Advantages: not on the tourist route
Disadvantages: pretty façade, partly ugly backyard

...on the plane. We aren’t pious and didn’t intend to go on a pilgrimage and tick off all the holy sites Israel has to offer, we decided to stay in Tel Aviv (where the international airport is) for two days to shake off winterly Germany and then to go on to Jerusalem for six days. Tel Aviv gave us what we had been looking for and more than was necessary to make us happy: we arrived in the middle of a hot spell, when we landed at midnight it was 22° C, ten degrees more than at home at noon! Tel Aviv is the most modern metropolis of the whole Middle East with ~ 377 000 inhabitants in the city proper (greater Tel Aviv is the city with the largest Jewish population in the world), it’s the financial and cultural centre of Israel. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, for a period of eight months during the Arab blockade of Jerusalem, it also served... Read review

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Advantages: Location, Locatin, Location!
Disadvantages: None really - see text

...I had to attend a conference in Tel Aviv, Israel. The conference was in the Crowne Plaza Hotel, so it made sense to stay there! In Israel the currency is the New Israeli Shekel, which in this review will be called NIS. When I changed my money at Heathrow, the exchange rate was 7.79 NIS to the £. Some of the cost was in US $ so the exchange rate that was on my credit card statement was $1.81 to the £ *** Before I got there *** I booked my stay on line at the Intercontinental hotels web site, check the web site for the latest deals www.ichotels.com I didn't know how to get from Tel Aviv airport, to the hotel, so while still in the UK I sent the hotel an email asking if there was a courtesy bus. They promptly responded, telling that there wasn't, but the ways to get to the hotel were either by train, bus (number 222... Read review

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Advantages: Friendly people, superb food, sun!
Disadvantages: Risks of bombings

...I have visited Tel-Aviv on business on a number of occasions. Often I spend time at the Sheraton Moriah hotel due to preferential rates our company gets through the Israeli Export institute. I advise if you are travelling to Tel-Aviv on business that you make enquiries. The currency in Israel is the New Israeli Shekel (NIS). The exchange rate at the time of writing this review is 8.2 NIS to £1. Take time to check the online currency exchange page www.xe.com for up to date rates. The city of Tel-Aviv is located on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean. The city has a great beach which is easily accessible and has a number of bars both on the beach and also set back. I advise that if you visit the city take time to watch the sun set over the Mediterranean in one of the many bars that fringe the sea front. Many people... Read review

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Advantages: a modern and old, Eastern and Western city
Disadvantages: To all the politicians, it is necessary to rehabilitate!

...Tel-Aviv has been my city for almost 3 years now and I wanted to tell you about it... I've been living in Tel-Aviv for 32 months now, both for personal and professional reasons. Tel-Aviv is a strange city, dedicated to inspire attraction and repulsion at the same time. Attraction for the splendid fine sand beach, triumphing youth over the Tayelet (walk), Yafo (Jaffa), splendid city which signed the beginning of this metropolis, its quasi-permanent sun, its noisy and coloured souks, its kiosks with falafel and chawarmas, its eclectic population, the everlasting festival which reigns there, an incredible mixture of young people in bathing suits and orthodox Jews whom I saw dancing the techno music on a vanwhich looked 60s, in the (vain)hope of engaging the debate with the so-called lost youth... Repulsion... Read review

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Advantages: Safety, beautiful, spacious
Disadvantages: Parking is expensive, no train to Jerusalem - YET

...Isn't that a strange title? Well, not if you know that Israel's international airport in Tel Aviv, known as Ben Gurion International Airport has recently opened (almost five years behind schedule) what they call "NaTBaG 2000". The letters N T B G are actually the initials of the Hebrew "Namal Teufah Ben Gurion" – or in English, Ben Gurion Airport, and the 2000 was supposed to be the year that they opened up the brand new Terminal 3. Unfortunately, all sorts of bureaucracy got in the way, and NaTBaG 2000 only opened in November of 2004. So this old review is now being revised from top to bottom, for your convenience, and I warn you, in advance, its gonna be a long read! If you're still interested, sit back and I hope you enjoy the ride. Let me start from the beginning. When you reach the airport by car, taxi or bus, the traffic... Read review

