My family loves spending a Sabbath (Shabbat) here more than about any other hotel place around!

Although this place has an int'l staff and clientele, it definitely targets folks with some understanding of Jewish traditions and Hebrew. The pool & health club are closed for the Sabbath, and Sabbath menus are limited by those restrictions and kosher guidelines. Once you wrap your arms around those kinds of things, the place is great.

The food is abundant, and includes buffet items I've never seen anywhere (cheeses from Switzerland and France; smoked meats from Europe & elsewhere). Israeli items like oil-cured olives, mushroom borekas, and mixed salad plates are all first-rate. I marvel at the shnitzel & my kids still miss the cakes.

The beach is not the world's best this year, largely because Israel's not so friendly neighbors have been diverting the already scarce water from the sources of the Kineret (Sea of Galilee) so that the shoreline is down near the critical "red zone." It's also a public-access beach and not private to the hotel. (By the way, it's one of the few in the country with a full mechitza.)

This is your chance to see genuine orthodox Israelis of all flavors (sfardi, hasidic, litvish, etc) all getting along. Enjoy it.

I stayed at the Kinar for 2 nights this past July as part of a group tour.


The hotel consists of a main building where the restaurant and meeting rooms are located, and the guest rooms are the small cabins that surround the building. Rooms are a comfortable size even for 3 people to maneuver in. Bathroom is also a full size.

Room was clean, but a bit cold and damp. There are no windows, but rather a sliding glass door. I did not want to leave the door open all night, so just wore my warm clothing. I suspect there was a way of turning the A/C down, but the thermostat was too confusing to figure out.

Bathtub is very slippery! I nearly fell multiple times even when being very careful.

Landscaping is very nice with colourful bushes surrounding the trails leading to the cabins.

Keys were difficult to use (both locking and unlocking). We were not the only ones with this problem. It is a fine art of pushing on the door ever so slightly and then turning the key to the right position.

Location- absolutely nothing within walking distance. I was on a group tour, so this didn't matter, but I do not know how one would get around by local bus here.

The restaurant is ok. Dinner selection was sparse, but we did arrive late. Sesame chicken was great though. I can't comment on breakfast as I slept through it both mornings.

little surprises- FROGS! They are everywhere. Little green frogs cling to the doors and get into the rooms. Searching for them and catching them is a nighttime routine to look forward to (I'm not being sarcastic, I thought they were adorable... so long as none joined me in bed).

Overall I thought the place was cute. It is "rustic", but offers all the necessities in a nice surrounding. If you spend $200 a night to stay there you'll be very dissapointed, if you pay the rate of a camping lodge, you should be happy.

As for the other commenter who complained about the "camp kids", he/she may have simply chosen an unlucky week to stay there. When I was there, the place was booked up with a Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) convention of some kind. The only group of young people there were us (mostly early 20's), and I don't think we were particularily loud.

After being welcomed to the Kinar we were sent to the dining area where we were berated for attempting to eat. Then we were sent to outside quarters that can only be described as a Youth Camp. Buses of campers flooded the place and as youth do they never slept.

The beach was littered with raw sewage and trash. All I can add is Traveler Beware!