I booked the Herod Hotel in Tel Aviv because it was listed as a 5 star hotel and I was bringing my boss to Israel for her first trip there, so I wanted her to have a great impression and for everything to run smoothly. The hotel is very charming and I love the creative approach to the lobby, cafe and dining room, which was definitely at least 4 star quality. Unfortunately, the rooms themselves were definitely not 5 stars.
I know it is a very old hotel that has been renovated, but the interior corners and finishes need some more attention to claim 5 star quality. I have stayed at the David Intercontinental and the Carlton in Tel Aviv and everything felt super clean and top notch. We chose the Herod because it is listed as 5 star and had a fantastic price. It is not a bad hotel, but it is not really 5 stars...the common areas are 4 star and the renovated rooms were fine, the bathrooms more like a 3 star.
We made sure to reserve the renovated rooms and they were kind of a high 3 star quality. It was really all of the small details...there was dust on the shelves in my closet, the lampshade had a tear in it, the toilet was an old model, the bottom of the bathroom door looked torn up, the balconies are old and seem so...the maid forgot to leave me hand towels one day, you cannot run the air conditioning in the winter (since it is an old system and it only runs heat in the winter). There was not a clean place to sit in the executive lounge (with dirty plates at every table) and no clean plates at the buffet...the keyboard was as dirty as if it had never been cleaned and had people eating at the computer for months. And you could hear the pounding music from the "night club" next door if your room faces towards the port. Make sure to ask for a room facing towards Yaffo if you stay there.
Please note that I would stay at the Herod hotel again in the future on a personal trip where I don't want to spend upwards of $300/night on a hotel, but I would not stay there again if I am trying to impress someone who has never been to Israel.