Istanbul hotel Post-Cruise

[ConnieInNewJersey]

I am doing a r/t cruise from Istanbul and need a hotel for one night post-cruise. I had hoped to use Marriott points but the Marriott does not seem to be in a good location for the historic sights. I found a bunch of Best Westerns in old town and wonder if they are equally good or if one is better than the rest. This is my first time in Istanbul so I appreciate any suggestions.

[didicruiser]

In Sultanahmet, where the historic sites are, there are mostly boutique style hotels. Do a search on Trip Advisor. I am going to Turkey for 2weeks and will be back on 6/8/13. I can let you know how the hotel was where I stayed. :)

[YoHoHo]

Completely agree. We stayed in a small hotel (boutique is the new word) on Amiral Tafdil Sk which is 2'ish blocks down the hill from Hagia Sophia, etc, etc. Excellent location, many small well kept hotels in the area, restaurants etc. The hospitality in these Turkish hotels is wonderful. Very old-fashioned, respectful, want you to feel 'at home', relax with a cup of tea, enjoy.

[Jayayeff]

I completely agree too. I used to work for one of the international hotel chains and even though I still get preferred rates, etc. Istanbul is one place I never use them - staying in one of the 'boutique' hotels (plenty of reviews on Tripadvisor) is by far the best way to go.. The standards are high, the staff are extremely helpful, and most offer included breakfast, complimentary afternoon tea/snacks, or a happy hour in the early evenings. Sightseeing is easy in the old city, either on foot or by tram. Many of the boutique hotels in Sultanahmet have roof terraces with fantastic views of the Blue Mosque, Haghia Sofia, Sea of Marmara, etc. etc. Finally, the rates are a steal compared to the big name hotels...

 

Anne

Edited May 2, 2013 by Jayayeff

[NoWhiners]

We had to do the same thing for our cruise in October. Went to Hotwire and found a deal at a 4 star-- it turned out to be Athens Lotus Hotel Chiou 9

Athens, GR, 10438. It had a 90% approval on Hotwire and after we got this deal ($67 a night, and we got it for 1 night pre- and 1 night post-cruise), i checked a bunch of travel sites for reviews. The only bad marks it got was small rooms, "bad" neighborhood, and not close to main attractions. But, it is also very close to a metro station, which provides quick access to/from airport and also to the historical sites. Most of the comments were quite good, only a few made note of the issues I cited.

 

it is only 1 night at a time, so we figured we would go for it, and it will be part of the adventure if we made a mistake!

 

Good luck

ML

[swifs]

We stayed in the Hotel Nena in Sultanhamet in 2011 and we liked them so much that we are returning this October. They are very nice, their location is very central and the view from their restaurant where they serve breakfast and dinner (optional) is drop dead gorgeous. We also booked a transfer from the ship to the hotel and then to the airport afterward and when they took us to the airport they brought us straight to the level where the checkin in the for the (first) security station (even though it meant driving up four levels of a parking garage). They found us a cart and wheeled us in. They were in every way kind and helpful.

[CathyK2]

Again, another vote for getting a boutique hotel in Sultanhamet. We too went through Trip Advisor and were extremely happy with our choice. Many will have roof tops with beautiful views of the city and you will just feel like you are right in the center of everything. It's a very walkable city and if you want to venture out to the other side, public transportation is easy. But making your home base in Sultanhamet will be very convenient.

[LetsGoDutch]

Try bluehouse dot com dot tr

[aqua]

We stayed at the Sapphire Hotel and were very pleased. It has a wonderful location, friendly staff, reasonable rates, and an excellent breakfast. Here is their website if you are interested: https://hotelsapphire.com/home.html

[Mltoot]

Apricot Hotel, Istanbul Sultanahmet

We stayed there Oct.-Nov, 2013 for 6 nights, both before and after a cruise. This is a moderate price small hotel in an old Ottoman building in the historic section. It is a good value. Very close to the Blue Mosque in the historic section, this was very clean, plenty of hot water, a very comfortable mattress, and had a nice breakfast that included either boiled or cooked eggs daily. They also have a very helpful staff that were great with advice on directions, restaurants, etc. There's no elevator, but the helpful staff was quick to carry luggage up and down the stairs for us.

We arranged ahead for our taxi service through the hotel, and emails we sent were always answered quickly.

[prish]

We stayed at the Uyan hotel last month ( uyanhotel.com ), right next to the Blue Mosque with a lovely terrace restaurant with gorgeous views. This old Ottoman building converted into a boutique hotel has an elevator unlike many similar places in the old town. We liked it so much have booked again with them for our post-cruise stay next June.

[4774Papa]

We stayed at the Hotel Lausos, about a block from the Hippodrome. Great people at the hotel, great free breakfast, nice hotel. Rooms are small, but who spends time in the hotel room.

Price is good as well.

[sjaak]

We stayed 4 nights at a Best Western Premier Hotel in the Old City (Sultanahmet), Acropol Suites & Spa. Its location is perfect, just 5 minutes from the Topkapi Museum, the Blue Mosk and the Hagia Sofia. We had a very nice and comfortable room at the top floor with amazing views of the old city. The bathroom was not very large but adequate.

 

The hotel has a very nice restaurant, but the hotel is located on Akbiyik Cad. that has loads of restaurants.

 

The hotel was cosy and clean, the staff very, very friendly, we could make use of hamman and sauna complementary (very nice since it was almost freezing when we where in Istanbul!), within 2 minutes after we entered the hotel DH and I were offered a complementary drink, every day 2 bottles of complementary water in the room, breakfast included.

 

I would certainly recommend this hotel.