Steigenberger Hotel & Nelson Village
Steigenberger Hotel
Former namesSonesta Hotel & Kfar Nelson
General information
LocationEgypt Taba, Egypt
OpeningNovember 1, 1982
OwnerDeutsche Hospitality
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.

Built between 1979 and 1982, it is on land that is just over 100 metres from the southern border between Egypt and Israel.

Due to a disagreement on 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. After months of negotiation and a decision by an international arbitration to grant Egypt the tiny strip of land, the hotel was finally sold to Egypt for $35 million. The hotel was part of the Hilton brand for nearly 30 years from 1990 until 2017, when it was bought by Deutsche Hospitality.

History

Eliyahu Paposchado built the property as the Aviya-Sonesta Beach Hotel beginning in 1979, 6 km (3.7 mi) from Eilat and next to the near-legendary Rafi Nelson's Nelson Village, also known as Rafi Nelson's Holiday Village,[1] while the Sinai was under Israeli control. 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 hotel and village were to be decided on future negotiations. In 1986, an international panel ruled that the land would be returned to Egypt, but that Israelis would be free to visit the tiny strip without paying a tax (to this day tourists do not pay a tax when travelling between Eilat and the hotel). In January 1989 the hotel and adjacent village was turned over to Egypt.[2] Remnants of the hotel's past are still prominent within the hotel. 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. The hotel became the Hilton Taba in 1990.[3]

Hilton Taba (view from the Gulf of Aqaba)

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. Since then, the hotel has undergone major renovations and has seen a drastic drop in Israeli tourists. Hilton Hotels international, today Hilton Worldwide, 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.[4][5][6] Subsequently an Israeli court ruled that the victims were not entitled to compensation by the Hilton corporation.[7][8]

In 2017, the hotel was purchased by Deutsche Hospitality, renovated, and reopened as the Taba Hotel & Nelson Village, managed by DH's Steigenberger Hotels and Resorts brand.[9] In 2023, the hotel was renamed Steigenberger Hotel & Nelson Village, following another renovation.[10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Rafi Nelson, Resort Owner". The New York Times. 8 February 1988.
  2. ↑ Frankel, Glenn (February 27, 1989). "Israel, Egypt sign accord on return of Taba Resort". Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 17, 2018.
  3. ↑ 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.
  4. ↑ "Hilton Asked to Compensate Sinai Victims. | ehotelier.com News Archives". ehotelier.com. Ehotelier.com. Archived from the original on May 5, 2007. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
  5. ↑ "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.
  6. ↑ "Niv v. Hilton Hotels Corp". casetext.com. November 10, 2008. Archived from the original on March 19, 2019. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  7. ↑ 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.
  8. ↑ 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.
  9. ↑ 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.
  10. ↑ https://www.hospitalitynet.org/announcement/41009376/steigenberger-hotel-nelson-village.html

29°29′25″N 34°53′58″E / 29.4904°N 34.8994°E / 29.4904; 34.8994

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