A well tended lawn, shade-providing Jerusalem pine trees and lounge chairs surrounding the expansive, all-weather swimming pool provide the entrance to Ramat Rachel’s sprawling country club. Three tennis courts, a basketball court and a water slide complete the outdoor facilities of this exclusive club. Indoors, the club’s whirlpool, sauna and steam bath provide a relaxing way to relieve aching muscles after a strenuous workout or a long day of sightseeing. Guests looking to be pampered are invited to enjoy a massage at the Spa, and for the more actively inclined, the state-of-the-art equipped Gym awaits them!
The Sports Center’s facilities are available only to members and hotel guests.

Swimming pool

The semi-Olympic-size swimming pool is covered and heated during the winter months. The toddler’s pool is in use only during the summer, and is shaded by a large pergola. The swimming pool has reserved hours for aquatic exercise classes.

Spa

The Ramat Rachel Spa is a world unto itself - on entering the spa doors, clients enter a realm where peace and serenity reign.

The Spa caters to hotel guests and to a loyal clientele of local residents who are already familiar with the professional staff and high quality facilities. Guests are welcome to indulge in the wide range of treatments offered: massages and holistic treatments such as Shiatsu, Ayurveda massage, aromatherapy, reflexology, and Reiki (to name but a few) ; facial and other treatments (for example mud wrap) ; nutrition counseling and clinical dietary counseling.

Hotel guests are accepted on an advanced reservation basis and enjoy preferential rates.

Gym

A fully equipped, modern exercise room enables guests to continue their fitness routine while on holiday, for a nominal fee. In addition, guests are invited to participate in the wide range of classes that are held during the course of the week, such as stationary cycling, Pilates, osteoporosis prevention, yoga, belly dancing, folk dancing, Salsa, aerobics, Feldenkrais, step work, body sculpting, and more.

Members of the gym’s professional staff are on call to provide guidance and support at all times.

Ramat Rachel’s Banquet Garden is set in an expansive, beautifully landscaped area in the hotel gardens and provides an ideal venue for hosting family celebrations: a brit or britah, a Bar or Bat Mitzvah, a wedding, or any other special occasion. Also offered by Ramat Rachel’s talented MDR Design staff is expert guidance in choosing the design features and floral arrangements that add an artistic touch to any event.

The hotel’s 350-seat dining hall, serving three full kosher meals a day, is an expansive, high-ceilinged room overlooking Bethlehem and some of Jerusalem’s newest neighborhoods.

The full Israeli breakfast included in the price of the room is an excellent way to start a busy day of sightseeing.
Guests are invited to choose from the variety of salads, egg dishes, fresh baked goods, local cheeses and other dairy products generously arranged on large, marble topped buffets.

Lunch and dinner are also served buffet style and start with a colorful selection of salads and other appetizers based on Israel’s freshest produce. A varied menu includes a choice of attentively prepared soups, side dishes, and main courses, but guests should be sure to save room for the tantalizing cakes and sweets from the desert buffet.

The hotel stocks a carefully selected choice of quality Israeli wines and a large assortment of non-alcoholic beverages.
The lobby cafe, open from morning till midnight, serves drinks and light meals throughout the day and provides a place for guests to enjoy a quiet moment or catch up with friends over mid-morning coffee, afternoon tea, or a before dinner aperitif.
The pool snack bar, with its outdoor/indoor seating and panoramic views of the surrounding landscape, provides light meals and beverages throughout the day.

The hotel reception staff is very familiar with the surrounding landscape and interesting sites. Guests are welcome to take advantage of the staff’s advice and planning assistance as well as the hotel’s car rental and tour booking services.

An observation deck, constructed around a perfectly formed scrub oak tree, serves as a major attraction for visitors to the site. The observation point was designed by the sculptor Ron Morin and consists of hand-made boulders embedded with plaques providing a description and history of the surrounding area.

The observation deck provides a panoramic view of the golden Dome of the Rock in the Old City, Mount Sc opus and most of Jerusalem and Bethlehem and the Church of the Nativity . Stairs lead down from the deck to an ancient stone quarry where construction material for the buildings in the adjacent archeological site was mined.

Mitzpeh Yair is a living memorial for Yair Engel, a third generation member of Ramat Rachel and grandson of two of its founders. Yair died in a diving accident in 1996 during his military service.

Mitzpeh (”viewpoint”) Rachel, adjacent to the hotel grounds, is a fascinating archeological site where artifacts and remnants dating as far back as the First Temple through the Byzantine eras were found.
Visitors to the partially excavated site will be able to view the ruins of a Byzantine-era church, a Roman camp, as well as water cisterns and ritual baths from an earlier period.

Mitzpeh Rachel overlooks and takes its name from the tomb of the biblical Rachel, which is located just off the Jerusalem - Bethlehem road.

The Park of Olives is an artistic environmental project planned and realized by the artist Ran Morin (1987-1997), which includes 200 olive trees planted in concentric rows leading to the Olive Columns monument.

The Olive Columns are situated on top of the Ramat Rachel Mountain, on the axis connecting the center of Jerusalem to Herodion, overlooking the ancient main entrance to Jerusalem - the ‘Patriarchs Road’.
The sculpture dramatizes the passage of time by creating a new ‘ground level’ on top of treelike columns which grow out of the historical mountain landscape. From this ‘root system’ of the past, facing the desert, grow three living olive trees, which are traditionally a symbol of freshness, fertility and, of course, peace.

The olive trees, symbolizing strength, fertility, and peace, continue to thrive due to an advanced irrigation system and the devoted attention of the garden’s caretakers. The juxtaposition of the hardy olive with its roots in antiquity and the manmade, modernistic stone columns reaching toward the sky represent a reverence and respect for nature’s magnificence.

The hotel hosts numerous wedding, bar mitzvah, and other family celebrations. An outdoor wedding canopy has a breathtaking view of the southern outskirts of Jerusalem as a backdrop for a memorable ceremony. A large, permanent awning provides shade during the day and warmth during the cool Jerusalem nights for outdoor dining and dancing.

Easily accessible from the city center and providing ample, free parking, Ramat Rachel’s conference and event facilities are in use throughout the year. The hotel’s catering staff is experienced at creating menus and fine food for groups numbering forty to nine-hundred.

The Ramat Rachel Congress and Seminar Center hosts congresses, conferences, seminars, and workshops from Israel and abroad. With fourteen meeting rooms, a fully equipped 300-seat auditorium, and a spacious reception area, the hotel has complete facilities for any type of event.

The hotel can provide audio-visual equipment such as slide and overhead projectors, TV, VCR, white boards, flip charts, telephone lines for telemarketing needs and Internet connection.

Gift and Souvenir Shops
Souvenir hunters will find solutions to all of their gift and personal needs while enjoying the convenience and relaxed atmosphere of the well-stocked boutique in the hotel lobby. Shoppers can choose from a hand-picked selection of high quality gifts and souvenirs including silk clothing, Dead Sea beauty products, entertaining t-shirts, Armenian pottery, Jerusalem glass, and jewelry made by local artists, including the unique jewelry design of Kibbutz member, Yael Cohen.

Synagogue
There is a permanent synagogue within the hotel complex, with its own ark and flexible seating arrangements. Every effort is made to accommodate the needs of groups and individuals spending holidays or celebrating an event at the hotel.

Other services
The hotel provides all the services expected from a luxury hotel including laundry, currency exchange, safe deposit boxes, assistance in car rental, internet access, facsimile, and photocopying as well as touring information and planning assistance.