Chabad Hasid-Owned Hotels Stripped Of Sheraton Name

Woes continue for Chabad real estate developer Shaya Boymelgreen.

4 Israeli hotels to lose 'Sheraton' title
International Starwood hotel chain decides to strip four Israeli hotels of their prestigious brand name, citing desire to preserve trademark's value
Danny Sadeh, Ynet

Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc., one of the world's largest hotel companies and the owner of the global Sheraton chain, announced last week that as of June 2009 four Israeli hotels will be stripped of their "Sheraton" title.

The four hotels, all owned by businessman Shaya Boymelgreen are Sheraton Moriah Tel Aviv, Sheraton Plaza Jerusalem, Sheraton Tiberias and Sheraton Eilat.

Sheraton City Tower and Sheraton Tel Aviv will maintain the prestigious brand name.

According to the corporation, the decision to remove the Sheraton name from the Israeli hotels was prompted by the desire to preserve the value of the trademark, hinting that the level of the local businesses was not satisfactory.

However, the fact that the hotels have not paid their management and franchise fees to the corporation for many months seems to have contributed to the decision as well.         

Starwood announced that the four Israeli hotels will be taken off the chain's online booking system and their guests will not be eligible for benefits provided by the chain.

Meanwhile, the Fattal-owned Le Méridien Haifa in the northern bay city will lose its "Méridien" title this month after the agreement between the Fattal hotel chain and Starwood has ended. Le Méridien Eilat and Le Méridien Dead Sea will keep their names for the time being.

Comments

[Garden of Eatin']

Sort of a limerick

A glatt hotel man named Shaya Boymelgreen
said a Sheraton don't need no good hygiene
long as the band plays HaTikvah,
and the pool is a Mikvah
and the ladies' skirts fall below down the knee.

Rumor has it the neon sign was spelled Sharei-ton

[Ben]

Too bad I will not be able to use my Starwood points in Israel any more. One thing I know for sure, that Starwood reduced my choices and I'm not at all happy about it.

[Robert W. Welch Jr.]

How did you miss that Boymelgreen is a Rubashkin cousin?

[Office of the Chief Rabbi]

I've brought groups to stay at the Sheraton Plaza Jerusalem 3 or 4 times, but stopped after 1999. While one lady complained about the dingy paint job, for me the big problem was the monochrome nature of the dining room on Shabbat: black.

On the last two tours I stayed down the hill at the Dan Panorama (formerly the Moriah). Much more heterogenous crowd.

DARKER SHADE OF BLACK

We crossed the street at King George;
Crossed again at Agron.
I was feeling kind of hungry;
Now back at the Sheraton

The dining room was filled up
But soon I had a seat
But I waited for nearly an hour
To get something small to eat

And so it was, that the waiter,
As I ordered up a snack
Looked at my pants and said
“You need a darker shade of black.”

He said “There is a reason
Your service was very slow.
We cater here to Haredim.
All others, they can all just go.

We can tell from your clothing
You’re not really one of us.
And though the sign says “Open”
You’re not really wanted here, emmis.

And so it was, that the waiter,
As I ordered up a snack
Looked at my pants and said
“You need a darker shade of black.”

[Robert W. Welch Jr.]

Does anyone know how long Boymelgreen has owned the Jerusalem Plaza?

The kosher breakfast set up on Shabbos there is only convenient for Chabadniks and other Chassidim. If you follow Mishna Brurah and do not eat before davening, you cannot make it back in time for breakfast unless you daven kevasikin. If you daven any other time, the hotel will still serve you breakfast but add a hefty room service fee. Guests have had huge fights at the front desk over this for not accomodating their religious needs.

[A E ANDERSON]

As a Platinum member of the Starwood Preferred Guest Program for several years, I will miss the Starpoints I would have earned in future stays at these otherwise charming hotels.

For a second year running, I spent my winter sojourn in Israel this year in part at the Sheraton Jerusalem Plaza. They have a killer breakfast buffet, though their food service is otherwise spotty: I could not order a hamburger at lunchtime (except in my room) as all the day-time restaurants were "halavi." No matter, I discovered the wonderful Pinati restaurant at 13 King George nearby, as well as the Habad-owned Wolf and Lamb down the street.

And for Friday night escapes from the oppressive Shabbat haredi atmosphere, I taxied over to the American Colony, whose basement bar and grill does a land office business in accomodating refugees from religion on Friday nights.

The ultra-accomodating Arab staff at the Plaza were a pleasant and refreshing counterpoint to what seemed to be the majority-haredi hotel occupancy. Useful for practicing my few hundred words of really bad Arabic.

Still, the high-floor views of Jerusalem are unmatched, though the hotel did seem to need a "shiputz," if you will.

Fleeing the haredim for an 8-day stay in Tel Aviv, I was charmed by the mid-1960s feel of the Sheraton Moriah Tel Aviv, a dinosuar of a beach resort that recalled the grand dames of Miami beach hostelry of my childhood. It was nostalgic, haredim were in short supply, and it was a stone's throw from Ben-Gurion's house, which I strolled by each day on my way to Dizengoff Street for a bit of trayfah farbeissen and skirt watching.

Even more important, both hotels have windows that open, as well as balconies. (Sheratons use a caustic chemical air freshener in nearly all their hotels, so I find fresh air and opening windows/balconies to be a necessity).

The Plaza has very large, enclosed balconies, which I found served to counter the sense of claustrophobia I often feel in hotel rooms. I also enjoyed the views of green from the large park nearby, a nice change from the Jerusalem monochrome of ancient and pseudo-ancient buildings.