When Hotel Tiberias was built in 1896 it was the largest and most modem hotel in the Galilee. When sea planes began plying the route between Europe and the Far East, the hotel was conveniently located near the ‘airport’: the planes would land on the lake near Tiberias or Zemach for the overnight stop.
During World War I the hotel’s German Christian owner fled the country and the British commandeered the building. When the British left in 1948 the Arabs took the building, and a fierce fight was fought over it. The turning point in the battle for Tiberias came on April 17th and the Jews took control of the city. The next day Arabs surrendered.
The once prestigious Hotel Tiberias was converted into a youth hostel in 1971. Unfortunately it is now closed.