Opening 1964 Floor count 3 Number of restaurants 1 | Owner Jordanian government Number of rooms 196 | |
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Location Mount of Olives, Jerusalem | ||
The Seven Arches Hotel (formerly the Jerusalem Inter-Continental Hotel) is a hotel in East Jerusalem in the Arab neighborhood of at-Tur on the Mount of Olives. The hotel overlooks the old city of Jerusalem. The hotel was built by the Jordanian government on land that belongs to the Islamic Waqf in Jerusalem. After the Six-Day War, and the loss of Jordanian sovereignty over Jerusalem, the property was entrusted to the Custodian of Absentee Property. The hotel was managed since its opening in 1962, and even after the Six-Day War, by Intercontinental Hotels. In 1989 and as a result of the First Intifada, Intercontinental Hotels chose not to renew the management agreement of the hotel, an agreement which was first signed with the Jordanians, and later with the Custodian. Since then the hotel changed its name to the Seven Arches, and the Custodian entrusted the management of the hotel to the local management team, who were employed and trained by Intercontinental Hotels, and who continued managing the hotel until this day, and under the supervision of the Custodian, who has maintained a solid position over the years and despite all pressures, to keep the property as a hotel. The hotel has been renovated to upkeep and improve its quality of facilities and services. The hotel employs fifty employees; all including the management team, are East Jerusalemites, and the number is about to increase mainly after the recent renovations.
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History
The PLO held its first Palestine National Council conference at the hotel in May 1964.
Today
The Seven Arches is a 3-star hotel with 169 rooms notable for its spectacular view of Jerusalem. Despite reports in 2010 that plans had been submitted for expansion of the hotel, the general manager of the Seven Arches, Awni Inshewat denied this. He said there had been some confusion over an application for a building permit for a large Christian prayer tent located at the site: "The tent has been there for about five years, but the municipality said it needs a building permit, so we applied for that."