banksy's 'walled off hotel' reopens in bethlehem

banksy’s hotel reopens its doors after more than two years

Banksy’s Walled Off Hotel reopens in Bethlehem, restoring access to what it calls ‘the worst view in the world’, a direct confrontation with the concrete separation wall. The three-star hotel, conceived as a functioning artwork and social platform, had closed its doors on October 7th, 2023, citing ‘major developments in the region.’ Its reopening comes after more than two years of suspension, marking a cautious return during an uneasy ceasefire period in which political uncertainty persists despite a reduction in large-scale hostilities.

The hotel announced its closure via Instagram, stating that it would not take reservations ‘for the time being,’ and would post updates as the ‘situation evolves.’ The shutdown followed the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel and the subsequent Israeli military response, a period that escalated into a regional war and a severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza, with widespread displacement, destruction, and tens of thousands of civilian deaths.

all images courtesy of Walled Off Hotel | image via @walledoffhotel

Walled Off Hotel is positioned against the wall

Opened in 2017, the hotel conceived by the anonymous street artist sits just 500 meters from the checkpoint to Jerusalem and about a mile from Bethlehem’s center. Banksy chose the location, as the hotel itself states, because of Bethlehem’s ‘shortage of rooms… famous since biblical times,’ but also because of its proximity to the wall, a structure over 700 kilometers long built by the Israeli government, considered by critics an instrument of apartheid and by supporters a security measure. The position of the hotel ensures that every stay is inseparable from the realities of the site: tear gas, watchtowers, unreliable utilities, and the constant presence of surveillance.

The Walled Off Hotel frames hospitality as a cultural and political device. ‘We believe a hotel can be more than just a place to rest your head,’ reads its manifesto, describing the building as ‘a three-story fight against fanaticism – with breakfast included.’ Banksy often references Eleanor Roosevelt’s definition of art as something that should ‘comfort the disturbed, and disturb the comfortable,’ a line adopted as the hotel’s unofficial motto.

Banksy’s Walled Off Hotel reopens in Bethlehem | image via @walledoffhotel

living with art under surveillance in Bethlehem

Guests quite literally sleep inside a work of art. Rooms have been customized by Banksy, Sami Musa, and Dominique Petrin, with more artists planned. Accommodation ranges from budget bunk beds outfitted with surplus items from an Israeli military barracks to an opulent suite featuring a plunge bath, original artworks, a library, a home cinema, a roof garden, and a water feature made from a bullet-riddled water tank. Across all categories, the view remains the same, with openings framing graffiti-covered concrete, visible from nearly every window and, in some cases, within sight of army watchtowers.

Beyond the rooms, the hotel operates as a cultural complex. The piano bar, styled as a colonial outpost referencing Britain’s 1917 takeover of Palestine, displays vandalised oil paintings and sculptures ‘choking on tear gas fumes,’ while serving tea, scones, and the Walled Off Salad. The gallery functions as the largest permanent platform for Palestinian artists in Palestine, with local curators organising rotating exhibitions that include works by figures such as Suliman Mansour and Nabil Anani. A museum dedicated to the biography of the wall combines audio-visual installations, historical narratives, and artefacts, including a bullet-damaged camera from the Oscar-nominated documentary Five Broken Cameras.

The reopening reasserts the hotel’s original premise: that tourism, art, and everyday routines can draw attention to political reality. As the hotel itself puts it, it offers ‘nothing but the sight of a giant concrete wall from every room.’

restoring access to what the hotel calls ‘the worst view in the world’