The management of this hotel offers a free pickup from the airport to the hotel. Our pickup lady met us at the arrivals area, and we waited about 15 minutes for the shuttle van to pick up my two friends and myself. The personal touch is extended in the somewhat aged van, as this seems to be a family operation. Our pickup lady has her two friendly kids in the back, and the driver/husband asks us typical questions and points out interesting sights along the way. The tail end of the ride in the old town is harrowing, with slow and seemingly blind uphill turns through narrow paths that can barely be called streets.

You step down to the main lobby, and the front desk staff is there to offer tour brochures and free postcards depicting the hotel. The sitting area is cozily lit, with comfy seats to read a local newspaper or magazine. The elevator has just enough room to fit three men and their travel belongings. Our smallish room was one level above the lobby, with three twin beds, telephone, and a small TV with lots of channels resting on a small refrigerator. You can either turn on the air conditioner or open the windows for ventilation. The bathroom had a shower stall with an aging shower curtain, sink, Western-style toilet, and a small basket of generic soap and shampoo. The towels are large but a bit rough.

Many Istanbul hotels and restaurants have a sundeck, and the Obelisk is a player in this category also. The breakfast buffet is served on the top level indoors, and you can choose to sit here or on the outdoor deck, which has some decent views of the Marmara Sea. A few guest rooms on the higher floors have similar sea views, while lower floors may have a direct view of a tree. The free buffet is very diverse, with a few hot items like eggs. There are various breads that go great with the incredibly gooey cherry and apricot jams. The cornucopia of fresh fruits is very good, with selections like watermelon, honeydew, peach, grape, apple, and orange. Cereals, cheeses, olives, and dried fruits complement the spread. Beverages include orange and cherry juice, milk, tea, and coffee.

Besides the breakfast terrace, there are two restaurants in the hotel. The hotel advertises its own Turkish bath, but we did not have time to enjoy this amenity.

So we moved to the third floor. The room was not as romantic as the first, but very practical. Once we pushed the 2 single beds together, it looked bigger. The clothes armoire, albeit a bit larger than the one at the Pamphylia, still could not hold everything.

We enjoyed having a chest of drawers! Everything that could be used as laundry lines was, including the backs of the armchairs. There was no dryer here.

The hotel offers spa and massage services, but we found them to be a bit exorbitant. Try for one of the real hammams that are all over Istanbul; it was hard for me to find one that catered to women, so I never made it to the baths.

One of the best features of this place is its dining area, and its buffet breakfast. They offer terrace tables, with caned chairs that are really lovely. It was unfortunate that we did not stay outside, but there were always bees trying to eat your breakfast along with you.

The breakfast buffet was quite a spread: several types of breads, white and yellow cheese which are the requisite here, marmalades and honey, yogurt, olives, cucumbers, tomatoes, dried figs, granola type cereal, and small sweet brioche type goodies.

Tea is plentiful and quite strong. Here also, coffee is the stepchild. Those carafes were available on separate tables,and the wait staff would refill them as they emptied.

The reception area is quite roomy and they have 3 sofa areas where you can lounge around or talk to other tourists. At the desk, they also offer reservations for night clubs and typical Turkish shows. We had them reserve one for us and we were quite happy with the results.

The entire hotel has only one iron. I never bring one along and it was quite a saga to get one up to the room. Also, I had paid them to post some cards for me, the fee for which appeared on my bill, but the cards never made it to the US.

They have a lunch and dinner menu, if you wish to partake. We had our farewell dinner there which was part of our package and it was OK. The food in the restaurants is actually much better, so if you don''t have to eat in, don''t.

This hotel is ideally located in the Sultanahmet area, and has an internet cafe a few yards away from the place. It is in a tourist area, and there are several other hotels directly next to it.

The elevator was out of order for most of our stay, but the exercise up the marble steps was good. Unlike the stairs we are accustomed to, these were quite wide, and carpeted down the middle.