The Atlas Hotel chain has developed a knack for designing its Tel Aviv properties as one-of-a-kind experiences. The Fabric Hotel on Nahalat Binyamin has an urban party vibe that features an “all-day bar.” The Artist Hotel showcases paintings and digital works from the Doron Sebbag Collection throughout the property.

Atlas transformed the old Eden Cinema on Dizengoff Square into a boutique hotel, complete with a free nightly rooftop happy hour and buffet filling enough to ward one off dinner.
The latest property to join the Atlas family is the Backstage Hotel which, like the Cinema, took an old entertainment center – in this case the Ohel stage theater – and turned it into a funky location, located on Beilinson Street, the other side of Dizengoff Square from the Cinema Hotel.

Opened just a few weeks ago, at the beginning of July, the 48-room Backstage is filled with delightful theatrical touches that make up for the small but tastefully appointed rooms.
The mirrors in the bathroom, for example, are styled to resemble those used by make-up artists prior to the start of a play. The seats at the desk in the guest rooms look like the old-fashioned trunks that once transported costumes. Exposed whitewashed brick augments the backstage ambience. In the four-story, open lobby are spotlights taken from a theater (though they’re shiny and new enough to not be from the original Ohel Theater).

The second floor has a bit of added fun – a photo booth where you can dress up in antique clothes and hats (provided), then get a strip of three black and white photos to take home as a souvenir. Unlike the photo booths of yore, where you took the pictures and hoped for the best, this booth is fully digital, so you can approve your pictures before you commit, just like on your phone.

Even the elevator plays a part – or in this case – a tune: At each stop, visitors are treated to a pre-recorded audio flourish that sounds like the opening to Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” followed by applause, laughter or ooh’s and ah’s. If you use the stairs, there are posters on every floor from the original Ohel.

All through the hotel – in the rooms, in the dining area, at the reception desk – are quotes from famous directors and writers (Shakespeare is particularly prominent). The dining area is more like a living room filled with comfy couches rather than the typical tables and chairs. Each sitting area is either dedicated to “Shakespeare” (salt and pepper shakers designed like chess pieces, napkins and utensils inside a “fake” book, an “Excalibur” sword) or “Cabaret” (check out the high heels used to house the sugar and salt). A red velvet curtain adorns the long wall of the lobby proclaiming in unsubtle terms, “It’s showtime!”