Istanbul Guidebook
Best and worst accommodations:
Best: Niles Hotel
Why: Not listed in your book, but a great little place with nice rooms and great Turkish buffet breakfast. If you want to experience Turkey, and not just another westernized hotel, stay here!.
George Braun in Manassas, VA USA 11/29/2011
Best: Peradays
Why: We stayed here at the end of our trip around Turkey. This hotel is not listed in your book, but we found it on TripAdvisor and are very glad we did. It's located near Istiklal Caddesi, and is a renovated 5-story house with 9 rooms and an elevator. Each room is more like a loft apartment, decorated in contemporary style. There is much attention to "green" matters (for example, they use a grey water system). We especially appreciated the tea making facilities in the room, and when we needed black tea instead of herbal tea, it was provided immediately at no charge. This is just one example of the gracious hospitality and personalized service extended to guests; the staff was also very eager to review sightseeing plans and make sure we made the most of our time in Istanbul. www.peradays.com
Worst: Sarnic Hotel
Why: We stayed here at the beginning of our travels around Turkey. We had booked a 2 bed room, two months in advance (we were mother and son, and did not want to share a bed). Upon arrival, we were told that the only available room had one bed (full, not queen or king); however, they did plan to move us the next day. Furthermore, the room was quite small (even for 2 people who did wish to share a bed) and had no ventilation (the small single window opened to an airshaft). The bed itself was against a wall leaving only one open side, so one of us had to crawl in from the foot of the bed. We were moved the next day to a triple room (3 single beds), which had almost no floor space, and was next to the garden and air conditioning unit for the building (meaning noise of one sort or another much of the time). Despite the claims that all rooms were recently renovated, our carpet in both rooms had not been changed in years, and the decor was overwhelmingly brown and dingy. There is an elevator in the new section of the hotel, but both of our rooms (303 and 103) were in the old section with only stairs. Finally, the shower in 103 had black mold in the grout. On the plus side, the location was great and the breakfasts were excellent (the best of the many good ones we've had in Turkey). The staff was pleasant and helpful and the airport pickup worked very well.
Harold Chasen in Philadelphia, PA USA 10/11/2011
Best: Hotel Sultan Hill Istanbul
Why: Friendly, clean, home-away-from-home feel. We met our son, who had been working in Africa for the past 2 years, in Istanbul. He was staying at a Hostel a few blocks from this (our) hotel, and the Hotel Sultan Hill welcomed him and invited him to partake in our breakfast buffet in the mornings. We had a slight change in plans at the end of our 3 weeks in Turkey and needed an extra night in Istanbul and the Hotel Sultan Hill made changes for us and we again felt that we had been welcomed home. Highly recommended!
Nancy and Rob Cawsey in Saanichton, BC Canada 09/22/2011
Best: In 5 weeks of travel through Turkey ... 1. Istanbul-Hotel Sari Konak-(CAD $140) beside the Hippodrome Hotel 2. Selcuk-Hotel Bella (CAD $75) (free rides to/from Ephesus and other sites, great rooftop terrace) 3. Pamukkule-Melrose Hotel (CAD $42)-a gem 4. Cirali (CAD $140)(beside Olympus ruins)-Arcadia 1/2 6. Antalya-Otantik Butik Hotel (CAD $95) 7. Urgup, Cappadocia-Yunak Hotel - this was a splurge at CAD $170 per night but the cave hotel/surroundings was just like the website.
Why: All these hotels had great location, fantastic service & food, immaculately clean with free parking and delicious breakfast
J. Grunau in Abbotsford, BC Canada 06/18/2011
Best: Ottoman Hotel Imperial
Why: Location, location, luxurious, friendly, and location.
Joe Costantino in Sofia, bulgaria 04/10/2011
Worst: Cemberlina Turkish bath
Why: Bad experience. Only 2 women customers; one of them was me. The front desk told me that I would be finished in 1 hour or so. (Needed to be finished in 1 hr so could eat lunch and taxi to the airport for flight back to Vienna) The front desk staff said; no problem 1 hr is adequate. I paid my 55EU. Went upstairs; got undressed; did a scrub on my own; waited. Four women workers were in the room in front of the bath; 2 sitting, 2 lying down. I waited and waited. I asked if one of them could come and start. No response. I waited. I asked for water. One of the women said, "No money; no water." OK I thought and I continued to wait; while splashing myself in the hot and cold water of bath area; I gave myself a pretty good bath while waiting. 45-50 min. passed and no one came to help. The 4 women workers were still in the front room; 2 lying down; the other 2 sitting nearby. After 50 min, I went out and asked to speak w/the manager.boss. The 4 women "didn't understand." I proceeded to walk out to the front desk w/my towel wrapped around me. Then the 2 of the 4 women began saying, "Lady, lady..." I went out to the front desk and explained my time constraint and that I've waited for 50 min while 4 women staff continued to lie around. Still only 2 customers in the bath, one of them was me. Since my timewas up I asked for my money back. She came back o the dressing room w/20EU. I asked for all of the money and told the woman at the front what I thought and that the 4 women in the back needed further training. She gave me 55EU back, I got dressed feeling very clean and I met up w/my husband to have lunch and taxi to the airport. Cemberlina was not good. If the workers work that hard; I wonder about how hard they work to keep the bath area safe & hygienic. ????!!!!
H. Maruyama in San Carlos, CA USA 10/06/2010
Best:
Why: We were able to book the hotel where the tour was beginning in a few days. This gave us a base of operations for our own exploring. It was in an ideal location.
c armstrong in hilliard, OH USA 07/20/2010
Best:
Why: Would also recommend Conrad Hotel, Excellent staff and accommodations
Dr. Melvin Platt in Boca Raton, FL USA 06/05/2010
Best: Hotel Sultan Hill
Why: Had an absolutely beautiful terrace view of the Blue Mosque. Yes, the 5 a.m. call to prayer was a shock at first, but we got used to it. The convenience to Old Town sites was unbeatable, and the service was incredibly friendly. They even kept our bags for an entire extra day while we went sight seeing.
Clara in Cincinnati, OH USA 05/17/2010
Best: Apex Hotel
Why: We highly recommend that you include this hotel in the accomodation section of your Istanbul Guide. Ibrahim, the manager, is exceedingly friendly, helpful, and interested in serving your travel needs. He gave us information, tips, and directions which smoothed our travel. We wanted to take an overnight bus from Istanbul on the last night of Ramadan. When Ibrahim was unable to get bus reservations because it was full, he took it upon himself to make plane reservations which he payed for himself, trusting that we would repay him on our return to Istanbul 10 days later. This is indicative of the trust and interest that Ibrahim shows in helping guests feel at home. Apex is in an ideal location with rooftop views of the Blue Mosque. The rooms are charming, and the staff are all very friendly and responsive. During Ramadan we were invited to celebrate with staff and share a special homemade dinner. These are compelling reasons why you should check this place out for inclusion in your book.
Susan BaileyKadin in San Luis Obispo, CA USA 11/22/2009
Best: Tashkonak Hotel
Why: Your book didn't provide the best review, but I had already booked it before I received the book. I went ahead with it anyway and had a great experience! The rooms weren't huge, but it was reasonably priced and the staff were really helpful. We found it to be a really good experience.
Sara Patterson in Atlanta, GA USA 06/15/2009
Best: Apricot Hotel
Why: Fantastic hotel: cheap, perfect location to walk to the old town sights. The staff could not have been more helpful.
Matti in Chicago, IL USA 04/12/2009