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Jaffa Hotel · Tel Aviv, Israel

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Name: John Pawson
Project: Jaffa Hotel
Location: Israel · Tel Aviv-Yafo
Images: Amit Geron
Words: Rosie Flanagan

In one of Tel Aviv’s oldest neighborhoods, a 19th-century Neo-Roman landmark with views across Jaffa’s 4000-year-old port to the Mediterranean sea has been reimagined as the Jaffa Hotel.

Formerly housing both a convent and French hospital, the renovation of this historic building took over a decade to complete. The project was undertaken by London-based architectural designer John Pawson and his studio, along with local conservationist Ramy Gill and a team of restoration experts. Together they transformed the architectural space, restoring the traditional styles already present in the building—Arabic and Neo-Roman—and adding contemporary flourishes. The hotel’s statement about the property’s restoration remarked, “The plastered walls were scraped down to reveal the generations of Patina that touch the building’s signage and paint patterned walls, paying homage to the building’s historic beauty.”

With 120 suites and 32 luxury residences, the hotel also boasts an outdoor pool, a sundeck with a bar, a bar in the former chapel, a luxury spa, games room, and a fitness center. The hotel has been furnished with the work of Japanese designer Shiro Kuramata for Cappellini, and French designer Pierre Paulin. Pieces by British artist Damien Hirst and Israeli photographer Tal Schochat add artistic flair to the thoughtful design of this urban oasis.