was glued on…We spent the weekend there, paying for half board, which included a Friday night meal and a Sabbath morning buffet. I don’t remember exactly what we ate, but I do know it was plentiful and tasty. Maybe not 5-star, but a whole lot better than you would expect in a place that calls itself a youth hostel.
And that brings me to one more point: Beit Sarah is a favorite for school trips. If you have a problem with noise, it may be wise to inquire if there are any large groups of kids scheduled to arrive when you are. At night, when they congregate under your window, you may feel like it’s one big sleepover…