A Pesach program takes the cleaning, koshering and cooking off your hands and puts the week in someone else’s. It is also a large booking, made months ahead and often in another country, so it is worth knowing what to ask. This guide sets out six things to check before you choose, with the questions that bring out the answers.
What is a Pesach program?
A Pesach program is a hosted stay at a hotel for the whole festival. The operator arranges the kashrut supervision, the Seders, the services and the children’s activities, so that the cleaning and cooking are done for you. You can compare the full list on our Passover programs 2027 page.
How much experience should the hotel have with Pesach?
Start with the hotel. Running Pesach is a different job from running a hotel in an ordinary week. The kitchens are turned over, the menus change, and the dining room, the synagogue and the Seder arrangements all need to work together from the first night.
Ask:
- Has the hotel hosted Pesach before, and with which operator?
- How many years has the program run there?
- Is the hotel’s management involved in the week, or does it leave everything to the operator?
- Can you speak to a guest who stayed last year?
A hotel that has done it before knows the rhythm of the week. A first-time hotel can still be a good choice if the operator has run Pesach programs for many years, because the operator then carries the experience. Ask which of the two applies.
Are the hotel staff trained for Pesach?
The people who serve your meals matter as much as the people who plan them. Pesach has rules that staff in an ordinary hotel may never have met, and in a country where kosher is unfamiliar, the training is what makes the week work.
Ask:
- Have the staff been trained in the basics of kashrut and Pesach?
- How does the operator brief the hotel team before the chag?
- Who is the point of contact for guests during the week, and how do you reach them at night?
- On Shabbat and Yom Tov, how are requests handled when guests cannot use a phone?
You are looking for a team that already knows what a Seder night means for the dining room, rather than learning it as the week goes.
What should you ask about kashrut and the menu?
For most families this is the first question and the one that decides the rest. “Kosher for Pesach” is not one standard, so ask for specifics.
- The agency. Which agency or rabbinate certifies the kitchen? Ask for the certificate. The OU’s Passover guide is a good reference for what Pesach supervision involves.
- On-site supervision. Is a mashgiach in the kitchen for the whole chag, from the first meal to the last?
- The standard. Is the food Glatt Kosher? Is it Mehadrin? Kosher Travelers’ programs are Glatt Kosher Mehadrin.
- Customs. Does the menu follow your family’s custom on matters such as kitniyot, gebrokts and shmurah matzah? If you need something particular, ask what is available.
- Allergies and diets. Send the details when you book, and ask for the kitchen’s reply in writing.
Which rooms and facilities suit your family?
Rooms are where a program meets the details of your family. Ask for the room types and what each sleeps, and look for specifics.
- Family rooms and connecting rooms. If you travel with children or grandparents, ask whether rooms connect and how many are available. They go early.
- Facilities. Check what is in the room, and which hotel facilities are open during Pesach.
- Accessibility. If anyone in your family finds stairs or distances hard, ask about step-free access to the dining room, the synagogue and the rooms.
- Which nights are covered. Pesach runs eight days outside Israel and seven in Israel. Confirm that your booking runs from the first Seder to the end of the chag, and ask what is offered before and after.
What should the program offer for the whole week?
A week is long. The best programs are the ones where each member of the family has something to look forward to.
- Seders. Ask where the Seders are held, who leads them and how the tables are arranged. Ask whether there is a private option for families who prefer it.
- Services. Find out whether there are daily minyanim, and what times they run.
- Children and teens. Ask which ages the children’s program covers, the hours it runs and who supervises.
- Chol Hamoed. Ask whether day trips are part of the program or left to you.
Ask for the full schedule before you book. A program with a clear plan for the week will have one to hand.
Does the location suit the week you want?
The place shapes the week. Some families want to be in Jerusalem, within reach of the Old City. Others prefer a hotel by the sea or a lake, with room for the children to run. Some want the Seder in Israel, and some want a break from routine abroad.
Ask:
- How far is the hotel from a synagogue, if the program does not hold services on site?
- How far is the hotel from the airport, and is a transfer included?
- What is nearby on Chol Hamoed, and can you reach it on foot or by a short drive?
What should you check before you pay the deposit?
Once you have narrowed the choice, read the terms. Before you pay, ask for these in writing:
- The full price, what it includes and what it does not.
- The payment schedule, with dates.
- The cancellation terms, and what happens if the dates move.
- What the travel insurance should cover. Many families take insurance as standard for a booking made months ahead.
Check the dates against the calendar too. Pesach moves each year, and the dates for any year are on Hebcal. For a sense of what a week costs, see how much a Pesach program costs.
Where can you see programs that match this checklist?
You can compare programs on Pesach and Sukkot programs. The program at Pesach at the Elysium Resort, Rhodes sets out the hotel, the dates and what is included, so you can hold it against the questions above. For Israel, how Pesach programs in Israel work explains the details, and our programs there are at the Inbal Hotel in Jerusalem. If you would like to talk through your own list, speak to us and tell us your dates and your family.
