ILANA AND IHAB- AT THE DAN PANORAMA HOTEL

As a frequent traveler, we get to stay in hotels all over the place. Some are high class places; others are more down to earth. Some offer great amenities, some do not. One thing that all of them share, however, is what I call the more invisible staff.

Oh, you see them every day, but, unlike the front desk staff with whom you mostly interact, these are the people you see but with whom you seldom interact for more than a second or two at a time.

As long time readers of the Kosher Nexus know, our home away from home in Israel is always the Dan Panorama Hotel located on Rechov Keren Hayesod. We love staying there and feel very at home there.

Every morning we sit in the dining room and watch the different ways in which people there interact with the dining room staff. Some people don’t see the wait staff. Others may interact with them, but generally it is the shallowest of interactions.

From the lady who sat at her table and waved her empty coffee thermos in the air, but never asked for a refill, to the people who place heavy demands on the wait staff and who order tons of food brought to them- food which they then do not eat, to the people who do not even see the dining room staff, there are lots of stories to be told.

We have found that the dining room staff tends to be made up of fascinating people who work very hard and who generally have interesting life stories. Here are two very special people.

A few years ago, we met Ihab, our favorite waiter. Over the years, Ihab has been a faithful and caring presence at the breakfast table. Ihab is a native Jerusalemite who lives in East Jerusalem. He has been at the hotel since forever. Ihab is the sort of person who, once he knows what you like for breakfast, makes sure that it is on your table each morning.

Each morning, Ihab greets us at the door with a cheery boker tov, aych yashanta (good morning, how did you sleep)? As we get to our table, Ihab has already ordered our omelets and within a few minutes more will put our espresso (café hafooch) on the table. During the meal as we finish each course, Ihab will ask if he can bring our next course. Apparently we are rather consistent in our breakfast routine. Ihab has memorized our breakfast likes and dislikes and takes personal pride in attending to our needs. Although breakfast is a buffet, we seldom have to go to the buffet table!

When we were last in Israel, our daughter there was pregnant. Ihab knew that our next time in the hotel would mark the birth of the baby. When he saw us in the dining room this trip, he came running over and gave us a big hug, a mazal tov and a thousand blessings! Ihab is, of course, fluent in Hebrew, but at home he speaks Arabic. When we say Shukran (thank you) or any of the other ten phrases we know in Arabic, he lights up as if we were giving him a gift.

Back in February, Ihab took us for a personally guided foot tour of the Old City- both the Jewish and Arab quarters. It was quite educational and totally wonderful. He did it on his own time and out of the goodness of his heart. He also was very protective of us the whole time.

Every year, we come with a group of friends on what we call the Israel Economic Mission. A small group of friends goes to Israel for two weeks and spends as much money as we can- doing our part for the economy as it were. (Hence the name of the trip.) We also collect tzedaka ahead of time and distribute it while here in Israel.

Ihab knows our group (there are a few of us who go every year; the rest of the group changes every year), and on the other occasions when we are here alone, he always asks about the others in the group.

We have told Ihab many times that he is our other son. Or as our son says, Ihab is a brother from a different mother!

Ilana is a most beautiful young lady who recently started working in the dining room. Ilana comes from Morocco, and she made aliyah to Israel just a short time ago. She is blessed with a beautiful face that lights up when she sees her guests in the morning. The other day, she was extremely happy because her sister had come to visit from Morocco(Casablanca). You could actually see how happy she was by the constant smile on her face.

Speaking of smiles, Ilana has the most amazing smile! If her smile were a light bulb, it would be a 1000 watt spot light! The face that Ilana presents to the world around her is always smiling and always filled with a certain joie d’vivre.

Ilana speaks Hebrew like a native and, of course, also speaks French. That allows her to serve the French guests at the hotel in an even better manner.

Ilana wants to go to school to learn to be an oral hygienist. As she tells you that, she smiles a huge smile, and you just know that she will succeed.

In the dining room, Ilana works non stop. She appears to be tireless as she moves from table to table, doing her job. She never seems to grow tired or to stop, even. One morning, Ilana was the official greeter at the door of the dining room, signing in the people as they arrived. We watched as she did that job and were amazed at the quality of her English, too. We had thus far only spoken in Hebrew so we didn’t know how much English she speaks.

Ilana is young and beautiful. She is energetic and a happy worker. She greets the world with a smile that lights up her face. You see her and you feel right at home. Her smile says welcome to my dining room! We predict a wonderful future for her.

Talking to Ilana is a pleasure also. She is the sort of person with whom it is easy to have a conversation. As we said before, Ilana treats the people in the dining room as if they are her personal guests.
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Ihab and Ilana- two very important people. You do yourself an injustice if you don’t take the time to meet and know the people who serve you each day in your hotel. Ihab and Ilana are just two of the people at the Dan P who make staying there so special. Thank you Ilana. Thank you Ihab.