We arrived on Saturday at the Herods Boutique Hotel in Eilat, planning to spend the Shavuot holiday there and celebrate a family birthday. We hoped to begin the holiday in a calm, pleasant atmosphere – but instead, we were met with a frustrating, disappointing, and ultimately unnecessary experience. We arrived at the hotel at 4:00 PM, knowing that check-in would be completed by 6:00 PM. In reality, we stood, waited, asked questions, and only received our room at 9:00 PM. The explanation we were given? The previous guests simply didn’t vacate the room – as if that’s our problem, and not the hotel’s responsibility. And what did we do during those five hours? We wandered the streets with a baby just a few months old who couldn’t fall asleep – tired, restless, and above all, sleep-deprived. Our daughter had to sleep with her grandparents, and they – elderly people who came to enjoy themselves – found themselves spending the night in a tense, cramped, and unpleasant situation. As for us, we just felt lost. And when we finally got the room? We discovered it was unclean – leftovers of rice, sunflower seed shells, cigarette butts on the balcony. Instead of a moment of relief – it was just another slap in the face. The staff was polite, but in practice, we received no real help, no solution, and no compensation. It felt like we were just left to deal with it on our own – on a night that was supposed to be the festive start to a special vacation. We arrived in good spirits, ready to celebrate – and left deeply disappointed. This is not how one expects to begin a vacation at a hotel that’s considered luxurious. What a shame. Truly a shame.
