iskele boutique hotel

This is more a hostel than a hotel I think. No frills, functional room in an old building. Decorated tastefully throughout the old building. Rooms at back of hotel could be noisy due to building works going on in August. Another one of these places that looks clean at first glance but could do with a thorough going over . Reception is staffed most of the time but once it was not and I helped myself to my room key as I was tired and waiting for ten minutes for staff for to appear was all I could tolerate late at night ! So, I was not impressed with security measures that day . Having said that, the next day I headed straight to my room (as my partner was already in the room) and I was challenged by Reception staff ,so, that was reassuring albeit security needs to be consistent at all times. Staff were friendly and spoke passable English but they were not effectual about bus or ferry timings, and were very vague about museum timings etc or where to get the Istanbul Card from . It was a real pallava getting the card from the ticket machine as the exact change was required or the machines didn't work and instructions were ambiguous. Seems like the staff know about this rigmarole as they just shrugged their shoulders when informed how awkward it was to get one. I can't see why the hostel can't stock a few cards that guests could buy from, would have saved us a bit on the fares and all that faffing around at machines. Room: Cramped room for two people. Wardrobe, desk and chair. Comfortable bed and pillow . Good working AC. Good wifi Bathroom: Lovely tiles and sink . Poor shower flow, water doesn't drain away well either. Tiles on the shower floor not laid down well, therefore, the edges could be felt underfoot , and they felt slightly sharp which made me edgy ! Shelve in bathroom could have been more secure. Although the place was supposed to have been newly refurbished I felt the overall workmanship was lacking in the finishing touches , for example the shelve above sink was sloping as not secured to wall properly with adequate supporting brackets. Therefore, it was rendered useless for placing any items on it and risk of it crashing off the wall. However, generally the whole building was beautifully decorated and appeared tidy . Rooms at the back can be noisy due to building works going on whilst I was there in August. . Close to nearly all amenities: airport bus and ferry terminus were only about 10 minutes walk away. Although Kadikoy is a lively area I didn't feel unsafe as a female walking back in the dark to my hostel, perhaps I was lucky; that there were no untoward incidents whilst I was there. Great location with selection of restaurants and a mini market. With so many choices for dining nearby I opted out of the hostel's breakfast. For a budget reasonably priced hostel/ hotel I think this would be an adequate choice.

We stayed in a family room with to young children(4 and 7). It was a quiet, spacious room with everything you need: a good bed, minibar (only filled with water), water boiler and selection of teas and coffee, free wifi ...Downstairs there's a small terrace and a playing room inside. We only discovered this at the end of our 2-day-stay but the kids loved the chess board and the play doh plasticine... There are plenty of good restaurants, bars and shops around (so no problem to find a breakfast) and the boats linking with Eminönu(European site) are just a 5 minutes walk. We really enjoyed our stay and would recommend it as a( child) friendly and quiet place in Istanbul

The renovations are tasteful and elegant at this sparkling clean, charming, old-house hotel with big, sunny windows. The rooms are small, European-size (which I adore) and thoughtfully designed to provide everything you need without being ostentatious or distracting. Who wants to linger in a hotel room when there's Istanbul right outside? The ceramics in the bathroom are really high-quality Ottoman style, cheerful blues and reds and classical motifs. Mini-fridge, free bottles of water, coffee and tea set-up in the room. The staff are absolutely wonderful. They went out into the pelting cold rain for over 15 minutes to find us a cab -- as impossible as finding a cab in NYC in the rain! -- and when I realized later that I'd dropped something in the street, they went back out to search for it. As someone who has been living in or traveling to Istanbul for 25+ yrs, I'm stunned to find such a bargain in such an amazing location, around the corner from the incredibly good hotel-discounted Mado breakfast (also elegant and a major Istanbul institution serving a distinctive traditional ice cream, superb baklavas and other traditional foods than can be bland or heavy elsewhere, and their own interpretations of Turkish cuisine -- try the pistachio börek with honey), a few minutes' walk to the ferry pier, including the wonderful high-speed catamaran to Atatürk Airport, even closer to the minibus and city bus depot and cross-country bus pick-up areas, including the inexpensive and easy airport shuttle bus from Sabiha Gökçen, and several minutes' walk to where it's all happening in Kadıköy, which is THE neighborhood/village of the moment in Istanbul. See The New Yorker's review of Çiya Sofrası, for example, and also know that prices for souvenirs are lower and the chances of finding something distinctive are higher. Tons of bookstores, including a nice antiquarian one, too. Stay here and take the feribot over to the European side and back again at the end of the day, and you will be so much more relaxed and better rested for the next day's touring. It takes less time than going by land from a hotel in Taksim to the Old City, and vice versa! The Asian side has plenty of interest on its own, too, with Kadıköy being ancient Chalcedon and home to many varieties of Christian churches, and Kuzguncuk just to the north, a fascinating, utterly distinctive old Jewish and Christian neighborhood that has fought and won against developers and municipal authorities to maintain its historical air. The people there are also uncommonly kind even in a generally kind city. I've lived in and stayed in several Istanbul neighborhoods in both Europe and Asia since 1988, and this little hotel is one of my very favorites. It would be excellent for groups, too, with a loft room with ample extra beds, and I will probably bring some students here next year. Don't worry that you might overlap with us; my students are on an honor code and exceptionally well-behaved -- if not, they fly home at their own expense immediately!