Renting a car, and plan to explore the Galilee - northern Israel, next week. Open to suggestions for good places to stay - BandB equivalent or nicer, clean hotel with good breakfast preferred. Not eager to stay in a hostel or self-serve set up.
Any one have recommendations?
Chani, who lives in Israel and is a frequent contributor here, is presumably getting up soon (it's 6am in Israel as I type this), and she often replies quickly on questions about Israel.
And there are several others here knowledgeable about Israel.
Note that Hanukkah starts tonight and runs 8 nights, ending the evening of Dec. 10.
Given your lodging preferences, know that Tiberias is the closest larger population center to the "Sea" of Galilee (really a lake) and is located about half way up on the western shore.
Kinneret is another possibility but is much smaller and located at the southern tip of the Sea.
If your interest includes the Galilee sites related to the 3 years of His Galilee Ministry, those sites are going to be main strung out, along or just above, the northwestern shore of the Sea, putting Tiberias closer (to them) than is Kinneret.
I recommend you stay at a kibbutz guest house. We did that once in the Galilee and enjoyed it immensely. Far better than at some isolated AirBnb, you get to experience a world-unique kind of community, with fabulous a farm-fresh breakfast buffet.
Generally these accommodations are not luxurious, but comfortable and less expensive than hotels.
Unfortunately I don't remember the name of the kibbutz we stayed at, but here is a list of some options that you can research:
https://hotels-of-israel.com/kibbutz/sites_list.htm
We also stayed at the guest house at Kibbutz Ketura, just north of Eilat, which isn't on that list. So I'm sure that list isn't complete by any means.
It's 11.30 am and I'm awake. Hanukkah indeed begins today, but it is mostly a kid's holiday, all the schools are closed and there are lots of afternoon shows for kids. Other than that, pretty much everything is same as usual. I think schools reopen next Tuesday, Dec. 11.
Where to stay depends on where you want to go. I always stay at a youth hostel (all en suite private rooms) on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, a few kms north of Tiberias. That way, I can get to places around the lake, Upper Galilee and in the Golan Heights without dealing with the city traffic in Tiberias. That would not so convenient for the western Galilee. There are lots of B&Bs in the hills above the lake and in/around Rosh Pina, kibbutz guest houses (Ginosar on the lake shore and Ayelet HaShahar farther north come to mind) as well. I've never stayed in any of them. The kibbutz guest houses are 3-4 star hotels.
Thanks to you all for your replies. I'll hunt among those recommendations.
FYI - to share an awesome place I stay in Jerusalem: Villa Brown - part of the Brown group. They have great rooms and intimate common areas for reading or talking - but their breakfast is a feast beyond belief. I will put aside 1.5 hours to enjoy it on the two days I'm staying there on this trip. It's a table service that features all of the middle eastern favorites, plus you're given a choice of an omelette or other egg dish...out of this world, and a short walk to public transit lines, the old city and the interesting neighborhoods.
I once stayed in a Catholic convent in the Old City operated by a French order but full of the cutest Arab Christian nuns! It was a different and enjoyable experience.
