Baskent Demiralan Hotel

The interior looks nice, and breakfast is basic. Be careful getting out of the bath after showering. The tiled floor was incredibly slippery under my wet feet, and I fell backward and hit my head on the wall. I only had a few bruises, but I think I was lucky. If I’d slipped a moment earlier, I might have been hurt much worse. Put a towel down.

The room was clean and spacious, with AC, and the price was affordable compared with the two or three other hotels nearby. I didn’t get to look at the pool or other facilities because I was focused on the Hattusa sites. As a solo traveler who doesn’t speak Turkish, I made sure to be back in my room by sunset. I found the hotel through Expedia while searching for a budget option for my 2023 trip. The hotels on Booking, which I normally use, were well beyond my budget. Its location seemed best of all: Hattusa settlement is to the right as you leave, and the road to Yazilikaya is to the left. There didn’t seem to be taxis or public transport, and Google Maps hadn’t been updated for the route to Yazilikaya. I took a taxi to the hotel, not a metered one. I was so tired by then that I didn’t care about the fare. On the way from the hotel to the bus station, I got lucky and a relative of the owner gave me a free ride.

The campsite was very peaceful at night, and we had a lovely rural view over the Hattusa archaeological site we’d come to visit. We stayed two nights and didn’t go into the hotel. The restaurant was nice. We had breakfast and dinner there, and the food tasted good if you don’t want to cook. There’s also a pool, though it didn’t look inviting to swim in. The facilities cover what you need: electricity, toilets, showers, washing machine for 150 lira, sinks for washing dishes, and a place to empty the toilet cassette. The water is solar heated and was warm rather than hot, though it was October. It’s a 30 minute downhill walk to the town shops, restaurants, and museum. The staff were lovely.

I’m rating the restaurant only, since we didn’t stay there. The food was good and the service decent, but at about 430 TL per person it was expensive by local standards, one of the priciest meals we had in Turkey. The toilets were clean, and the pool looked nice.