The Nova Hotel Eilat which is part of the Atlas Hotel chain is an excellent choice of hotel in Eilat if you are looking for a slightly above average hotel. This is not a luxury hotel in anyway but it will meet all your needs. The Nova Hotel Eilat gets top marks for room size, entertainment, cleanliness and food but low marks in special services, facilities and location. The Nova Hotel Eilat is rated at 3* and 4* dependng what Website you look at but I would say it does manage to scrape by into the 4* category.

Nova Hotel Location:

The Nova Hotel Eilat is located at 6 Hativat Hanegev Street near the entrance to Eilat if you enter the city by car from the Negev Desert. It is opposite the Siesta Hotel and near the Eilat Police station. If you don't have a car then the location of the Nova Hotel is an easy 15 minute walk to Eilat's tourist center and the beach. The Nova Hotel is close to the city center but not the tourist center and beach. The Nova Hotel Eilat is a short walk to the Imax theatre. If you have a car or are willing to take taxis everywhere then there is no problem with the Nova Hotel's location. The Nova Hotel, Eilat is close to the airport and some guests have complained of noise but in my week stay I only heard one plane over head from the pool area. Due to the location of the Nova Hotel Eilat there are no views of the sea or the surrounding mountains, the rooms either look onto the hotel pool area or on to the car park and road.

Facilities and Condition of the Nova Hotel, Eilat 

The Nova Hotel Eilat, Israel has a kids club (on the parking level and a little too out of the way for my taste), no gym, spa, laundry service or business center. The Nova Hotel Eilat has a comfortable and large lobby lounge. There is Internet access for 20 minutes for 10 shekels in the lobby and although there is officially no WiFi in the hotel if you sit in the lobby you will be able to get on line, there is no WiFi in the rooms. The Nova Hotel Website claims that there is free Internet access, in the summer of 2010 when I visited there was not. Another site claims that there is a mini market within the hotel, this is not true. There is a café in the lobby, kettles in the rooms, free parking and safe in the rooms. The hotel serves kosher food.

The crowded lobby lounge on a Thursday morning, people waiting to check in or out.

Recreation and Entertainment at the Nova Hotel, Eilat

The Nova Hotel, Eilat has a small but sufficient size pool with a shallow pool for small kids. There is an entertainment team which entertains around the pool several times throughout the day and puts of a show in the evening for kids and another cabaret style show later for the adults. The standard is ok but nothing special. You can hear the noise of the shows from you room but it is bearable and quites down after 23:00.

View of the pool area from the balcony of one of the suites facing the pool. 

Nova Hotel, Eilat Rooms:

The Nova Hotel Eilat has 127 two room suites and 66 one room studios, which is a fancy way of saying a normal hotel room but with a fridge and a kettle. I was pleasantly surprised by the size and condition of the rooms as I had been told not to expect much. If you do decide to stay at the Nova Hotel take a suite which overlooks the pool as these hotel rooms have the better view and the added bonus of a balcony. The "suites" consist of a lounge type room with a small kitchenette (including kettle, fridge, sink), and a separate bedroom. This is convenient for family travel as you can have up to four kids sleeping on comfortable pull out beds in the lounge area and a private bedroom for the parents. There is only one toilet and bathroom in a family suite which makes it inconvenient when someone is showering and someone else needs the toilet.

The rooms are attractively decorated with pine colored Formica kitchenette and furniture and dark blues and cream bedding, carpet and curtains. There is air-conditioning and plenty of space. There are also televisions in both the lounge area and bedroom. There is no luxurious display of toiletries in the bathroom, rather the liquid all-in-one soap dispenser which is becoming more popular in hotels to avoid waste. Avoid the ground floor rooms which open up onto the pool area as they are in the older part of the hotel and in worse condition as well as being close to all the noise coming from the pool area. Your best choice for a room in the Nova Hotel Eilat is a suite overlooking the pool on one of the higher floors.

This is one if the studio rooms, and also looks like the bedroom in the suites.

Nova Hotel, Eilat Staff

Although pleasant the staff at Nova Hotel do not go out of their way or bend over backwards to see that you enjoy your stay, they are simply fulfilling their duties. The hotel's understaffed reception battles in summer (July and August) with the massive check in and checkout of Israeli holiday makers on Sundays and Thursdays. Avoid these dates if you possibly can and you will have a better check-in experience. During the summer you can wait up until four or five in the afternoon before checking in and receiving your hotel room, and on leaving the Nova you must check-out by 11:00. On my visit there were also several room mix ups.

Food at the Nova Hotel, Eilat, Israel

Food at the Nova Hotel is of a good standard. Breakfast is a full Israeli breakfast of salads, eggs, cakes, breads and cheeses. The dinner too offers enough choices for every palate and the food is taste. Lunch is not served at the Eilat Nova Hotel but there is a bar in the lobby lounge and a pool side eatery which serves grilled and fried fast food type dishes as well as drinks.

Nova Hotel, Eilat Price

A four night stay for a couple plus 3 children in a suit, including breakfast and dinner cost 5000 shekels in July 2010, this is an excellent price for what you get, and also compared to other Eilat hotels and hotels in Israel in general.

Nova Hotel, Eilat Minuses

The balconies are not safe enough for small children and you will have to keep the doors locked and a close eye on your young ones in the Nova hotel rooms.

As mentioned above there is a congestion problem in the lobby on Sunday and Thursdays due to the reception being unprepared for the holiday rush and disorganized.

There is a pay-per-minute Internet in the Nova Hotel lobby but no in-room WiFi.

In the summer there is noise from the lobby and pool areas which reaches to rooms.

Rather choose one of the upper floors of this 6 floor hotel to avoid the noise also avoid first floor rooms that have a sliding door which opens up onto the busy pool area.

Just across the road you have the Siesta Hotel which is on a par with the Nova Hotel except that it is all-inclusive with endless ice lollies, beer and cold drinks throughout the day.

For the price the Nova Hotel, Eilat is very good value for money. You will be satisfied with the Nova Hotel if you are looking for a clean hotel which provides all the essentials at a reasonable price and yet has no frills or extras. This Eilat hotel is especially recommended for families because of the suite style room plans.

Nova Hotel's official Website, and for best prices try Hotels Combined don't miss the Dolphin Reef in Eilat Israel, if you get to Tiberius you might find this hotel review of the Leonardo Golden Tulip Hotel useful.

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