Santa Hill

The room was large, clean, and well equipped, and the air conditioning worked wonderfully during the hotter days of our 10-day stay. The people running the hotel were kind and attentive, and it was a pleasure meeting them. Once you cross the road, both Istiklal Caddesi, the main shopping street, and the old ambassadorial neighborhood of Şişhane are about a five-minute walk away. They’re roughly equally close. We’d recommend this hotel.

Mr. Ali and Mrs. Emine were the best thing about the hotel. It’s small and reasonably priced, with an elevator, a large room, and a good view. But the air conditioning was very weak. Even with cleaning almost every day, there were bugs in the room. My children were bitten and developed skin allergies. A woman at reception tried to tell me the bugs were only in my room and that they might have come from our bags, although online reviews also mention bugs at the hotel. Breakfast was poor and repetitive, though acceptable. For the first few days there was a water cooler for breakfast, then the same receptionist hid it and said water cost extra. The hotel is near the bus station, but it’s a 15-minute walk to Taksim Square and İstiklal Street. There’s a small market nearby called Özmar Market, which is very good. The area is lively and safe. This was in July 2024.

The staff were great, very welcoming, and Russian worked well, though their English wasn’t very good. The breakfast was simple and edible. The room was rundown, but it seemed like they were trying their best to maintain it. The website says water and tea are complimentary in the room, but that wasn’t true in practice. We had to go to reception to get those, which was a bit annoying. We stayed four nights, and payment was expected up front, so don’t count on paying after the stay. I’d recommend getting to know the staff, and you’ll have a pretty good stay.

The power was out for 48 hours, leaving the room cold with no heating. There were cobwebs everywhere, and the place didn’t look like the pictures. I wouldn’t recommend it at all.