Carmel Forest Spa Resort

The resort sits on Mount Carmel, within the protected Carmel Forest above Haifa; the fifth-floor bar looks across the mountain slopes. Parking is free, with the main car park just outside the resort and a few spaces inside the grounds.

Carmel Forest Spa covers 2,500 m²: a generous lobby, an indoor pool with views over the surrounding hills, a Turkish bath, dry and wet saunas, a jacuzzi, treatment rooms including a couples' suite with its own jacuzzi, and a solarium with panoramic views. The menu runs to more than 70 body, health and beauty treatments using products from leading international skincare houses, among them a range of massage techniques including balancing and releasing massage, seaweed wraps, hot stones, reiki and other energy work, shiatsu and ayurveda. There are dedicated programmes for men and for expectant mothers, combined treatment journeys and a wide choice of beauty care.

The kitchen pairs restaurant-level cooking with a health-first approach; dishes are adapted for vegetarians, vegans and guests avoiding gluten or lactose, and glatt kosher meals can be ordered in advance.

• Carmel Restaurant — the main dining room: breakfast brings dairy dishes, fruit, vegetables, salads, baked goods, a large cheese selection and eggs cooked to order; dinner offers meat, fish and pasta, with mains and desserts served at the table and salads, soups and starters at the buffet. Vegan options include a chickpea-flour omelette and shakshuka, a dish of tomatoes stewed with peppers, made here with tofu in place of eggs. Dinner times are arranged on arrival day, and a meat buffet lunch is laid out on Saturdays
• Lobby Bar — a fifth-floor bar overlooking Mount Carmel, serving hot and cold dairy dishes, salads, sandwiches, pasta, fish and vegetarian and vegan choices alongside cocktails and spirits, with live music in the evening
• 04 Bar — a third-floor cocktail bar open from afternoon until late, with signature cocktails, a long wine list, traditional spirits aged in oak barrels with herbs and spices, and a menu that runs from bar snacks to fish and pasta
• the restaurant by the outdoor pool — a daytime menu, with light lunches also served in the lobby

The outdoor pool is wrapped in gardens and fresh mountain air, with a daytime restaurant beside it. The spa's indoor pool has windows onto the surrounding landscape, and both host swimming lessons and water classes. Each of the three villas has its own 23 m² pool, heated in winter.