Herods Vitalis Spa Hotel Eilat in Eilat

Ok, this is very good hotel, but the reviews are in need of a correction. This is not the 5-star experience that the internet says it is. 4-stars is much more reasonable.

We stayed there for two nights at the end of 2025. This was certainly a 5-star hotel when it was built around 25 years ago and it's been impressively very well maintained since. But, it's also well overdue for renovation, and 4-stars is a much more reasonable assessment at what it is now. (I gave it 3-stars in this review, just to try to get some balance back in the world.) The difference it makes isn't how nice it is (it's a very good hotel), it's in whether it is worth the price premium. (In my opinion, it is not.)

Here's what you need to know.
- Rooms: we stayed in a regular room, which is impressively spacious, but in need of renovation to maintain a 5-star level. The Nespresso machine didn't work and the safe needed a battery. Ok, these things happen. The bed was nice, but not quite as nice as you should get for 5-stars. (It was solid 4-stars.) The bathroom was nice when it was built. It has a jacuzzi but it's not big enough to really use, and the bath leaks a bit. The fridge is old, and the carpeting and doors appear to be original. For this price point, the rooms are well overdue for a renovation.

- Meals: we loved the breakfast and the free snack bar in the afternoon. At breakfast they serve you coffee and eggs which is a substantial upgrade from having to fight your way through a hotel breakfast buffet. We had dinner their one night which was "ok" but not worth the premium. The food was fine, but there is no vibe at all. Also, the service was... odd... they ran out of wine (who runs out of wine?) and I needed to convince them to open a bottle of the "free wine" from the afternoon snack bar instead. They charged me the full price for the "free wine" which was just plain tacky. (Just to be clear, there is a reason why the "free wine" is free. No one should be paying for that experience whether in the afternoon or at dinner.) In any case, I wouldn't go back for the dinners, there are much better options (with much better vibe) outside of the hotel.

- Gym: the gym was built 25 years ago and still has the same equipment. Now, before you freak out about that - wow! Who can maintain equipment that long? It is the absolute perfect setting for a filming a gym scene in Stranger Things. Seriously, if you own this hotel and are reading this: there is no excuse for not having a full gym renovation. (And you should be able to get a good price for collectors of antique weight machines.)

- Spa: we made our final day into a spa day and it was sublime. The facilities are in excellent condition, and include: a very large indoor jacuzzi (great!), a large sauna (great!), a large steam room (great!) as well an outdoor jacuzzi (great!) and hot and cold waterfalls (unbelievably awesome!). The treatments were also terrific. I think this may be the best spa in Israel and we are definitely going to come back. But, what I said before still stands: this is a spa built in the early 2000's and hasn't been renovated since. If you are just coming for the spa, the pricing is fine and I wouldn't hesistate. But if you are using the spa as a hotel guest, I expect more for this price point.

Bottom line: this is a very good hotel, but overpriced relative to what it is. This is hotel is priced as a 5-star. While it may have been that 25 years ago, it has not kept up. By today's standards, 4-stars is more reasonable. So.... unless you are specifically looking for a facility that feels closer in time to the historical Herod (he may have used the same gym equipment), you may find yourself like me having paid for a 5-star experience that you didn't quite get and then having to correct the online record to set things straight. (And also, no matter what you decide, I suggest you pass on the "free wine.")