View source for King David Hotel

{{short description|Hotel in Jerusalem, Israel}}
{{Infobox building
 | name                 = King David Hotel<br>מלון המלך דוד
 | image                = King David Hotel (back).jpg
 | image_size           = 250px
 | caption              = King David Hotel
 | location             = [[Jerusalem]]
 | coordinates          = {{coord|31|46|28|N|35|13|21|E|display=inline,title}}
 | map_type             = Jerusalem
 | map_caption          = 
 | opening_date         = 1931
 | closing_date         = 
 | developer            = [[Frank Goldsmith]]
 | architect            = 
 | operator             = [[Dan Hotels]]
 | owner                = [[Dan Hotels]]
 | number_of_restaurants = 4
 | number_of_rooms      = 237
 | number_of_suites     = 
 | floor_area           = 
 | floor_count          = 
 | parking              = 
 | website              = [http://www.danhotels.com/JerusalemHotels/KingDavidJerusalemHotel King David Jerusalem Hotel]
 | footnotes            = 
}}
[[File:King David Hotel from garden side. 1934-1939.jpg|thumb|250px|The hotel in 1931]]
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:King David Hotel Yerushalayim.jpg|thumb|250px|Frontal view, 1934]] -->

The '''King David Hotel''' ({{langx|he|מלון המלך דוד|Malon ha-Melekh David}}; {{langx|ar|فندق الملك داود|Funduq al-Malik Dāwūd}}) is a [[hotel rating|5-star]] hotel in [[Jerusalem]] and a member of [[The Leading Hotels of the World]]. Opened in 1931, it was built with locally quarried pink [[limestone]] and was founded by Ezra Mosseri, a wealthy Egyptian Jewish banker. It is located on King David Street in the centre of Jerusalem, overlooking the [[Old City (Jerusalem)|Old City]] and [[Mount Zion]], and is named after the Biblical King [[David]].

The hotel, owned and operated by the [[Dan Hotels]] group, has traditionally been the chosen venue for hosting heads of state, dignitaries, politicians and celebrities during their visits to Jerusalem.

It is also famous for the 1946 [[King David Hotel Bombing]], when an attack by the Zionist organization [[Irgun]] targeted the hotel's southern wing, which contained offices for the British authorities during [[Mandatory Palestine]], killing 91 people of various nationalities and injuring 45.<ref name="Encyclopedia of World Terrorism"/>

==History==
===British Mandate of Palestine===
In 1929, Palestine Hotels Ltd. purchased {{convert|4.5|acre|m2}} on Jerusalem's Julian's Way, today King David Street. Half the construction costs were paid by [[Ezra Mosseri]], an affluent [[History of the Jews in Egypt|Egyptian Jewish]] banker and director of the [[National Bank of Egypt]], and another 46% by the [[Goldschmidt family]] and other wealthy Cairo Jews. The approximately 4% remaining was paid by the National Bank of Egypt, which purchased 693 shares of the company between 1934 and 1943.<ref>[https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/egyptian-bank-sues-israel-for-dividends Egyptian bank sues Israel for dividends], by Etgar Lefkovits for The Jerusalem Post, 27 June 2007. Re-accessed September 2020.</ref>

From its earliest days, the King David Hotel hosted royalty: the dowager empress of [[Pahlavi dynasty]], [[Tadj ol-Molouk]], queen consort [[Nazli Sabri|Nazli of Egypt]], and [[King Abdullah I]] of Jordan stayed at the hotel, and three heads of state forced to flee their countries took up residence there: [[Alfonso XIII of Spain|King Alfonso XIII]] of [[Spain]], forced to abdicate in 1931, Emperor [[Haile Selassie]] of [[Ethiopia]], driven out by the [[Second Italo-Ethiopian War|Italians in 1936]], and [[George II of Greece|King George II]] of [[Greece]], who set up his government in exile at the hotel after the [[Nazi]] occupation of his country in 1942. During the [[Mandatory Palestine]], the southern wing of the hotel contained British administrative and military offices.

