Steigenberger Hotel & Nelson Village

Steigenberger Hotel & Nelson Village
Map
Former namesSonesta Hotel & Kfar Nelson
General information
LocationEgypt Taba, Egypt
OpeningNovember 1, 1982[1]
OwnerTaba Tourism Development Company
ManagementSteigenberger Hotels
Other information
Number of rooms400
Website
Official website

The Steigenberger Hotel & Nelson Village (Arabic: هيلتون طابا) is a resort hotel in Taba, Egypt, just over 100 metres from the southern border between Egypt and Israel.

History

Eliyahu Paposchado began construction of the Aviya-Sonesta Beach Hotel in 1979, while the Sinai was under Israeli control. The hotel was located 6 km (3.7 mi) from Eilat and next to Rafi Nelson's Nelson Village, also known as Rafi Nelson's Holiday Village.[2] The village was a center for musical and cultural activity and attracted Israel's who's who in the late 1960s and 1970s.

After the peace agreements were signed in 1979 between the two nations, the status of the incomplete hotel and the village were to be decided by future negotiations. Due to a disagreement over the correct location of the boundary markers, it was the stumbling block in negotiations between Israel and Egypt over the final border between the two countries.

The hotel received its first guests on November 1, 1982 and celebrated its grand opening on November 15, 1982.[3] On the bottom floor, there is an 8.5 m (28 ft) high wall relief, made in 1980–81 with a Hebrew inscription by the Jerusalem sculptor, Daniel Kafri.

In 1986, after months of negotiation, an international arbitration panel decided to return the tiny strip of land to Egyptian control, but allowed Israelis to freely visit the tiny strip without paying a tax (to this day tourists do not pay a tax when travelling between Eilat and the hotel). The hotel was sold to Egypt for $35 million. In January 1989 the hotel and adjacent village were turned over to Egypt.[4]

Hilton Taba (view from the Gulf of Aqaba)

The hotel became the Hilton Taba[5] on September 1, 1989.[6] It was very popular with Israeli tourists until it was targeted by terrorists in the 2004 Sinai bombings in which 34 people died and hundreds were wounded in the attack. Afterward, the hotel underwent major renovations, but saw a drastic drop in Israeli tourists. Hilton International denied liability to the victims of the terror attack on its grounds and refused to compensate its guests. Some victims sought compensation through legal challenges in Miami and New York, but the lawsuits were ultimately dismissed for forum non conveniens.[7][8][9] Subsequently, an Israeli court ruled that the victims were not entitled to compensation by Hilton.[10][11]

In 2017, Deutsche Hospitality signed a management contract with the hotel's owner, Taba Tourism Development Company, which renovated and reopened the hotel as the Taba Hotel & Nelson Village, managed by DH's Steigenberger Hotels and Resorts brand.[12] In 2023, the hotel was renamed Steigenberger Hotel & Nelson Village, following another renovation.[13]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Israel Opens New Hotel in Disputed Sinai Area". The New York Times. 2 November 1982.
  2. ^ "Rafi Nelson, Resort Owner". The New York Times. 8 February 1988.
  3. ^ "Israel Opens New Hotel in Disputed Sinai Area". The New York Times. 2 November 1982.
  4. ^ Frankel, Glenn (February 27, 1989). "Israel, Egypt sign accord on return of Taba Resort". Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 17, 2018.
  5. ^ Brinkley, Joel (February 8, 1990). "Taba Journal; A Sandy Corner of Egypt Sadly Misses Its Israelis". New York Times. Archived from the original on May 25, 2015. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  6. ^ "Resort Gives a Glimpse of Mirage of Peace". Chicago Tribune. 12 September 1989.
  7. ^ "Hilton Asked to Compensate Sinai Victims. | ehotelier.com News Archives". ehotelier.com. Archived from the original on May 5, 2007. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
  8. ^ "HILTON INTERNATIONAL CO. and Hilton Hotels Corporation, Appellants, v. August CARRILLO, et al., Appellees". findlaw.com. January 9, 2008. Archived from the original on March 19, 2019. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  9. ^ "Niv v. Hilton Hotels Corp". casetext.com. November 10, 2008. Archived from the original on March 19, 2019. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  10. ^ Podolsky, Philip (August 27, 2012). "Hilton not liable for compensation in 2004 Taba terror attack, Israeli court rules". Times of Israel. Archived from the original on September 1, 2012. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  11. ^ Raynor, Ted C. (November 5, 2012). "Hilton Not Liable to Guests for Terrorist Attack in Egypt". bakerdonelson.com. Archived from the original on March 19, 2019. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  12. ^ DeutscheHospitality.com (February 2, 2017). "Deutsche Hospitality takes over two further hotels in Egypt;". DeutscheHospitality.com. Archived from the original on January 2, 2018. Retrieved 2017-06-02.
  13. ^ "Successful opening for Steigenberger Hotel & Nelson Village in Taba".
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29°29′25″N 34°53′58″E / 29.4904°N 34.8994°E / 29.4904; 34.8994