Today my wife and I decided to take a tour of the new luxury Tel Aviv Setai hotel located in the clock tower square of Jaffa. I waited anxiously for this tour from the day constructions and renovation in the site of Setai hotel started three years ago. As expected, the visit was worth every minute. It also gave me a wonderful opportunity topaint the site.
Until its transformation into an hotel, the entire beautiful compound served first as a crusaders fortress. Later it became an Ottoman prison (Kishleh) and a British police station. After the independence war it became the Israeli police headquarter of Jaffa. No wonder the big stone wall which surrounds the compound generates a tense and mysterious atmosphere. The Setai hotel is now one of the four buildings which give the square its stance.
The lobby and the connected rooms are surrounded by rough stone walls and arches. This gives this section of Setai hotel a sense of toughness. They preserve the original site atmosphere. Yet the modern and sophisticated renovation considerably softens this sense.
The Setai hotel is impressive and looks very luxurious. After crossing the lobby and the patio, I climbed stairs and found myself in front of a swimming pool and a magnificent view of Tel Aviv and its beach. I pulled right away my smartphone from my shirt pocket and painted that view with the DFH technique. Shortly later I felt a necessity to paint the beautiful cafe and its arches. When I left I realized how much the renovated site contributes to the square stance.
To summarize: We had a wonderful inspiring tour of Setai hotel!
The hotel bar