====Bombing====
{{Main|King David Hotel bombing}}
[[File:King David Hotel bombing, Jerusalem 1946.jpg|thumb|200px|King David Hotel after being targeted in the terrorist attack by the Zionist organization [[Irgun]], 1946]]
On July 22, 1946, the southwestern corner of the hotel was [[King David Hotel bombing|bombed]] during an attack by the Zionist paramilitary group [[Irgun]]. 91 people of various nationalities, including Britons, Arabs and Jews, were killed and 45 people were injured<ref name="Encyclopedia of World Terrorism">{{cite book|last=Chalk|first=Peter|title=Encyclopedia of World Terrorism|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofwo03cren/page/394|year=1996|publisher=[[Routledge]]|page=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofwo03cren/page/394 394]|isbn=978-1-56324-806-1}}</ref><ref name="International Encyclopedia of Terrorism">{{cite book |last1=Crenshaw|first1=Martha|last2=Pimlott|first2=John|title=International Encyclopedia of Terrorism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j4p4CAAAQBAJ&q=King+David+Hotel+terrorist&pg=PT287|year=1998|publisher=[[Routledge]]|page=287|isbn=978-1-57958-022-3}}</ref> by the militant right-wing group.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hardy |first=Roger |date=2017 |title=The Poisoned Well, Empire and its Legacy in the Middle East |location=New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=10 |isbn=978-0-19-062322-7}}</ref> An earlier attempt by the Irgun to attack the hotel had been foiled when the [[Haganah]] learned of it, and warned the [[Mandatory Palestine]]'s British authorities.<ref name="tclarke81">Thurston Clarke, ''By Blood and Fire: the attack on the King David Hotel'', G. P. Puttnam's Sons, New York, 1981, {{ISBN|978-0-399-12605-5}}, {{ISBN|978-0-399-12605-5}}</ref>

=== Israel ===
On May 4, 1948, when the British flag was lowered as the British Mandate ended, the building became a Jewish stronghold. At the end of the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]], the hotel found itself overlooking "no-man’s land" on the [[Green Line (Israel)|armistice line]] that divided Jerusalem into Israeli and Jordanian territory. The hotel was purchased by the Dan Hotels chain in 1958. Multiple scenes in the 1960 film ''[[Exodus (1960 film)|Exodus]]'' were shot at the hotel, both outside and inside, in the main lobby and on the terrace.<ref name="JTA 1960" >{{cite news | title = 20.000 Israelis Participate in Filming 'exodus' in Jerusalem Square | url = https://www.jta.org/archive/20-000-israelis-participate-in-filming-exodus-in-jerusalem-square | work = [[Jewish Telegraphic Agency]] | date = 25 May 1960 }}</ref>{{additional citation needed| reason = this was uncited, I found JTA but it only partly covers what was written |date=April 2025}} When East Jerusalem was annexed by Israel following the 1967 [[Six-Day War]], two additional floors were added.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

Among the hotel's famous official guests: British monarch [[Charles III]]; [[King Hussein]] of Jordan; U.S. Presidents [[Richard Nixon]], [[Gerald Ford]], [[Jimmy Carter]], [[Bill Clinton]], [[George W. Bush]], [[Barack Obama]], [[Donald Trump]] and [[Joe Biden]]; British Prime Ministers [[Winston Churchill]], [[Harold Wilson]], [[Margaret Thatcher]], [[John Major]], and [[Tony Blair]]; Indian Prime Minister [[Narendra Modi]]; U.S. politicians [[Henry Kissinger]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Kissinger |first=Henry |date=1982 |title=Years of Upheaval |url=https://archive.org/details/yearsofupheaval00kiss |publisher=Weidenfeld and Nicolson |isbn=978-0-316-28591-9 |url-access=registration }}</ref> and [[Hillary Clinton]];<ref>Hillary Rodham Clinton, ''[[Hard Choices]]'' (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2014). p. 482.</ref> as well as many stars including  [[Elizabeth Taylor]], [[Richard Dreyfuss]], [[Richard Gere]] and [[Madonna (entertainer)|Madonna]].

==Architecture==
[[File:King David Hotel Pool.jpg|thumb|200px|King David Hotel and pool (2012)]]

The design for the hotel was commissioned from a Swiss architect, {{ill|Emil Vogt (architect)|de|Emil Vogt (Architekt)|lt=Emil Vogt}}, with the actual construction supervised by Jerusalem architect [[Benjamin Chaikin]].<ref>Jerusalem and Its Environs: Quarters, Neighborhoods, Villages, 1800-1948, Ruth Kark, Michal Oren-Nordheim, Wayne State University Press, 2001, p. 184</ref> According to [[Hebrew University]] professor [[Ruth Kark]], Vogt's approach was typical of European architects who, commissioned to design buildings in Jerusalem, incorporated "Eastern-style domes, arches, various kinds of different-colored stone, and interior decorations with religious symbols and inscriptions," in buildings whose strict symmetry marks them indelibly as European.<ref>Jerusalem and Its Environs: Quarters, Neighborhoods, Villages, 1800-1948, Ruth Kark, Michal Oren-Nordheim, Wayne State University Press, 2001, p. 183</ref> The public rooms were decorated by [[Gustave-Adolphe Hufschmid]] in motifs taken from Assyrian, Hittite, Phoenician and Muslim buildings in an effort to evoke a "Biblical" style.<ref>[[David Kroyanker]], ''Jerusalem Architecture'', Vendome Press in association with the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies, 1994, p. 154</ref> Hufschmid, also Swiss, stated that his intention was "to evoke by reminiscence the [[Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples|ancient Semitic]] style and the ambiance of the glorious period of [[King David]]."<ref>Building the Cold War: Hilton International hotels and modern architecture, Annabel Jane Wharton, University of Chicago Press, 2001, p. 129</ref>

