Spice Quarter Inn

Friendly and helpful staff. great location!

I love the Spice Quarter Inn. It was my third stay in the past 18 months. It has a very relaxed vibe. I like the open plan sleeping areas. It’s peaceful and in a great area (Spice Quarter area of Mitzpe Ramon is the best). It’s about a 25 minute walk to the crater.

Nothing

You see people, meet travelers

Did not like the mattress

The location is fantastic and walking distance to everything in the artists’ quarter of Mitzpe Ramon. Free parking was right outside and a lovely sunset view from the outdoor patio. We had a private room with a bathroom and the air conditioning was strong and we slept comfortably. The communal area of the hotel has a coffee shop with food and a nice place to sit and relax. We saw the meteor shower and the desert in this area of the Negev is lovely!

I went in knowing the limitations of the hotel/hostel experience as this is not my first rodeo. Some things that occurred were not because of the price range or hotel level but rather inept staff. For example, our check in time said 14:00. We arrived at 12:00 and the first thing I said was “I know we are early but perhaps we can store our bag somewhere”. I was responded with a very rude “check in is 15:00 and no”. I had my laptop and other items that I could not store in my car for 3 hours in 100F degree heat. Not to mention check in was at 14:00. So I schlepped them around for 3 hours (instead of 2) in the desert heat because this is not a normal hostel/hotel that has lockers or place to store your things before or after check in/out. Another staff issue happened later with the second front desk woman. She did not sit at the desk but rather was wearing lounge clothes and sat on the couches of the salon and played with her phone. People would walk in and stand waiting for someone to check them in. She looked at them and did not bother to get up until they asked her (or someone) for help. Meanwhile, my husband was making coffee in the salon and 2 different groups asked him to check in assuming he was staff because this woman was lazily sitting around and not doing her job. When people asked her, she seemed annoyed. Not to mention she didn’t speak a lick of English. For a hostel/hotel on popular bike routes you need to have staff that can at least speak basic English. Also some people are not suitable for the service industry. Hotel management needs to not get a human that breathes but rather someone that likes the work.