Jeremy Berkovits never hesitates to crack a joke or deliver a pithy quip during our comprehensive conversation over breakfast at The American Colony Hotel’s lush dining garden.
When introducing a longtime server, he praises her professionalism but also her ability to make inside jokes.
Some of his one-liners are self-deprecating in nature, like when he demurs when asked if he’s the current “face” of the hotel now that the former general manager has resigned.
“Oh no, there’s a better face than mine; most are,” says the older gentleman with the upmarket English accent. Since a prevailing view among those who have never visited the hotel is of an overly liberal, expat journalist hangout, the fact that he wears a kippah and is a proud Jew may come as a surprise.
His sense of humor has served Berkovits well, as he’s spent the past 42 years working at the iconic hotel, where he now serves as the owners’ official representative.
Yet over our tasty morning repast, offering a range of vegetarian options, we quickly come to see that the lack of guests due to the ongoing war is no laughing matter.
The past summer saw an occupancy rate of 45%, when typically guests had to book well in advance to enjoy the hotel during this peak season.
Belt-tightening times
It’s easy to see why The American Colony has been so wildly popular in the past.
On a September Friday, on one of the last warm days before winter, we wind from the light rail down nondescript urban streets with less-than-adequate sidewalks. Behind Beverly Hills-style gates and down the long driveway, we step into another world where elegance and greenery abound. The hotel complex features a pool, a gym, the famously enchanting Summer Bar and wintertime Cellar Bar, and grounds that include a meditation area.
But maintaining the massive 12,000-square-foot compound amounts to many thousands of shekels a month, and the owners are eager for a return to normalcy – otherwise, they may have to consider some painful cost-cutting measures.
Of course, The American Colony is not alone. According to the Israel Hotel Association, Israel saw an 81% decline in tourists in the first half of 2024. While some hotels’ bottom line was salvaged by taking in evacuees from the North and South, The American Colony missed that opportunity – since when the war broke out on Oct. 7, 2023, it hosted dozens of journalists from all over the world who descended upon Jerusalem.
Additionally, since the hotel is not kosher, many evacuees would not have been able to stay there.
Ever since the media types moved on to the next headline-making setting, though, the hotel has been navigating the delicate balance of maintaining the high quality it is known for while also not taking a nose dive into the red.
Which is why, unfortunately, the hotel had to let a lot of staff members go – 40%. In fact, everyone has had to make sacrifices, including Berkovits himself – who planned to retire this year but has stayed on with his assistant, Alex, to help replace Swiss general manager Guy Lindt.
It’s a frustrating experience for all involved, especially after the hotel enjoyed an uncharacteristically high occupancy during the COVID-19 pandemic, when in between lockdowns, stir-crazy Israelis flocked to in-country hotels. After spending a couple of years riding that high and investing NIS 8 million into renovating the rooms, the lack of guests for the past year has been a devastating hit.
“It’s very challenging to maintain quality and decide on long-term improvements, because your plans keep changing due to unforeseen circumstances,” Berkovits says. “You can’t build up momentum.”
Room for all at the Colony
And so, once again, the hotel is actively getting the word out about one of the best-known hotels in the city in order to attract Israelis.
The word is this: Since its inception in 1920, the east Jerusalem haunt has typically been frequented by diplomats, journalists, and celebrities looking for a touch of class and sophistication all while being surrounded by the building’s storied history.
“We tried over the years, every now and again, to attract more Israelis,” Berkovits notes candidly. “And then there would always be another security scare. And even though it’s nothing to do with us, understandably people felt a little reluctant to come to this part of the world.”
In this way, for many Jewish Israelis, going to The American Colony is far from a natural choice. Between its non-kosher kitchen and gateway to east Jerusalem location, many Jews have felt that the place is just not for them.
Not so, says the religiously observant Berkovits, whom we could easily imagine shmoozing with at a Katamon kiddush.
To that end, the hotel has offered special deals to incentivize new guests. For example, couples wishing to have a romantic night away in the middle of the week can do so for NIS 1,299. And the hotel plans to institute a Cellar Bar happy hour over the winter.
The welcoming atmosphere extends to the gift shop/bookstore, which stocks an array of Israeli-friendly material alongside traditional Arab ones.
