There are places you don’t just visit — you experience them. Canaan Hotel, recently opened atop Mount Canaan in Safed, aims to be exactly that. While it is defined as a luxury hotel, the experience it offers touches something deeper — the connection between design, nature, spirit, and a different pace of being.
This is one of the newest and most prominent projects by Fattal Limited Edition, the exclusive collection of the Fattal hotel chain. At its center is interior architect Efrat Kisos Maklis, who created a design language with clear, non-nostalgic roots, unpretentious natural materials, and above all, a spatial experience that invites slowing down.
Like the place in which it resides, the hotel doesn’t try to impress. It touches quietly. Spread across 10 dunams — between stone buildings and basalt paths — the design seeks to listen to its surroundings: Recycled teak wood from old yachts, open fireplaces, earth tones, and naturally finished furniture. Every detail, from wall to handle, was specially designed, stemming from an understanding that material can tell a story — if only given the space.
The hotel does not detach from the landscape; it is rooted in it. A view from the rooms reveals Mount Hermon, Mount Meron, the Upper Galilee, and the Sea of Galilee. The design follows this terrain, with spaces that create slow movement — balconies facing the view, seating areas around a hearth, hallways that are nearly like nature trails.
The spa, spread over two floors, continues the same language. A Turkish hammam, jacuzzis with panoramic views, saunas that open to the landscape. Rather than talking about relaxation, it simply allows it to happen.
Sustainability here is not just a slogan. The raw materials were carefully selected for their source and ecological stance — from handcrafted carpentry pieces to the keys in the rooms. There is a sincere attempt to do right — not just look right.
Within this space, a collection of contemporary art is also integrated for the first time, specially curated for the hotel by Iris Barak and Ward Gadish. The collection includes works by leading Israeli artists alongside pieces from the prestigious art collection of Dubi Schiff (one of the country’s major art collectors), who adds precision and weight through works by renowned veteran artists. The art is displayed throughout the hotel in a non-pretentious manner — not museum-like, but alive and present. Delicate embroideries alongside large oil paintings, paper works next to graphite drawings — all engage in a dialogue with the place and the history of Safed.
Architect Kisos Maklis sees design not merely as aesthetics, but as a poetic translation of feeling. At Canaan Hotel (managed by Yaron Salomovich), she says, the design is not meant to “make an impression,” but to create an inner impression — one of connection.
Ultimately, Canaan is not just a hotel — it is an invitation to experience design as an emotional event. A meeting point between old and new, between material and spirit. A place that reminds us how precise design can transform a space into an inner landscape.
