The elegant winding road that cuts through the Upper Galilee takes you ever higher to the point where you’re truly above the land that is northern Israel, a place of permanent luscious green hills and vistas unmatched both in beauty and in grandeur.
A peaceful trip up North hasn’t been a common Israeli occurrence of late. I’m glad we can now finally start getting back to our winning ways.
Fattal’s Canaan Hotel sits atop one of the highest mountains in the Galilee. This remoteness is undoubtedly a big element of its charm. The hotel is a homage to the nature surrounding it, incorporating natural elements of wood, leather, and stone wherever possible and doing so with great success.
This natural essence is evident not only in the hotel’s touch and feel, but also in the people that operate it – always offering a genuine smile and concern for your experience.
The experience is indeed a fantastic one. Our room was a perfect blend of style and comfort – natural but elegant, elements seen throughout but never ceasing to impress.
Canaan Hotel offers many amenities outside of the room
You won’t stay in it for too long, though, seeing as the hotel has an indoor pool, a couple of bubbling Jacuzzis, and a spa all waiting downstairs. I found myself in a great routine of sunbathing with my book and taking refreshing dips in the pool.
Once the sun started to lower its intensity and slowly make its way to the Mediterranean, we followed it from the great vantage point the Jacuzzi provides.
Only in Canaan can one sit above Israel watching the day close in the most colorful and calming setting possible, truly capturing the vision of this place.
Night falls, and after a long shower, it’s time for dinner. Luckily for us, Canaan has its very own top-of-the-line open kosher kitchen wine bar: 26.8 by Chef Amos Hayoun is named after the farthest possible distance (km) that its ingredients come from, taking local culinary very seriously, and of course deliciously.
The North has been blessed with the finest of Israeli produce, from a fantastic Lueria Chardonnay to the locally inspired dishes that followed: roasted pine and aubergine in creamy wild spinach; baked Camembert with ezov, honey, and olive oil; grilled fish kebab in romesco and fresh Yemenite bread; gnocchi in corn sage cream with anchovies and sprinkled local Parmesan.
The hotel has a wine bar, restaurant, lounge, spa, and more
The food was delicious, the staff friendly and helpful. Not to mention that when you sit at the bar and watch the cooks at work right in front of you, the food somehow always has a fresher taste to it.
A Canaan evening has one more trick up its sleeve that can only ever be performed in July when you’re high up in the Galilee mountains. Various comfy lounge areas engulf a dozen separate fireplaces, providing you with the perfect spot to finish that last glass of wine in the cool night air.
Canaan simply does all it can to make sure you feel comfy, cozy, and care-free. We fell asleep as soon as our heads touched our pillows.
For those who wake early and like a good stretch, there is a fixed morning yoga to get you going before a breakfast that really does a great job of offering nearly every type of fish, cheese, egg, vegetable, fruit, and pastry available to mankind. The patio is an ideal place to enjoy the plentiful food as well as the bountiful views all around.
Check-out is just around the corner – that moment we all dread. But the staff at the desk make it very clear that you’re in no need to rush back home. Feel free to stay the entire day. Canaan’s amenities are at your disposal.
The hotel takes advantage of its secluded and calming setting, optimizing it to really affect its guests. Canaan CEO Yaron Solomovich is very candid regarding the place he helped build and maintain through a very turbulent four years.
“I came here after 20 years in Eilat. The tempo and rhythm here is one that people have longed to experience for quite a while. When we fulfill this purpose, it makes this place the northern gem that it was always destined to be,” he said.
The writer was a guest of the hotel.