Revisiting the Dead Sea for a ‘yom kef’

January 26, 2011 - 1:03 PM by David

The spa at Le Meridien, before it got crowded

This isn’t the first time my wife and I have traveled to the Dead Sea for a ‘yom kef’ – a day of fun that all the hotels there in the Ein Bokek area offer. But it was certainly the most entertaining.

For a reasonable price, the hotels offer access to their spas (with Dead Sea water and minerals), their regular fresh water pools, health club, a locker, a voucher for coffee and cake in the lounge, and a huge, buffet lunch – everything but the room, and you can be there for up to eight hours.

It always sounds so enticing, and the upshot is, we did have a splendid time, taking advantage of all of those amenities. But either we’ve been in Israel too long to be annoyed, or it was just too entertaining, but observing the other guests and the hotel staff was as much fun as the paid attractions.

It must have been ‘Pensioners’ Day’ or something, because the hotel we chose – Le Meridien – run by the Fattal Chain, was chock full of older people availing themselves of the therapeutic powers of the Dead Sea.

All fine and good, but older folks tend to be a little more demanding than other guests. And whether through inefficiency or inability to cope with the onslaught, the staff seemed overwhelmed, whether it was running out of towels, angry patrons walking behind the front desk to demand to see the manager over trifles like not being on the list to enter the beach area for free, or throwing health club wannabies out for not wearing the proper footware required to work out.

In between the ‘floor show’ that kept us riveted, we were able to float away for a few minutes in a few meters of unused pool space, soak up a jacuzzi, run on the treadmill, sit outside poolside with the NY Times crossword puzzle, eat a filling lunch of fish, chicken, chinese veggies, salad bar and egg rolls, and enjoy a slice of pie and cafe hafuch during the late afternoon, before we headed home.

If you’re able to put up with the crowds and can laugh at some maddening Israeli quirkiness, then you’ll love the ‘yom kef’ concept. Just try to go when it’s not Pensioners’ Day.

Share with others