<gallery class="center" caption="" widths="175px" heights="175px" > 
File:1946-R-Sigs-KingDavidHotel.jpg|Royal Signals HQ, in June 1946
File:King David Hotel at night.jpg|King David Hotel at night (2008)
</gallery>

==Dining==
<!---[[La Régence]] and [[La Regence]] link here --->
In the early days of the hotel, there were few Jews or Arabs on the staff. The chefs were Italian, the service staff were mostly [[Berbers]], the management was Swiss, and the menu served primarily European influenced dishes. In 1958, after ownership of the hotel changed hands, the kitchen began to comply with [[kashrut]] regulations, but continued to serve a kosher version of French influenced [[haute cuisine]]. Dishes served by the hotel's restaurant during that era included [[entrecote]] steak with [[béarnaise sauce]], ''pommes mignonettes dorées'' and [[salmon]] poached in [[court-bouillon]]. By the 1960s, demographics had changed with senior staff positions held mostly by Jews of German or Czech origin, and the restaurant had also started serving traditional dishes from [[Ashkenazi cuisine]] for ''[[shabbos]]'' dinners, such as ''[[gehakte leber]]'' and [[gefilte fish]].<ref name=raviv>{{cite book |last=Raviv |first=Yael |title=Falafel Nation:Cuisine and the Making of National Identity in Israel |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |date=2007 |pages=161–163}}</ref> By the 1980s dinner menus included [[kugel]], [[kreplach]] in [[consomme]] broth, and [[strudel]]. Breakfasts consisted of [[Danish pastry]], fruit, cheese, and [[smoked fish]]; the latter has become part of a typical [[Israeli breakfast]].<ref>{{cite news |title=A Grand Hotel as Symbol |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/03/07/travel/a-grand-hotel-as-symbol.html |date=March 7, 1982 |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref>

The hotel includes four dining options:
* La Régence – fine dining<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Culture/Dining-The-royal-treatment-at-La-Regence-446731|title=Dining: The royal treatment at La Regence|date=3 March 2016 |access-date=20 November 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/MAGAZINE-this-is-the-best-chef-in-israel-right-now-according-to-gault-millau-1.6193817|title=The 20 Best Restaurants in Israel Right Now, According to Gault & Millau|first=Rotem|last=Maimon|date=20 June 2018|access-date=20 November 2018|newspaper=Haaretz}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/travel/MAGAZINE-the-10-best-kosher-restaurants-in-israel-1.5429069|title=The 10 Best Kosher Restaurants in Israel|first=Rotem |last=Maimon|date=8 September 2016|access-date=20 November 2018|newspaper=Haaretz}}</ref>
* King's Garden<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3335930,00.html|title=A suite for King David|newspaper=Ynetnews |date=12 June 2006|access-date=20 November 2018|last1=Svirsky |first1=Ronit }}</ref>
* The Oriental Bar
* Poolside Snack Bar
La Régence and King's Garden are run by executive chef David Biton.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://fr.timesofisrael.com/les-saveurs-de-la-gastronomie-francaise-sinvitent-au-king-david-de-jerusalem/ |title=Les saveurs de la gastronomie française s'invitent au King David de Jérusalem |work=Times of Israel |date=2017-02-08}}</ref>

==See also==
* {{portal-inline|Hotels}}
* {{portal-inline|Israel}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13531041003595035 “Hotel Design in British Mandate Palestine: Modernism and the Zionist Vision,” Journal of Israel History 29 (1) (2010)]
* [http://www.danhotels.com/JerusalemHotels/KingDavidJerusalemHotel/ King David Hotel Jerusalem] Official site
{{Commons|position=left}}

{{The Leading Hotels of the World in Asia}}{{Tourism in Jerusalem}}{{Restaurants in Israel}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:The Leading Hotels of the World]]
[[Category:Hotels in Jerusalem]]
[[Category:1931 establishments in Mandatory Palestine]]
[[Category:Fine dining in Israel]]
[[Category:Foreign relations of Israel]]
[[Category:State guesthouses]]