There’s nothing I dislike more than planning activities and schedules ahead of a weekend at a hotel. Many people love it—I even personally know a few of them—especially in the age of artificial intelligence, which helps plan activities, routes, trips, entertainment, and attractions near the hotel area. But I don’t enjoy it. Digging through Google and all kinds of attraction sites sucks the joy out of traveling for me. That kind of busywork doesn’t bring a smile to my face—it makes me itch all over.
Let’s be honest: if it weren’t for the kids, there’d be no need to plan anything at all. One could sit on the hotel balcony all weekend, hold a chilled glass of white wine, and read a book or a newspaper. Every so often, one could spice things up with a spontaneous walk in the hotel surroundings for a breath of fresh air and a little stretch. But when kids are involved in a hotel stay, the need to find attractions and activities nearby becomes critical.
Exactly for those who hate the chore of pouring content into a weekend—like me—the content-rich weekends in Israeli hotels were born. The hotel that insists it started these cultural weekends some 20 years ago is the Pastoral Hotel in Kfar Blum.
Lots of chocolate and lots of orchestras
The Pastoral Hotel, for those unfamiliar, is one of the most beautiful family hotels in Israel. It is located in the Upper Galilee, in a picturesque spot in the Hula Valley, and it offers its guests not just quality lodging but a full experience characterized by rich cultural activities throughout the year. The hotel, which includes 193 suites and rooms designed in Tuscan style, offers guests who come for these special family cultural weekends full-board accommodation, including two nights’ stay, lavish meals, participation in a variety of events and performances, and a guided tour of the Galilee area with organized transportation. The package price starts at NIS 4,500 per couple, and also includes a festive welcome (and farewell) reception filled with food (mainly sweets for the kids).
We, for example, took part in a family music weekend at Pastoral under the title “Concerto for Chocolate and Orchestra.” That weekend included, well, lots of chocolate and lots of orchestras. Pastoral is known for creating an artistic program that doesn’t aim for the lowest common denominator, but insists on maintaining a high-quality and engaging line that succeeds in interesting both 4-year-old kids and 50-year-old adults. You won’t find performances by Eden Hason or Anna Zak at those weekends (as happens in quite a few other hotels), but rather slightly more elitist offerings such as classical music, opera, literature, and cinema.
Missiles and Hikes
The weekend we attended included a show called “Pajama Party” with two singers and the wonderful Ra’anana Symphonette (conducted and hosted by the equally wonderful David Sebba); a performance titled “Mr. Chocolate” in which the band “HaTapuzim” performed Arik Einstein’s children’s songs; the play “The Prince and the Pauper” by Orna Porat Theater; a fascinating theatrical show called “The Norman Show”; a balloon artist’s show; and arts and crafts workshops.
As mentioned, the weekend included not only performances and lots of chocolate but also a lovely flower-viewing hike. After all, we’re in the Hula Valley, and it would be a crime to ignore its beauty. On Friday morning, we set out for a short family trail with an abundance of spring blossoms, a walk through the Yiftach cliffs, and a lookout over the Hula Valley, the fields, the Agamon, and the Hula Nature Reserve. Both kids and adults enjoyed it, and it was one of the great moments of that weekend.
What’s amazing about this story is that on that very morning, residents of Kiryat Shmona woke up to the sound of a siren and two missile launches (which, it turned out later, one was intercepted and the other fell in Lebanese territory). The organizers of the weekend at Pastoral feared that the missile fire toward the northern neighbor—located only a few kilometers from Kfar Blum—would scare the hundreds of Pastoral guests and cause them to skip the outdoor hike. But the longing for the northern bloom, and for the Upper Galilee in general, was stronger than any rocket or siren—and all the guests, without exception, came to the hike. More than anything else, it was moving to see all the guests—elderly, adults, children—boarding the buses to tour the northern Galilee just two hours after rocket fire not far from there.
Elitist content?
