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Health Retreats: Vacations that make you healthy
A wellness vacation in Israel is not an impossible mission. On the contrary. Quite a few vacation and leisure complexes from the North to the South have caught the wave, offering a healthy and relaxed vacation, saturated with workshops, activities, vegan food, and cruelty-free beauty products. Here are a few examples.
Or Bereshit: A vegan indulgence
Moshav Amirim is a vegetarian-vegan village, the first of its kind in the country. It was established with the intention of living and promoting healthy nutrition, vegetarianism-veganism, organic farming, and more. The village offers a wide variety of cabins, including the “Or Bereshit” wooden cabin complex. The complex is situated on a mountainside overlooking the pastoral view of the Upper Galilee. During the summer months, the place offers a private pool, healthy treats including a fruit basket, soy milk, varying sweet snacks, and a vegetarian or vegan breakfast, lunch, or dinner (for an additional fee).
Pampering packages delivered to your room. Or Bereshit
The cabins also feature cruelty-free soaps and toiletries, as well as fabrics, covers, and blankets that do not include animal-derived materials. Near the village, you can hike in a variety of sites and nature reserves, including the Mount Meron Reserve, Limonim Forest, the entertainment centers of Rosh Pinna, and tours of the city of Safed.
A letter from Booking.com
From the site “Mandy Vegan Home Delivery”
Mandy Recommends | The Perfect Vegan Vacation
ID Card: “Or Bereshit”
Business Type: Cabin/B&B
Location: Upper Galilee region, Amirim.
Classification: Vegan-friendly / 100% Vegan
In short, meet “Or Bereshit”—a vegan cabin that makes itself accessible to vegans—from vegan amenities in the room to diverse vegan meals delivered right to the cabin where you sleep. The retreat includes 3 cabins equipped with everything you need: a pampering double bed, a large stone Jacuzzi, a spacious seating area, a fully equipped kitchenette, and a large private wooden balcony where you can find 3 seating areas and a heated pool.
It had been several years since I went to a cabin; the headache involved in finding a place suitable for a vegan seemed like a serious nuisance, especially when I go to a cabin in search of peace and quiet. But then I heard about “Or Bereshit,” a retreat located in the vegetarian moshav of Amirim that offers 100% vegan hospitality. I wondered—what does 100% vegan mean? I called Shalom and Debbie, the owners, and they happily and friendly told me they could offer 100% vegan hospitality: synthetic down blankets and pillows, cruelty-free toiletries, snacks, and pampering plant-based meals, etc.
I was impressed, I was hooked, and I went together with my friend Zoe. We spent the long road to Amirim (about two and a half hours from Tel Aviv) singing loudly in the car and looking at the beautiful nature in the North. We arrived in Amirim earlier than expected and decided to use the time to wander around and get an impression of the village—the green view, the fresh air that characterizes the Galilee, the nice residents who wave hello and speak quietly and politely, the variety of small businesses (which are very accessible to vegans!)—we felt like we had arrived in another country.
We started our arrival at the cabin on the right foot (when we realized there was plenty of parking and we were definitely and finally not in Tel Aviv anymore). We were greeted with a smile by Debbie and Shalom, along with a torrential downpour, and we immediately ran to a covered and heated place. When we entered the shelter, we discovered it was a glass design studio; the studio walls are decorated with jewelry in mesmerizing colors, vessels in special shapes, and more, all made by Debbie herself (who also does cool glass design workshops in the studio).
Debbie continued creating a bead from scratch, and Shalom accompanied us to the “Romantic Cabin,” one of the three cabins the place offers. A smile came to our faces when we saw that the entrance door was decorated with the “vegan friendly” sign, and the smile widened even more when the entrance door opened and we saw our cabin from the inside.
The seating area in the cabin is equipped with plenty of comfortable vegan pillows and is spacious, bright, and comfortable. In the left corner, there is a fireplace and logs to light it. Now all that’s left is to sit with a cup of tea, pajamas, a good book, and relax.
The cabin has a spacious double bed equipped with large, comfortable pillows and a warm down-alternative comforter, also 100% vegan. After hours of deep sleep in the bed, I can promise you will have a pleasant, warm night full of good sleep. And as befits a self-respecting cabin, this one, like the other cabins at the retreat, is equipped with a huge and pampering stone Jacuzzi (and I’m warning you in advance—fill the Jacuzzi all the way before you turn on the bubbles, otherwise you’ll turn the cabin into a heated pool. Speaking from experience).
And if all that isn’t enough, a large private wooden balcony awaits you with three seating areas and a large heated pool. The pool is located in a charming and quiet corner, full of colorful flowers and trees. In the morning, just before breakfast (which we’ll still talk about, don’t worry), waking up with a dip in the warm pool with rain dripping on your face—pure pleasure!
Of course, the core of our lives as vegans is food, so let’s talk a bit about the culinary experience we had at the cabin:
Immediately when we arrived at the cabin, a variety of vegan delicacies and treats were waiting for us: a home-made tea infusion, halva snacks, a variety of organic fruits, and the highlight—home-made cookies, with a perfect texture and a heavenly taste. We were pleasantly surprised.
