The King David Hotel was built in 1929. Originally, it was considered luxury accomodation, probably due to the fact that it had running water. On the outside, the hotel looks kind of plain, but I understand it's quite lavish on the inside. In fact, you could say it's "fit for a king", as many of the Who's Who in royalty have stayed here. Famous royal guests include: Prince Charles, Prince Phillip, and King George of Greece.
As a matter of fact, the hotel has hosted so many celeberties, that the floor of the Lobby has a white strip of stone which bears the signatures of the rich and famous. I understand that you can spend almost an hour reading through all the names. On the main floor is the Reading Room, which has lots of historical photographs, depicting the history of the hotel and the table that the Peace Treaty between Jordan and Israel was signed.
One bit of history, that put a real black mark on the hotel, happened in 1938. At that time, the British, who were in control of Israel (then called Palestine) had commandeered part of the hotel as their military headquarters. On July 22, 1946, in retaliation for Britain's crackdown on the Jewish defense fighters, a group called Etzel issued a warning to the British that the hotel was going to be bombed. Unfortunately, the Brits took the genuine threat as a joke and did not evacuate the hotel. With 350 kilos of explosives, smuggled into the hotel in milk containers, the bomb detonated and killed 91 people.
In response, British Forces turned downtown Jerusalem into a strict military zone and it stayed like that for many years. Renovations to the hotel didn't begin until 1958. But, it wasn't too long before the King David Hotel was restored to it's original splendor. During the restoration, they even added on a large outdoor swimming pool.
Unfortunately, I don't think it will be in my budget to stay the night at this hotel - a standard room goes for $530 U.S. per night. I can't even imagine what the Luxury/Presidential suites go for? I do think I'd like to stop by the hotel for a cup of tea on the garden terrace. After which, I intend to walk around the grounds and see all the celebrity signatures listed on the Lobby floor.
