The Central Palace Hotel, Istanbul

Advantages: it´s very different
Disadvantages: it´s very different

...language. How can I know when I´ve never been to Turkey before? Well, I hear it every day, I only have to leave my house and go shopping or to the pedestrian precinct. Turks have lived in Germany since 1961 when the economy was booming, now there are about 2 1/2 million living here. My husband and I didn´t go with an organised tour, we went to a travel agency and booked a flight with Turkish Airlines (Türk Hava Yollari) and a hotel from a brochure. I could travel with my identity card, my Italian husband couldn´t, he needed his passport and had to get a visa for 10 Euro ( ~ 7 GBP) at the airport in Istanbul, you would have to do the same. When I asked in our bank if I could buy Turkish money the clerk looked at me sympathetically, no bank has Turkish money, they simply haven´t got the space to stock it. ( 1 GBP = 2.529.963 Turkish Liras... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: 3* Hotel in a 5* location
Disadvantages: Noisy rooms.

...This Best Western hotel is one of about six Best Western Hotels all in this old part of Istanbul known as Sultanahmet. It really is in a very convenient location and the LOCATION is its greatest asset. It is a three star hotel in an area containing five star holiday attractions. The hotel advertises its roof terrace as the sort of restaurant under the stars of everyone's dreams. I thought it was jaded and thus overrated with a distant view of the sea which was hardly on the waterfront. The rooms are OK. I had a de-luxe room which had been reduced on-line from an advertised price of Euros 134 to Euros 75.The TV had CNN and BBC World and the bed was very comfortable. I found the decor a bit drab. A buffet breakfast on the roof was fine but the service was non-existent. Didn't really matter though - the stuff was all there, I... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: friendly staff, close to major attractions and transport, cheap
Disadvantages: in busy area, right on main road (no parking at all!)

...I stayed in this hotel last year on a 4 day visit to Istanbul. It is a 3 star hotel situated very close to the Blue mosque, Topkapi palace, Aya Sofia and other attractions. It is a six floor hotel with 60 guestrooms ranging from standard single, standard double and junior suite (family room). I was travelling with two other people so we had a standard double with one double bed and one sofa bed. Rates vary but we paid £35 per night and this was middle of August so worked out well for three people. If you book directly with the hotel they will organise hotel transfers. We didn't so we took a taxi from the airport which was about a 40 minute journey. The hotel is on a busy main road and there is no parking (and very little pavement) so the taxi parked round the corner from the hotel and we unloaded. Hotel staff were there to help... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful