Tel Aviv Experiences with The Norman
Whatever your reasons for visiting Tel Aviv – and the city certainly merits being a travel destination in its own right – be prepared to be surprised by The Norman, not just a hotel but two iconic buildings that combine effortlessly 1920’s chic and eccentric with contemporary cool and comfort.
The Norman is so named after the father of the present owner – Norman Lourie, himself a legendary hotelier who presided over the Dolphin House and Club, the first 5 star hotel in Tel Aviv.
The A-listed buildings occupy an enviable position in King Albert Square (23 and 25 Nachmani Street) in the heart of Tel Aviv’s “White City”, a UNESCO world heritage site because of its unique collection of Bauhaus architecture.
The property at 23 Nachmani Street was designed by architect Moshe Cherner in 1924 for a private client, Mrs. Friedman. The property at 25 Nachmani Street was designed by Leon Adler as Chassia and Isser Romanov’s home a year earlier and completed in 1925.
The buildings were more recently renovated by architect Yoav Messer in keeping with the neighbourhood’s eclectic traditions, while the interior design is the creation of David d’Almada of SAGRADA.
There is a point to describing some of the architectural history of the buildings – they would appeal not just to the traveller looking for something different and uniquely atmospheric, but also to the art and architecture lover.
The interior itself captures the Mediterranean ambiance of early Tel Aviv through the use of hand painted tiles, furniture, textures and materials and evokes the romanticism of a bygone era of luxury travel in the early twentieth century.
Timber, dark patinated bronze, handmade gesso and antiqued hand finished mercury mirrored glass, along with bespoke furniture and special metal light fittings all in the style of early to mid-20th century modern design, conjure up glamour and a sense of colonial nostalgia.
This is particularly potent in the LIBRARY BAR where palisander wood, specially commissioned pewter bar top, marble and leather complement original artworks and feature chandeliers. But swanky interior aside, the Library Bar is quite simply the social hub of The Norman.
The all-day menu serves light meals and a traditional English Afternoon Tea reinterpreted by The Norman’s resident Pastry Chef.
In the evenings, do try the classic cocktails with an Israeli twist – the Pomegranate Mint Julep or the signature Kumquat Mojito (kumquats are freshly picked from the hotel gardens).
Dining
The Norman Restaurant
The emphasis here is on French/Italian Mediterranean cuisine in where resident chef Barak Aharoni certainly knows his Salade Nicoise (and a whole host of classic dishes from the region), having worked in some of Europe’s best kitchens.
The Restaurant offers three settings in the heart of the hotel: The Main Dining Room, with its Champagne and Wine Bar; The Pavilion, a secluded garden room scented by citrus trees where guests can dine alfresco year-round; and The Villa, a private dining room reserved for family or business events.
Dinings Japanese Tapas
Dinings offers a sophisticated Japanese menu and sports a long Sushi bar opening onto the large open-air terrace, overlooking the bustling city below.
Dinings originated in London and has been rated by Zagat as one of the city’s best Japanese restaurants. The unique fusion of traditional Itzakaya-style Japanese Tapas and modern European cuisine is mouth-watering.
The central marble sushi counter and open plan kitchen is a nice touch as it promotes great social interaction, as well as offering full view of the chef’s preparations.
The rooftop terrace on the 4th floor also houses an infinity pool finished in iridescent glass mosaics.
GUEST ROOMS AND SUITES
The art deco modernist building at 25 Nachmani St features 30 individually designed guestrooms while number 23 is reserved for the suites, the two joined by a fabulous mature garden. Cascading terraces, white parasols and Tel Aviv’s very own incomparable light add a special charm to the place that has to be experienced to be appreciated.
The floor to ceiling windows offering a phenomenal 180 ° view, the highly individual interiors, the use of noble and eclectic materials throughout, and the sheer volume of the accommodations are truly impressive.
It is the detail, however, that separates this hotel from just any generic luxury one: the classic Israeli hand-painted floor tiles with designs that were original to the two buildings, the intricate embroidery on bed cushions and drapes, the hand woven floor rugs and textured gesso applied to the ceiling, fading in relief at the edges…
In the two penthouse suites, original decorative objets d’art are featured alongside signature items of furniture. The bathrooms of the penthouses are all individually designed with engraved marble, intricate mosaics and sculpted mirror panels.
King Albert Suites
Located on the first and second floors, these One-bedroom suites span over 75 square meters (807 square feet). On one side, the bedroom and living room overlooks King Albert Square from a French style balcony. Each of these suites has a generous sized bathroom with a soaking tub, double vanity, separate enclosed rain shower and WC within a jewel box-like setting, flooded with light and views onto the gardens. Perfectly suited to host a family of up to four guests, they are also able to connect to adjacent loft or garden suites by an outside hallway that can be privatized creating an apartment like ambiance.
The Penthouse Suite is a stylish 90 m2 space situated on the highest floor of the hotel, in the new addition to the historic building. The high ceilings, abundance of natural light, double marbled showers and a free standing bathtub make this the perfect choice for epicureans with an appreciation for great space and acoustics. The now familiar floor to ceiling windows we have come to expect at The Norman open to a fabulous 60m2 terraces with its far-reaching views of the city and the sea beyond.
The Norman Penthouses occupy a gargantuan 340m2 space over two floors, along with 160 m2 of terraces. They overlook King Albert Square and the iconic Pagoda House.
A number of important early and mid-20th century coupled with contemporary design signature pieces have been selected from Europe and the US especially for this space.
The Norman Art Collection and Objets d’Art
The Norman is an art hotel in that it displays original Israeli art works throughout its public areas, rooms and suites.
This is an absolute treat for the contemporary art lover as the artists represented here also exhibit in galleries and museums world-wide. Some of the names whose works you will see as you make your progress through The Norman include Ilit Azoulay, Sigalit Landau, Dror Daum, Tal Frank, Carmel Ilan, Dana Levy, Elad Kopler, Miriam Cabessa, Alon Kedem, Elon Ganor, Yuval Shaul and Gil Desiano and Tsibi Geva.
These works can be purchased by the hotel guests via dedicated art concierge services that also include lectures by the featured artists and personalized art tours to galleries and artists’ studios. The art tours are tailored to guests’ interests and organised by Tamar Dresdner, The Norman’s resident art curator, who is also responsible for the hotel’s art collection.
The Norman
www.thenorman.com
An extract from ‘BBeyond: The Suite Life’: http://www.booksmagazinesetc.com/proddetail.php?prod=BBSUITELIFE
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