Complete with century-old tales fit for a history book, The Chapel lounge-bar is located in The Jaffa — part of the Marriott’s Luxury Collection hotels.
In 1875, the French businessman François Guinet vowed to build a sanctuary in Jaffa, for nobility and commoners making their way to Jerusalem.
After returning to France to consult his friend King Louis V, who ended up sending his royal architects to Jaffa to purchase the land from the Ottomans, construction began and lasted four years.
A small church was built in the heart of the top floor, featuring polygonal domes and breathtaking mosaic windows.
Today, this chapel is the site of an upscale, fashionable lounge-bar called The Chapel, located within The Jaffa hotel.
The historic asset, developed by international real estate mogul Aby Rosen, in collaboration with famed architects Ramy Gill and John Pawson, took more than 10 years to erect.
For 24 months, nearly a dozen workers with surgical knives slowly uncovered the original frescos under the acrylic layers in The Chapel.
The pale blue star-studded skies of Bethlehem were retained just as they were found.
Also reinstated, among other artifacts, were the original stained-glass mosaic windows, restored by experts using crystal glass.
