Eyup Sultan Suites

Having our own apartment felt like a real relief after being squeezed into one hotel room with three adults and an older child. We stayed for two nights, and for a similar price this was much nicer than the 4-star hotel we’d had in Sultanahmet. We’d choose these apartments over a hotel again and plan to spend more nights in Eyupsultan next time. The flat is huge and very clean. Just to give an idea of the space, several people could stand comfortably in the kitchen, bathroom, and dining room, and the hallway is almost a room on its own. There’s storage all over, from full-size sliding cupboards in the hall to shelves and cabinets in the bathroom and cupboards in the bedrooms. The kitchen has a large, modern fridge and freezer with a temperature display, plenty of cupboard space, plates and cutlery, plus a George Foreman style grill. In the bathroom there are two sinks and mirrors, a jacuzzi style tub that I don’t think works, and a washing machine and tumble dryer that we didn’t try. It’s roomy and clean. The beds were soft and comfortable, with lots of pillows. Mitsubishi wall panels heated the rooms well on cold nights, and I think they can work as fans or A.C. too. The location is lively, with dessert shops, groceries, and places to eat just 30 seconds away. Ayub Sultan Ansari (R.A.), the Eyup Sultan Mosque and Tomb, is a two-minute walk. It’s a beautiful mosque and, apart from Topkapi Palace, the most blessed and sanctified place in Turkey. Entry to the building is through a numbered keypad and code, and our apartment door used a key. There are two floors, with two apartments on each, four flats altogether. Our contact was calm, polite, and helpful. He let us leave our bags in the dining room until 3 pm while cleaners prepared the flat for guests arriving later. The one small hassle I can think of was that we couldn’t turn on the bathroom hairdryer. We had brought our own, so didn’t ask how to use it. Hotels can fix things more quickly, but then you’re stuck in one room. This apartment was a great experience for us. I took the pictures with a super wide-angle camera zoomed out because the rooms wouldn’t fit in normal mode, so things farther away may look smaller than they are.