Gulec Hotel & Spa - Special Category

The restaurant across the road served good food at a good price. At the hotel, the staff were lovely and tried their best to help, and there was plenty to eat at breakfast, though it wasn’t really to Western tastes. Rooms were clean and spacious, with daily housekeeping. It’s good value and well placed for the old town, including the Grand Bazaar, Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, and the cistern, with the tram close by. Just watch out for the ice cream show scammers on the main street.

Breakfast on the rooftop terrace came with a beautiful view, and we left completely satisfied. The rooms were spacious and spotless, with housekeeping looking after us every day. The staff helped throughout our stay, from arranging a Bosphorus cruise to explaining public transport and sharing useful city information. They welcomed us warmly at reception and offered hot tea. Even before we arrived, the hotel contacted us on WhatsApp to help arrange airport transport, which made things easy. If we return to Istanbul, we’ll definitely stay here again. Thank you so much!

Restaurants and cafes are all around, and the location is great. The staff were accommodating, the room was cleaned each day, and there was plenty of storage. The bed was really comfortable too. Nice hotel!

Parking is on the street, and there’s no spa or hamam despite what the booking information says. The rooms are small and quite basic, and breakfast was disappointing. Booking lists the hotel as four stars, while its website says only two.