New in the North: A surprisingly great hotel at an unbeatable price

Let’s start with the bottom line: Book a night or two at the Oaks Hotel in the Golan Heights for this coming winter. Why? Because this new hotel is the best value for money there is (NIS 950 per couple, including breakfast). Why winter? Because its location – with snowy Mount Hermon glued to your balcony – will be simply spectacular.

The Oaks Hotel opened only eight months ago in a surprising location you wouldn’t have thought of – the Druze village of Buq’ata – one of the four Druze villages in the Golan. The person behind its establishment is Ajwad Abu Shaheen, a resident of the village and owner of a real estate company in the center of the country, “who wanted to support businesses in the Golan, like local cafés and restaurants that Jewish travelers don’t know about,” says Munahal Abu Shaheen, who, together with Maya, Ajwad’s daughter, runs the place. Ajwad invested about NIS 100 million in the hotel, and note – it is kosher, and during my visit I met many religious couples there. “It’s like for nothing,” one of them said, referring to the price. And yes, it’s crazy that NIS 1,000 a night is considered “for nothing” in Israel. In any case, Ajwad is not stopping here, and on the land next to the hotel, which also belongs to him, he plans to build another hotel called “Oaks Plus” with 80 rooms and two pools, a synagogue, this time also aimed at families.

Oaks was supposed to open before the war in Gaza, but the war on the northern front delayed the date. Eventually, it opened for a trial run at the beginning of 2025, and since May it has been operating regularly. The hotel has 41 rooms at different levels, with or without a balcony, with the smallest room measuring 26 square meters. There is also a room called the Sauna Suite with a private sauna. All suites face Mount Hermon. The room includes an espresso machine, a good shower, thick towels, as well as high-quality soaps in large containers fixed to the wall. However, there was no body lotion and the amenities set was quite sparse – with a shower cap and a small grooming kit of cotton swabs and a makeup removal pad. That’s it.

In terms of facilities, Oaks offers great content. First, the spa on the first floor is open to all hotel guests free of charge, and includes a sauna and a pleasant jet pool – like a jacuzzi but not hot in the summer. In addition, a Turkish hammam for those who book a treatment (NIS 360 for half an hour) and several massage rooms for those who order from the treatment menu, which includes the “house treatment” (NIS 390 for 50 minutes) combining four types of treatments: Reflexology, Swedish, deep tissue, and hot stones. The spa is also open to the public for fun days, including treatment and breakfast for NIS 700 per person.

On the second floor you’ll find the “Beauty Clinic” salon aimed mainly at women, offering facials, hair removal, and open to the general public. Those who go up to the fourth and top floor of the hotel will find the indoor pool. True, not always fun in summer, but it’s entirely surrounded by transparent windows, so you can see Mount Hermon and the blue skies above but also Buq’ata itself with its houses and industrial zone, which is a drawback. But the advantage is that in winter the pool will be heated and pleasant after a day of skiing. Next to it is a functional gym, with a few treadmills, a ski machine, and weights. Nothing more is needed.

Also on the floor, the hotel’s rooftop is equipped with tables and cushioned chairs for chilling, but was quite deserted in the evenings. It’s not a bar but more of a seating area where you can smoke hookah or sit with friends and family.

Next to the pool is the hotel’s dining room, which looks like a beautiful restaurant with Mount Hermon visible from all its windows. Breakfast was simply perfect and precise (and it’s also kosher!). It included everything you love – eggs made to order or French toast, balanced and healthy salads, a variety of pastries, cheeses, spreads, and good breads, plus fun Druze touches, like pita triangles with za’atar, cold sachlab (like malabi but with pistachio crumbs), even falafel balls (with hummus of course) and pizzas (yes, in the morning). The coffee comes from a machine, and drinks like water and orange juice (not freshly squeezed) from dispensers. Too bad the cups were single-use plastic. If you’ve given such a wonderful breakfast – you could serve drinks in glass cups.

The hotel’s design is beautiful, especially on the second floor which serves as Oaks’ official lobby, since there is a reception desk on the ground floor where you enter the hotel. On this floor are large, comfortable sofas for lounging, alongside board games like chess, backgammon, and more. There’s also a standard billiards table free of charge, as well as a shuffleboard table. Above hang giant chandeliers illuminating the space and the grand piano placed in the corner. And yes, you can play it – just not in the morning, out of respect for guests in nearby rooms.

One of the wonderful surprises of the hotel is the Lusper restaurant (a combination of the words “la restaurant” and Josper – a charcoal grill oven for meat and fish), headed by chef Saleh Gotany, also a native of the village.

After working at Claro in Tel Aviv, at the Ma’arava event garden in the Sharon, and also with chef Nof Atamna-Ismaeel, he returned to Buq’ata and created a menu combining “Syrian-Lebanese dishes, mom’s food but also modern like crunchy falafel,” he says. According to him, the ingredients he cooks with are local from the Golan. For example, the greens are grown in “Al Marj” (the valley of Lake Ram) where vegetables and fruits are cultivated. “The meat is also from the Golan, and the fish from Kibbutz Dan and Dafna,” he adds.

The prices are also very reasonable – starters (fattoush, tabbouleh, baba ganoush) NIS 28–56, mid-range dishes (tartar, carpaccio, shrimp) NIS 62–82, and mains (sea bass, hamburger, Turkish kebab arayes, entrecôte, and fillet) NIS 68–156. Not kosher. And the cocktails are dirt cheap – NIS 35. In short, you don’t have to go out to Habokarim Restaurant in Merom Golan or to T-Bone at Lake Ram.

Oaks is not a hotel you’ll come to for a week. Two to three nights are enough to enjoy it and the Golan on your next vacation. Its highlight will of course be in winter: The heated pool, the spa facilities, and the proximity to Mount Hermon. Add to that the very reasonable prices and you probably have the best-value vacation in the North.