You can order a large and pampering breakfast that arrives fresh and hot directly to your cabin. The breakfast is prepared by Shani and Guy, a pair of cooks from Amirim, who prepare the entire meal themselves—including the dips. The breakfast for two contains 2 medium omelets, a bread basket, a variety of salads, dips, cold drinks, and a sweet dessert. The breakfast changes according to seasonal ingredients.
A vegan omelet is a complicated matter; it can come out too heavy, tasteless, with strange lumps, and various other kitchen disasters. But forget about that, because here the story is completely different—we received an omelet that, in our eyes, was nothing less than perfect. A light omelet, with a rich flavor, precise seasoning, and many green herbs that added goodness to the celebration. The omelet is made of chickpea flour and buckwheat flour, greens, and spices.
At breakfast, you get a variety of salads and dips, all fresh and made from high-quality ingredients. After being pleasantly surprised by the variety, we were also pleasantly surprised by the taste—everything was delicious and not even one small bowl remained full. Clockwise—olive tapenade, seasoned olives, preserved lemon spread, avocado salad, eggplant salad (wonderful texture and taste), quinoa salad (with greens and pecans—super tasty), tahini, almond cheese (with a taste very similar to the original), lentil hummus, beet salad, apple jam, and orange jam.
The bread basket that comes with the meal is diverse: date and nut bread, whole spelt flour rolls, and white flour focaccia. I know, it sounds like a basket of healthy and dry breads—but if you thought so, you were wrong. The breads are not dry, baked exactly to the desired degree; we felt like we had just received them warm from a bakery oven. A big surprise! And of course, every end of a meal needs a dessert (even if you’ve eaten two tons of food in the last 24 hours)—a banana, date, and silan cupcake with nuts, and a healthy treat of a date stuffed with walnuts, raisins, and silan.
During our stay at the cabin, we sat for a chat with Shalom and Debbie over tea and cookies. When we spoke with them, we discovered that they arrived in Amirim about 5 years ago and within just one year established the cabins. Building the cabins was a small dream come true for the couple. During our conversation, we talked about veganism and the lack of accessibility for vegans in various cabins in Israel. Shalom: “At first, the cabin wasn’t vegan-accessible, but then awareness of veganism rose and so did the demand for a vegan cabin. I thought the vegan niche suited us very well—our closeness to veganism, Amirim’s closeness to veganism—we understand the requirements 100% and can therefore meet all the needs of vegan customers. After this thought, the retreat underwent a vegan revolution.”
In conclusion, we would like to thank Debbie and Shalom for the lovely hospitality and kind service. Additionally, we would like to warmly recommend—anyone looking for an enjoyable and relaxing vacation, with a pampering and well-equipped room, mountain views, pure air, and of course full accessibility for vegans—Mandy recommends the “Or Bereshit” cabin in Amirim.
P.S. For those wondering, when I asked Shalom about dog-friendliness, he replied: “Someone who made a reservation arrived with a huge pet parrot, and we welcomed him happily. So dogs and all pets are welcome too.”
The-Funny-Bunny’s Blog
Pampering in Amirim I A Galilee Vacation
On March 25th, Udi and I celebrated four years of being together. Every year we rent a car, pack a bag, and head out on a three-day journey to celebrate love and freedom. We debated between Eilat and the North. Eilat lost its charm for me the moment I heard the receptionist say the phrase ‘I can’t commit to that.’ Now, true, I also worked in a job where ‘I couldn’t commit to it,’ but as a customer, there is no phrase more annoying than that. If I make the choice to go to this specific place, it is only right that the return should be accordingly. And if there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s being disappointed by accommodations. Mainly we wanted a private heated pool, because the weather didn’t yet allow for a dip in cold water and we love the water. Then, during one of my web browsings, I came across the ‘Or Bereshit’ cabins in Moshav Amirim, which seemed to offer exactly what we were looking for.
In the initial phone call, the warmth of Shalom, the owner of the cabin, won me over. I appreciate people who love what they do and do it all the way, and Shalom sounded exactly like that. He directed me to the Facebook page, to the photos of the cabins and the friendly price list, and finally, from among the three cabins, we chose the Lovers’ Cabin, which is designed in a clean white line with dominant and special wooden furniture. ‘A view, that’s very important,’ was more or less the second sentence I said to him, and he promised me we would get one.
We arrived at the cabin in the afternoon, and it was waiting for us incredibly clean and tidy. Pleasant music played in the background, the air was fresh, and the immediate word that came to my mind was ‘freedom.’ Attached to the cabin is a private heated pool (about 30 degrees Celsius), but when we saw the spacious Jacuzzi inside the cabin, it was clear to us that getting out of it was going to be a serious problem. The cabin is very airy, spacious, and meticulous in every detail. Wonderful cookies made by Debbie, Shalom’s partner, fruit, coffee, milk, yogurts, and wine are just some of the small details that were waiting for us in the cabin and sweetened our vacation. Soaps, robes, and other items upgraded the spa feeling, and the kind hosts with a sincere desire to help with any matter without being overbearing made the hosting experience at Or Bereshit particularly successful.
Read more on Shantih Gidron’s blog Pampering in Amirim I A Galilee Vacation >>