Living it up at the American Colony Hotel Jerusalem
If I were to pick a favourite memory from Jerusalem, sitting by the pool at the American Colony Hotel would have to be the winner.
To put it into context, we had arrived late the night before post 10 plus hours of travelling, which included one panic attack after my friend nearly missed the plane, several inflight movies, and a few hours of sitting in Istanbul’s packed to the brim airport.
It also included an upgrade so I can’t complain too much about that!
That morning I woke up early-ish to get to the gym, this was followed by the most superb breakfast spread I have seen in a while.
Feeling super full and thankfully minus the guilt due to my fleeting visit to the gym, I settled down to relax at the pool – definitely a highlight!
The American Colony Hotel was an easy choice for us when deciding where to stay in Jerusalem. Aside from the top reviews, this place is steeped in history and has played host to several famous guests including Winston Churchill.
The story of the American Colony started in the late 1800’s with Horatio and Anna Spafford, an American couple living in Chicago.
The couple were devout Christians and after the great fire in Chicago they dedicated their lives to helping the less fortunate. Tragically, a couple years later Anna was travelling with her 4 daughters by boat and the boat sunk. Anna was found unconscious floating on a piece of wood but her 4 little girls drowned.
Back in Chicago the Church turned against them saying their tragedies were an act of God and their unbaptised children were going to hell. Devastated, the Spaffords moved to the Holy Land with some sympathetic members of the congregation.
The group busied themselves by doing good deeds in the local community and after a visit back to Chicago, Anna convinced a Swedish congregation to sell their Church and move out to Jerusalem.
The growing numbers meant they had to buy a new house to live in and thus the American Colony Hotel was born.
The American Colony has always been a neutral hideout that welcomes Arabs, Christians, and Jews alike. To this day, descendants of the original Spafford family are still involved in the running of the hotel.
Pretty neat right?
Really my only complaint would be that my stay was too short.
Our room was lovely and spacious and decorated with old photographs of the hotel and historical documents that had been kept safe and framed.
I was also really into those bathroom tiles… is that a weird thing to be into? Hmmm probably..
As I mentioned, breakfast was on point and if you can survive the heat, old town Jerusalem is just a 10 minute walk away.
In brief; the American Colony Hotel has my seal of approval!
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