How to choose a hotel in Istanbul: my experience and mistakes

When I first started looking for a hotel in Istanbul, it seemed to me that the most difficult thing was to choose between a beautiful view of the Bosphorus, a cozy room and a good price. Naive as I was, I didn't realize at the time that Istanbul had a separate quest called "figure out exactly where this beautiful hotel is located, which in the photos looks like you can walk to all the sights in five minutes." 

View of the Bosphorus

As a result, I quickly found out that in this city, the location of a hotel is sometimes much more important than the room itself, because you can settle in a beautiful place, and then heroically conquer hills, stairs and roads every day, cursing your own choice.

I choose the area first, and only then the hotel.

My main conclusion after my trip to Istanbul turned out to be very simple: first you need to decide on the area where you want to live, and only then open the list of hotels. When I did the opposite, my eyes wandered away from the beautiful interiors, terraces with views and photos of breakfasts, and the map was quietly ignored somewhere, although it should be the main person in your company in Istanbul.

Hagia Sophia

If you want to be closer to the main historical sights, I would look at Sultanahmet district, where Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace and many other famous places are located. It is convenient to start walking there directly from the hotel, especially if the trip is short and you want to see as much as possible without spending half a day on the road.

At the same time, Sultanahmet will not seem to everyone to be an ideal place to stay, because in the evening some streets become quite calm, and the tourist atmosphere is felt literally at every step. For example, I like it when, after a busy day, you can leave the hotel and just take a walk among the ordinary city life, so I would not limit myself to this area only.

Beyoglu – when you want to not only see Istanbul, but also feel it

If you want a more lively area, I would look at options in Beyoglu, especially near Istiklal and Taksim Square. The atmosphere here is completely different: there are many cafes, shops, people, old houses, small alleys and the very places where you can accidentally turn around the corner and discover a nice cafe that was not in my plan at all.

However, there is also a small trap here, which I did not immediately find out about. Istanbul generally does not respect the concept of a "flat road" very much, so a beautiful hotel, which on the map seems to be located very close to a subway or a landmark, in reality may be at the bottom or at the top of such a rise that after walking with a suitcase you start thinking about buying real estate right on the sidewalk.

Levent station on the M6 line

Therefore, now I definitely look not only at the distance to the subway, but also at guest reviews, where people write about ascents, stairs and the condition of the road. If several people independently complain that they have to get to the hotel by stairs with a suitcase, I take this as very useful information, even if the hotel itself looks great.

Galata is a beautiful option, but we still open the map.

Another area that I like to live in is Galata. There is the very Istanbul atmosphere that many people come to the city for: old buildings, narrow streets, cafes, small shops and the constant feeling that you are inside a beautiful movie, but for some reason you are always late.

Galata, the Golden Horn in the foreground

But when choosing a hotel here, I pay special attention to the exact location. It's one thing to live next to the Galata Tower and walk around the neighborhood in peace, but it's quite another to drag shopping and tired legs through steep streets every evening. The relief of Istanbul is usually not very noticeable in photographs, but the legs remember it very well after the first day of the tour.

A hotel near the metro is really important

Previously, I could choose a hotel just because I liked the interior, and then figure out how to get to it. Now I first look at transport accessibility, especially if I plan to travel a lot around the city.

Line 7 station platform

It is convenient in Istanbul when there is a metro, tram or other public transport nearby, because the city is large and the sights are scattered in different areas. This is especially true when you want to go not only to the historical center, but also to see other parts of the city, cross the Bosphorus, or simply not spend your entire vacation in one area.

At the same time, the phrase "10 minutes to the subway" now needs to be deciphered for me. Ten minutes on foot on a flat road and ten minutes on foot up a hill are completely different ten minutes, and Istanbul is very good at proving this.

I'm not just fooled by the beautiful photos of the room

When I choose a hotel, I like the beautiful photos of the room, of course, but now I try not to trust them too much. Especially if the picture shows a huge bed, a marble bathroom, a panoramic window and some kind of cup of coffee, which was obviously placed there specifically for the photo.

I always read the latest reviews and look at photos of the guests themselves. That's where the most interesting things usually turn out: is the room really that spacious, how well it's cleaned, is there hot water, is it convenient to use the shower, can you hear the neighbors, and does reality match the photos of the hotel.

I'm looking at the comments about noise insulation separately. After a day of walking, I don't want to listen to someone talking on the phone behind the wall, but calmly take a shower, drink water and go to bed. This is especially true in Istanbul, because the city is quite noisy and lively, so I don't need any extra noise inside the hotel.

Breakfast: is it needed at all?

I used to perceive breakfast at the hotel as a mandatory part of the reservation, but in Istanbul I began to treat it much more calmly. A Turkish breakfast is, of course, a separate pleasure, but sometimes it's much more interesting for me to go outside in the morning and find a small cafe where I can have a quiet coffee and try something local.

That's why I wouldn't overpay just for a beautiful breakfast photo. If breakfast is included in the price and it looks fine, fine, but if it makes the room significantly more expensive, I would first look at what is around the hotel.

Besides, I like to start the day not according to the schedule of the hotel restaurant, but when I woke up myself. On vacation, I generally try not to turn myself into a person who runs to breakfast at 7:30 a.m. solely because it will be closed later.

But I would be more careful with the view of the Bosphorus.

The view of the Bosphorus is wonderful, I will not argue here at all. But when the description of the hotel says something like "partial view of the Bosphorus", I already open the map and carefully study the photos, because sometimes this partial view means that there is a neighboring house, roof, air conditioning and a few more architectural surprises between you and the Bosphorus.

If the view is really important, I would look at photos of a specific room or room category, not just general photos of the hotel. Because the hotel may actually be located next to the water, but this does not mean at all that the very picture you imagined will open from your window.

What else do I look at before booking

Before making a final choice, I check a few things that I used to consider small things for some reason. It is important for me to understand if there is an elevator, especially if I am traveling with a large suitcase, how easy it is to get to the hotel from a bus stop or station, whether there are shops and cafes nearby, and how far away are the main places I am going to visit.

I also look at the cancellation policy and carefully check if everything I need is included in the indicated price. Sometimes an attractive price at the first viewing turns into a completely different amount after adding taxes or additional conditions, and this is where my love for profitable offers usually ends.

And I always read the latest reviews, not just the overall rating. The average rating may look great, but the latest reviews will tell you much more, especially if the hotel has recently changed its owner, repairs have begun or some problems have appeared.

My little formula of choice

Now I would choose a hotel in Istanbul according to the following scheme: first the area, then the transport, then the reviews, after that the room, breakfast and a beautiful view from the window. Because a good interior can please me for the first ten minutes after checking in, and the convenient location will please me every day when I return to the hotel after another walk.

And I also try not to choose a hotel just because it looks luxurious in the photos. When traveling, it is much more important for me to wake up in the morning, calmly go outside, quickly get to where I want to go, return in the evening without incident with a suitcase and feel that I am really resting, and not passing a daily orientation exam.

In general, my advice is simple: in Istanbul, choose not the most beautiful hotel, but the one in which it will be convenient for you to live along your route. And if you manage to combine a convenient area, a good price, a beautiful room and a view of the Bosphorus, take it before someone else does it before you, because Istanbul knows how to fall in love with itself even when you just left the hotel for water and accidentally returned three hours later with a bag of sweets, a magnet and I felt like I was lost again, but I found an amazing place.