Israel – After Seven Years Of Construction Reichmann Family Owned Waldorf Astoria Opens In Jerusalem

Israel – Now it’s official. Hilton hotel management is back in Jerusalem after an absence of thirteen years.

Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau aided by Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat on Thursday affixed the mezuzah at the entrance to Israel’s first ultra luxurious Waldorf Astoria hotel in the presence of some one hundred guests who included a large representation of the famed Canadian Reichman family who own the hotel, many of their haredi friends, Hilton executives from Israel and London, people involved in the tourist industry and of course journalists and photographers.

The late Paul Reichman who died last year, had always wanted to build in Jerusalem said Dov Meyer, speaking on behalf of the Reichmans. When they were building Canary Wharf in London, he said, they came to Jerusalem for weekends, and Joseph Reichman had been delegated by the family to find a suitable property.

When the Regency Group headed by the Pritzker family which owns the Hyatt chain decided that it did not want to build on the former site of Ministry of Industry and trade which had taken over what had originally been the elegant Palace Hotel, the Reichmans formed IPC Jerusalem in order to acquire the development rights for the former Palace hotel property and the adjacent Tax Museum.

Paul Reichman wanted an international hotel chain to manage the hotel, and although Hilton had an excellent reputation, Reichman was looking for something a little more prestigious. Coincidentally, the Hilton Hotels Corporation had just begun to market its Waldorf Astoria luxury brand, which was just what Reichman wanted. A contract between HHC and IPC Jerusalem was signed in April, 2008. The Waldorf Astoria Jerusalem will receive its first guests in April 2014, just in time for Pessah.

Guests will be flying in from several countries said General Manager Guy Klaiman, aside from which reservations by local individuals and organizations for functions for the months ahead “have exceeded all our expectations.”

The first Israeli Hilton opened in Tel Aviv in 1965. A Jerusalem Hilton, now the Crowne Plaza opened in 1975. The David Citadel, which opened as Hilton Jerusalem in 1998, changed management in 2001.