Executive meetings, team retreats, client dinners and private receptions for 8 to 50 guests are held at The Drisco, a 42-room hotel in the American-German Colony of Tel Aviv, between Jaffa and Neve Tzedek. Three spaces are available: the Private Room for up to 28, the Mark Twain Lounge for up to 15 and the rooftop for up to 50.
Seminars and company events
The hotel sells a full off-site format for small groups. A meeting can run in the Private Room with audiovisual equipment, then continue with breakfast, an afternoon happy hour and a dinner at George & John. The team can also add activities built around the history, culture and food of the surrounding neighborhood, such as a guided walk through the colony. Groups that book several rooms can keep the whole program in one building. The rooftop suits product launches, business receptions and company gatherings, with flexible seating.
Weddings and receptions
The rooftop and the historic lounges host private celebrations, including family events and receptions for up to 50 guests. The hotel does not present itself as a large wedding venue, so it fits small parties, rehearsal dinners or a dinner for close family better than a full wedding.
Rooms and capacities
The Private Room, set inside the George & John restaurant, was once the wine cellar of the Jerusalem Hotel. It takes 8 to 28 guests around a large communal table and has a lounge corner and modern audiovisual equipment, which makes it work for board meetings, workshops and private dinners. Next door, the Mark Twain Lounge dates from 1870 and was the area's first tavern; it takes up to 15 guests for small gatherings. The rooftop takes up to 50 guests and looks over Jaffa, Tel Aviv and the Mediterranean.
Accommodation
The hotel has 42 individually designed rooms and suites, including the separate Villa Drisco with five rooms and one suite. Rooms range from compact historic rooms of about 20 m² to a 65 m² suite with a private terrace, and they look onto the inner piazza, the sea, Old Jaffa or the colony. The hotel is adults-oriented: children aged 12 and over are welcome with an adult. Guests also have a spa, a gym and a garden.
Catering
Meals are served by the hotel's restaurant, George & John, which was named best restaurant in Israel by the Middle East and North Africa's 50 Best Restaurants. The hotel joined Relais & Châteaux in 2023 together with the restaurant, the first hotel in Tel Aviv to do so.
History and setting
American settlers from Maine landed at Jaffa on September 22, 1866, and among them were the brothers John and George Drisco, who chose to build a hotel. In 1870 it was bought by Ernst Hardegg of the Templer community and renamed the Jerusalem Hotel, a stop for travelers heading to Jerusalem; Mark Twain and Thomas Cook were among its guests. The British took the building over in 1940, and it later housed refugees and a government ministry before standing empty from the early 1960s. Architect Ari Shaltiel led its restoration from 2006, preserving the original murals, and the hotel reopened in early 2018.
Getting there
The address is 6 Auerbach Street, Tel Aviv. Valet parking is available subject to space, and a public car park operates at 21 Eilat Street nearby. The Carmel Market, the flea market of Jaffa and Neve Tzedek are within walking distance.
