A building as iconic as any of Jerusalem’s religious shrines, the King David Hotel is a monument to Israel’s modern evolution. The fascinating and informative documentary King David Hotel shares the history of a national treasure touched by world-shaping people and events, as told through the eyes of those who have dedicated their lives to working there.

“Spiritually, people who come here all leave a bit of their soul here,” says the hotel’s long-time cashier. “Important people like presidents, ambassadors, who influence or seem to influence people’s lives, whether it is Sadat, Kissinger, Begin or Rabin.”

Since opening to the public in January of 1931, the King David Hotel has been Jerusalem’s most glamorous social venue, a place for people of all religions and nationalities to mingle for short eventful bursts. While the film beautifully depicts the Hittite/Assyrian architecture and ancient near-east motifs that give the King David its signature style, the real treat is hearing current and former staff members recount memorable tales from the hotel’s history.

Some stories are lighthearted, like that of two rival European chefs: one secretly replaced the kitchen’s supply of beef with camel meat in order to prove that the other man knew nothing about proper cuisine.

Others are simply bizarre, such as the heart attack death of Egyptian president Anwar Sadat’s bodyguard during his historic 1977 visit. Because the dead man had eaten hummus from the hotel kitchen, officials on both sides were concerned that the coronary might be publicly perceived as a poisoning. Taking no chances, they stuffed the body into a trunk, and then covertly lowered it from the hotel roof onto a waiting truck.

Because the King David has always been at the heart of Israel’s political life, it has also felt the sting of the country’s most chaotic periods. We are told that it is “the only hotel in the world that was bombed by a future prime minister.” Menachem Begin coordinated the 1946 blast that leveled the south wing where offices of the British Mandate were located, killing 91 people. We meet a now-elderly member of the Irgun squad who, disguised as hotel staff, planted the explosives in milk cans. With camera in tow, he now retraces his old route to the blast site.

Despite this bloodshed, the King David has become renowned as a place where adversaries can come to broker peace. And while important accords between Israel and other nations get most of the attention, we also learn about the hotel’s ability to foster a far more personal form of reconciliation. The son of the King David’s former general manager recalls the day in 1966 when his father, a holocaust survivor, greeted the chancellor of Germany who was on a state visit.

“Imagine yourself an Israeli, a Jew, a survivor from the Holocaust stands in a hotel, in a very representative hotel in Israel as an Israeli greets the German chancellor. This is a big victory.”

The hotel’s cooperative spirit also plays out in less public areas of the building. Amidst the bustling activity of the kitchens, we see Jewish and Arab cooks working side by side. As one prepares an ornate arrangement of edible fruit flowers, he expresses his hope that the good will he feels among his coworkers can take hold in the wider world.

“We are like friends. Maybe outside they want to kill me, I don’t know, but in the hotel I don’t feel that. And I believe that Jews and Arabs can live together in peace.”

These upstairs-downstairs views from the people who have breathed life into, and sometimes taken it from, Israel’s first luxury hotel makes this film an engaging and enlightening take on a building you only thought you knew.