This is my 2nd stay at the Kaplan and I enjoyed it thoroughly

Rooms are fresh and clean
The price is right
The people who stay there are from all over the world- and the energy is great
Eli and Natan the owners are always helpful, friendly and relaxed

I highly recommend the Kaplan- fun, affordable and friendly

Mike B

Kaplan Hotel is hands down the dirties hotel I have ever stayed at. I was travelling Israel following a birthright trip and chose to stay here on a budget. The one positive I will say, is that the owner / manager is very helpful in directing you to the hotel...But that's about it. When I entered the room I immediately noticed the awful stench that permeated every object in the room. The pillows smelled as if someone had chain smoked and blew the smoke into the pillows...I requested a non-smoking room. The worst part is, I got bed bugs, horrible, horrible bed bugs. Yes, I survived but I must say that if I hadn't had as horrible and experience as I had, I woudn't have written a review.

We've stayed here for 2 nights, but we regret we didn't find this hotel earlier. This hotel has everything what low-budget travellers need, who just want a good and nice place to sleep situated at a good location. This is not a "classic" backpacker hotel, with a crowdy central lobby.

The rooms are small, but clean, including the bathroom. Our room had airconditioning, cable television on flat screen and had a very small balcony. Who needs a large room anyway, when doing sightseeing all day? The old city of Jerusalem is only a 10 minutes walk, from the hotel. The owner is very friendly and helpfull. The hotel is situated at Havatzelet, just arround the corner from Jaffa Road. There is no breakfast service, but some very good Israelian breakfast is available at different bread- and coffee shops at Ben Jehuda Street and Jaffa Road. The coffee at the hotel is for free.

The location of the hotel is just outside the old town of Jerusalem. Just folow Jaffa Road and you'll end up at the Jaffa Gate. After a sightseeing day it is nice to relax in the neighborhood of the hotel. Less tourists, good places to eat and drink (happy hours for beer), near Zion Sqaure and Ben Jehudastreet.

Nearby the hotel, several busses will stop and they will bring you to the different parts of Jerusalem, including to the central bus station for busses to other destinations like the Death Sea. Shuttle service will stop near by several times a day (and night) to bring you to Tel Aviv or Ben Gurion Airport.

This hotel is highly recommended!

Stayed here for 2 nights whilst visiting from Jordan. After a somewhat harrowing journey across the Allenby Bridge checkpoint (be prepared for a lot of waiting and a lot of hassle) we booked in over the phone whilst enjoying cold beers at café Rimon's in the Muslim Quarter of the old city (FYI - cheapest and best beer in the old city, great food, a lovely owner and a great people watching spot).

The owner of the Kaplan, Eli, is possibly the friendliest hotelier we have ever met and made us feel very welcome (and safe). We got a great rate, far cheaper than anywhere else we tried for the same standard of accommodation. Eli also gave us free wifi access which was really helpful. However, as you might expect for the low price, the rooms were definitely 'no frills' and a tad grubby (consider bringing your own towels and pillow cases!). But it was safe and totally doable for a few nights..

The hotel is in a good location within the New City (a Jewish area) and only a 10 minute walk to Damascus gate in the old city. It is close to all the New City shops, bars and restaurants, so great for accessing the Jerusalem nightlife (which mainly consisted of very young and rowdy American-sounding youths, so not the best for the older connoisseur but there are definitely places to go e.g a couple of Irish pubs with outdoor seating).

If you plan to be out all day and night (which is probably why you have come to Jerusalem!) then this hotel is a bargain option, but you wouldn't really want to spend time hanging out at the hotel as the room was very small, not the cleanest and there were no communal seating areas elsewhere in the hotel (as far as we could tell). The biggest bonus for us (having spent considerable time in the middle east) was the water pressure in the shower, which was really high and the water really hot. The only downside was that the bathroom was a wet room so the floor and room got completely soaked (bring flip flops!). The sink was also strangely designed so that it was impossible to use it without getting water everywhere! A squeegee mop was provided for clean ups, but it was a little grim having a damp, grubby bathroom to use. The outside noise was not a huge problem for one of us that wears ear plugs, but the aforementioned rowdy teenagers did party into the wee hours so this could be a problem if you like an early night. We also overheard a fascinating conversation from the room next-door - the walls are pretty thin.

With all that said, we would definitely consider staying at the Kaplan again as with a bit of smart packing (a towel, pillowcase, ear plugs and flip-flops), it is most definitely doable and we just couldn't get a better rate for such a good location.