Most of Tel Aviv's hotels are on Ha-Yarkon Street, which runs along the beach from Mograbi Square northward. The luxury hotels are on the sea side of Ha-Yarkon. Most of the mid- and lower-class choices are on the inland side of Ha-Yarkon, or on Ben Yehuda Street. Tel Aviv can be a very noisy city. If you're looking for a moderate or budget hotel, don't take a room facing on a main street, unless it has air-conditioning and soundproof windows. Get off the heavily trafficked streets or take a room in the back; Tel Aviv hoteliers charge the same rates for front and back rooms.
Private Rooms & Apartments -- The Government Tourist Information Office at 7 Mendele St. (tel. 03/520-7600) compiles and prints a list of agencies and individuals who rent rooms and apartments. Though they will not make a contact or reservation for you, and they cannot guarantee the quality of service or accommodations, the tourist office staff will give you a copy of the list for free. The office is open Sunday through Thursday 8am to 4:30pm.
Along Ha-Yarkon Street -- Ha-Yarkon Street runs along the Mediterranean. The deluxe hotels are all right off the sea and have either direct access to the beach or are across a small but busy road. The southern end of Ha-Yarkon is run down, but new construction is upgrading this area. Just before the Dan Hotel, the street becomes more upscale; north of Atarim Square, Ha-Yarkon becomes a pleasant residential thoroughfare, but not as interesting for strolling. Near Gordon Street, Ha-Yarkon becomes a wider thoroughfare with divider barriers; guests staying in moderate hotels on the inland side of the street can't just dash across the road and down to the beach.
South Tel Aviv -- Across a divided thoroughfare from the sea (but a 2-block walk to a guarded swimming beach), two high-rise hotels, the Dan Panorama and the massive David InterContinental hold forth alone as a tourist island in a relatively isolated, empty stretch between Tel Aviv and Jaffa, approximately 2.4km (1 1/2 miles) south of the main Ha-Yarkon Street hotel district. There are no interesting streets for strolling that surround these hotels and the beach in this area is not good for swimming. Old Jaffa is a 15-minute walk along the Seaside Promenade, and a 5-minute walk across a not-well-tended park takes you to the bustling Carmel Market (from which you can reach the restaurants and cafes of the trendy Nahlat Binyamin and Rothschild St. areas). Note that walking through the empty Carmel Market at night is not advisable. Across the highway is the excellent beachfront Manta Ray restaurant. Rates here are lower than for a comparable hotel on Ha-Yarkon Street.
Family-Friendly Hotels
Two all-suite hotels right on the beachside Ha-Yarkon Street are good bets for families with children: Best Western Regency,and the Yamit Park Plaza Hotel. Both have kitchenette facilities. If you have a car, and are willing to drive 25 minutes north of Tel Aviv, Kibbutz Shefayim's Guest House, with its adjacent water park (including a swimming pool with waves), is fun for younger children, and a very pleasant base for exploring the Tel Aviv/Coastal region.
