Description: This lovely hotel is in a perfect position for exploring the sites of Sultanahmet and Istanbul being a short walk from the Blue Mosque and the Hippodrome and a slightly longer stroll to Sultanahmet tram stop.
The hotel is attractively furnished and being a converted Ottoman house includes traditional Turkish elements and decoration. We had a room on the first landing quite close to the lobby, I have read some criticism from other reviewers that these rooms are rather noisy, however, the combination of long days of walking, a filling Turkish meal and a couple of glasses of Efes meant that we slept like the proverbial logs and hardly noticed any noise. The room was small but comfortable and adequate for two. To be picky I would have perhaps preferred a bit more storage space for clothes and the wardrobe was a rather close to the bed making it difficult to open the doors fully (the solution was to sit on the bead and open it) but those are really very minor criticisms and were more than outweighed by the other advantages the hotel offers.
All the staff we dealt with were exemplary, particularly at breakfast, we were made to feel very welcome and that, had we wished, they would have been more than happy to advise re: sightseeing, restaurants, etc. Breakfast itself was an absolute pleasure, homemade cake and preserves, olives, meats, fruit cereals, and the most delicious creamy white cheese.
For me the highlight of the hotel was the roof terrace with its wonderful views over the rooftops to the Sea of Marmara one way and through the tress to the Blue Mosque the other. We tried to spend at least half an hour there every day, often late afternoon/early evening, to watch the lights go on across the water on the Asian side of the city. Caught there for a couple of hours one day by a horrendous rain storm we sat listening to the rain strike the roof, the distant puttering of boats and then the intermingling calls to prayer from the surrounding mosques. It was a wonderful experience and more than made up for not being able to spend that time exploring the city.
The hotel is also close to a number of good restaurants, Albura and Balicki Sabhattin in particular, and the Just Bar on Akbiyik Cadessi is a great place for a drink.
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