Aybek Ratio Hotel

Parking was the reason I booked, and it turned out to be easy and just as convenient as I’d hoped. The hotel is also in a lively old neighborhood beside the fish market, with traditional teahouses nearby and a ceramics shop close by. It feels like the area is changing. The arts centre that hosts the Canakkale Bieniale is right next door, and the city centre is an easy ten-minute walk along a pleasant pedestrian shopping street. The hotel feels stylish and new, yet costs about the same as other city options. The English-speaking staff were very helpful with local food suggestions, including a printed list and a QR code with recommendations. For rooms, I’d skip the budget option: it has nice decor, but its window faces an air shaft, so there’s little daylight and people in the corridor might see in. Paying 10% more got me a long, narrow room with a street-facing city view. For another 25%, there was a more luxurious room with a small balcony overlooking the river, not the Dardanelles, and a couple of fish restaurants that cost less than the ones on the main waterfront. Highly recommended.