“This is our 21st cultural season and the first time we’ve done a musical family weekend,” says Yael Ariel, the hotel’s cultural and content manager, to Walla. “We tried to diversify as much as possible and make sure everyone finds something for themselves. Usually, we have eight musical weekends, but due to the war, the number was reduced.”
Was this meant to solve the problem of low winter tourism?
“Yes. In the summer, when there’s a pool and kayaking in the Jordan River, we make sure to adjust the timing of shows and activities so they don’t conflict with pool hours, for example, but rather take place in the evening since the content is very important. We have guests who’ve been coming for 20 years straight. It’s like a family here. The front desk knows them and knows which room they prefer.”
Is there a conscious decision that the musical content will be a bit more elitist?
“I can understand what you mean. You won’t find Yuval Hamevulbal here—not because I have an issue with him, on the contrary—but this is a different experience. Our motto is ‘Escape to Good Culture,’ and here you’ll see the Ra’anana Symphonette and the Israeli Opera. Not knowing opera and enjoying opera is a wild experience, in my view. Later in April, a musical weekend is expected in collaboration with the opera, featuring performances by opera soloists and hosting by David Sebba. There will also be renditions of classics from Mizrahi music in opera style. It’s important for us to preserve quality culture. We also have collaborations with the Israel Chamber Orchestra and with the Catedra. People can find Yuval Hamevulbal and Miki Mukhtar in Eilat and Tiberias, but with us, they’ll get something different.”
About two and a half months ago, after more than a year of closure due to the war with Hezbollah, the hotel reopened. During the year, the hotel management took the opportunity to renovate. The lobby, reception area, and library received a new design, rooms and suites were refurbished, and the conference halls and meeting rooms underwent extensive upgrades.
“When we just reopened, we got a flood of phone calls from people who missed us,” Ariel recalls. “All the rooms were sold that weekend. Today there was a siren in the morning, and I arrived here frightened. I feared I’d get here and see people with suitcases. Instead of suitcases, there were people standing here with water coolers full of bottles, hats, and ready to go hiking. That’s the country we live in, apparently. I was really happy to come here and see everyone continuing their day as usual. In the end, we responded in Dahiya following the fire toward Israel. I was really afraid the whole weekend would be ruined because of it and that people would leave. But everyone stayed, everyone went out hiking—and I’m really glad.”
So what’s coming up next? From April 24 to 26, a musical weekend for adults will be held in collaboration with the opera, including a lecture on “How to Be Happy” by Professor Yoram Yovell; a performance by opera soloists featuring the great love stories of opera; the comic moments of opera and a tribute to Mizrahi music classics (starting from NIS 2,260 per night). From May 15 to 17, a “Jerusalem Mix” weekend will be held, including a meeting between actor Zvika Levi and journalist Yair Cherki; a performance by the Quartettokan Ensemble combining Eastern and Western pieces; a lecture by Gil Hovav; a show by Moni Moshonov and Roni Somek; and much more.
“Escape to Good Culture”
The hotel is very proud of the logo of the musical family weekends—“Escape to Good Culture.” This logo perfectly expresses what the hotel offers its guests. First, the content of the weekends maintains quality and succeeds in engaging both children and adults. Beyond that, one cannot help but be impressed by the hotel’s lush and well-kept grounds, by the beauty of the Galilee, the charm of the scenery, as well as the varied, colorful, and aesthetic food served in the dining room, the pampering rooms, and the perfect pool in the kibbutz (which also welcomes hotel guests, of course). Let’s be clear: the prices of those weekends are not cheap, but the value is felt in every moment, in every show.
Take us, for example—parents of three kids addicted to their phone screens. How much we enjoyed seeing them, along with dozens of other kids, gathering in the hotel’s endless grassy expanses in the afternoons, playing soccer, doing arts and crafts, riding scooters for fun. If the hotel managed to wean my three kids off their phone screens, make them addicted to the feeling of freedom and relaxation, and enjoy the Ra’anana Symphonette—then as far as I’m concerned, I won big.
The writer was a guest of the Pastoral Hotel.