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Advantages: Safe, Friendly People
Disadvantages: Nothing you wouldn't get in any other city

...I have been to Tel Aviv at least 10 times through a past job. Whilst the airport is a bit of a pain it is not as bad as you would think. The hype is over rated. Interrogations don't exist. Not really any worse than going to the states. You do have multiple security searches where laptops are checked, shoes scanned but so what, its an airport, you may as well be doing that rather than sitting in the lounge. Other than that the airport is fine (apart from if you fly to London the smoking section is at the gate, good if you smoke though). Anyway, Ben Gurion airport is fine, plenty of ways to get to the city from there. Huge taxi rank there with a controller so you don't have to jostle for a cab. Should cost you around 35 nis to get to town depending on where your going. When you get to town I would recommend staying in one... Read review

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Advantages: It's an eye-opener
Disadvantages: It's not very glamorous

...that this is anything other than a truly remarkable achievement. However, if you take the context away from the displays, you could easily leave feeling that this had been a disappointment. This is not a child friendly, or Disney style wow factor museum. It is a testament to guts, hard work, belief and perseverance in the face of immense adversity and hardship. This alone is worth experiencing, as no understanding of the Modern Israel can be complete without grasping this. You should note that this museu, is not in central Tel Aviv, but in a nice suburb to the north called Ramat Aviv. Besides driving a car there, the only way to access the museum is via the regular city buses, with which the museum, is amply supplied. Any bus leaving the city on the main north-bound highway (so going to Caesarea, Haifa or Netanya) will go past it. However, once you... Read review

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Advantages: Very cheap international phone rates
Disadvantages: There are none

...I make a lot of long distance, international phone calls. I mean a lot. I call the states several times a week. I also don't talk for just a short time, I talk like it is a free local call. Lots of catching up to do with family and friends you know. I even still call my favourite local shops in the states to order gifts, flowers, and restaurant gift vouchers. I needed a good long distance phone carrier. I've experimented with a couple, but none proved to be that cheap. Until I found OneTel! OneTel is simple to use. Once you register your telephone number with them, they issue you a 4 digit code to dial before you enter the phone number that you want to ring. That's it! Easy as that! I never have problems accessing and rarely have problems with OneTel having busy circuits. I can talk as long as I want to my family... Read review

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Advantages: Cheaper international calls, fixed rate 1p per min internet access
Disadvantages: None

...OneTel is a great company that gives you very good rates on national and international calls made from the UK and also the option of an Internet connection that costs no more then one penny per minute at ALL times. This is very good value for those that want to surf at odd times during the day but don’t want to have to pay through the nose for an unlimited use package with another ISP. If you sign up for the cheap national/international calls service via the website at www.onetel.co.uk, you can claim a £2 calling credit as a new customer bonus. Registration is very straightforward and once completed, you will be emailed confirmation including lots of welcome information and a Home or Away Calling Card. The card enables you to make calls from any phone in the world and enjoy the same discounts as you would from home. OneTel also... Read review

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Advantages: At least, thety are still streets ahead of BT!
Disadvantages: Every time the write me nowadays -something has increased!!

...I wrote the following when I was (almost) completely satisfied with onetel. But times change and I've moved on -I just wish they had not -and I find cheaper, more effective alternatives evry day! "Let me start by stating that the Bride and I (but mainly her!) use our domestic 'phone BIG time. Three years ago, after an unresolved row with BT left us determined to seek an alternative, we got to hear about OneTel. With some trepidation, we decided to make the switch; the move was one of the best decisions we've made in managing our household and we remain totally satisfied. We reckon switching to OneTel saves us 50% on our home telecoms costs each year. Now, instead of a garbled summary of discounts, allowances, credits invariably resulting in an astronomical number at the bottom, we get a neat, comprehensive and very readable bill... Read review

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