Jerusalem landmark
Yet, much of our conversation strayed away from the financial pitfalls of running a hotel in the middle of a war and focused on the hotel itself and its singular history.
The bucolic structure began as a palace for pasha Rabah El-Husseini and his four wives – each of whom had a room for herself with an adjoining door. It’s said that every evening, El-Husseini would walk through the corridor as he decided which one of his wives would have the pleasure of his company for the night.
As the 19th century came to a close, the property was purchased by Christians from the United States and Sweden, with Chicago natives Horatio and Ann Spafford owning most of the shares.
Calling themselves “The Overcomers,” the Spaffords and 16 other church members did just that – in pursuit of a simple life, where they welcomed both Arab and Jewish neighbors into their home.
Today, the extended Spafford family – who still owns the hotel – has worked hard to maintain that philosophy by ensuring that The American Colony is open to everyone.
“What the owners today want to do is preserve the fact that we’re a very integral part of Jerusalem in terms of our history – but we’re not one nation. We’re British. We’re American. We’re Swedish. Everybody tries to label us as being something, but we don’t want to be anything,” Berkovits says, sitting beside his incoming successor Alex Nasser, a Christian Arab.
“I’m Jewish and he’s Arab, but this isn’t a Jewish hotel. This isn’t a Christian hotel. This is a hotel for everybody.”
As we chat, Berkovits marvels at the history of the hotel, where virtually even a single tile has been the cornerstone of many tours.
Pointing to the ornate Armenian tiles in the entranceway, he says that they were one of the earliest integrated into a Jerusalem building. The owners take pride in the high-ceilinged hotel’s heritage, which is why every single restoration – no matter how small – needs to be approved in advance.
“Some historic doors are 150 years old, and replacing them even though they are not fully soundproof is an issue,” Berkovits laments.
That need for preservation applies to the land itself, with the official hotel representative explaining that they try not to plant anything that wasn’t indigenous to Jerusalem in 1900, when the owners bought the hotel.
TO ILLUSTRATE his point that every square inch of the hotel is steeped in history, he pauses in the middle of our discussion to indicate a tree beside our table.
“Look over there,” he marvels. “Norwegian diplomat Terje Rod-Larsen [a key figure in the Oslo Accords negotiations] buried underneath the soil local and global event headlines that marked the 120th anniversary of the hotel – with your very paper included.”
“I’d like to think we’re part of the solution of peace in the Middle East,” he says. “We have a role still to play. When he buried those newspapers, it was a symbol of this place where the United Nations, Israelis, and Palestinians came together,” he says with feeling. “They felt like they could negotiate peacefully here because this is a symbol of neutrality.”
Berkovits boasts that The American Colony is still very much a popular location for ironing out diplomatic deals and still sees prominent political figures discreetly carry on weighty conversations even today.
When asked if he always wears his kippah at work, he quickly responds, “Always. I never had a moment of hesitation.”
He does admit that when devastating terror attacks occur, there’s a brief air of unease.
This is one of the reasons English is the official language of the hotel, so even the words spoken on premises are steeped in neutrality.
Of course, another distinctive aspect of the hotel are the star-studded celebrities who have rested their perfectly coiffed heads on American Colony pillows. Lawrence of Arabia, Winston Churchill, Bob Dylan, Uma Thurman, Richard Gere, Giorgio Armani, Miuccia Prada, Tony Blair, and Mikhail Gorbachev have all stayed on the famed grounds. While Berkovits is generally unruffled when VIPs arrive at the establishment, he does concede that supermodel Bar Refaeli took his breath away.
“I felt like I had to say a bracha [blessing] when I came face to face with her beauty,” he jokes.
“I think my regret is that many people come to this hotel and leave after two days and say, ‘It was a nice hotel.’ It’s like going to the ballet and not appreciating the music. And I think they’ve missed the whole point,” he shares.
“I don’t think there are many places like this in the world, to be perfectly honest,” the proud decades-long employee boasts.
“When I look around, this is quintessentially Jerusalem.”
Well, these two writers certainly plan to return to enjoy some happy hour libations and history inside the hotel’s walls. Now, if only they could talk...■
Weekday prices for Israelis, including breakfast and VAT, start from NIS 1,299 for a comfort-level room.