Sitting on the shores of the Dead Sea at the lowest point on the face of the earth, the Kempinski Ishtar Dead Sea is named after the Ancient Sumerian Goddess of love.
Sitting on the shores of the Dead Sea at the lowest point on the face of the earth, the Kempinski Ishtar Dead Sea is named after the Ancient Sumerian Goddess of love. It’s built entirely of local stone, tiles and mosaic to a design based on the fabled Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
When I arrived in early June it had only been open a few weeks. My room in the Ishtar Villas had a balcony facing the Dead Sea. From there, at night, I could see the lights of Jericho just across the Dead Sea in the West Bank territory of the Palestine National Authority. A little to the left the glow from the lights of Jerusalem loomed on the horizon.
It’s an incredibly quiet hotel. The entrance is high above beside the Dead Sea Highway and there I parted company with my car. I was transported to my room in a golf cart. From there I wandered through gardens of mature olive trees and palms, laid out amidst lagoons, waterfalls and private pools. Then I arrived at a massive building that looked like a temple. Approaching it I imagined that this was an experience similar to that of a traveler arriving in long forgotten Babylon. I climbed the stairs leading to the entrance and found myself in reception.
One of the main features of the Kempinski Hotel Ishtar Dead Sea is the Anantara Spa which is one of the largest in the world.
The Dead Sea was probably the World’s first health resort, its high salt and mineral content attracting travelers in search of cures and beauty. Cleopatra had caravans of camels deliver Dead Sea water to her palaces in Egypt, and Herod came here to be cured by its minerals.
Most of the current Dead Sea spa facilities are devoted to medical cures but the Anantara Spa at the Dead Sea concentrates on the 21st century concept of wellness and beauty. The 2½ acre complex has treatment rooms, spa suites, Jacuzzis, Asian therapies, steam rooms, saunas and a Hammam.
Another set of sea-facing rooms and suites will open in 2007 along with an entertainment centre with a bowling alley, cinema, sports facilities and even more pools.
