Avrasya Hostel

The owner was so kind and welcoming, and the place was very clean. There's a well-equipped kitchenette and a nice rooftop terrace where you can relax and enjoy the view. A great budget-friendly option if you want to stay right in the middle of the action!

The price and location could make this place a gem, but some things may be a deal breaker. The cleaning is only half done. That's true of the toilet seat shown in the picture, and of the rooms, showers, kitchen, fridge, and terrace. The guys who work there can be nice, but they live at the hostel full time and sometimes act as though they own the place. Instead of paying attention to guests, they can treat them like a nuisance. One worker would lie on the front desk couch with his very smelly bare feet out, and look annoyed if the door woke him. My girlfriend couldn't stand the smell, which filled the whole stairway. They'd also get annoyed and shout at people sharing their room if someone turned on the wrong light or made any noise. I see this in a lot of hostels now. To save money, they let workers live there permanently, and the workers start acting like self-appointed guests and owners. They treat the cleanliness and space as if it were their own, making actual guests feel like an annoyance. 👎🏽

Avrasya is very affordable at 17 USD/ night, and payment is cash only. The toilet works and the shower has hot water, but the bathroom in the mixed dorm could use a serious deep clean. The bedsheet looked like it had old stains, so I slept in my street clothes. There was only one other guest in the dorm during my recent stay, and now I understand why. I've stayed at Avrasya Hostel twice, for a week in July 2018 and then for three days in December 2025. The location is great, within a 5-minute walk of Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque. It's sad to see how much the hostel has declined since 2018. Back then, breakfast, coffee, and tea were served on the upstairs terrace, guests were numerous and jovial, and the place was well maintained and cleaned regularly. In 2025 there was no breakfast, coffee, or tea, and the terrace was unused and unkept. After all these years, seeing Avrasya fall into disrepair and neglect is very unfortunate. I regret that I won't stay there on future visits to Istanbul.

Never again. I requested a taxi to the airport, and the manager said it would arrive in 10-15 minutes. I ended up waiting 40 minutes. Just before it arrived, the manager asked for €35 in cash. The driver gave me no official receipt at the airport, so my company couldn't reimburse me.