Hotel Hoyuk

The location was amazing, and the rooms were great. Everyone on staff was extremely friendly and kept going out of their way to help make the stay comfortable. I’d definitely stay here.

The only real plus was the location, close to key places and easy to get around. The staff were polite and helpful, but didn’t speak English, so we got by with Google Translate. The rooms were tiny, very old, and worn down, about 1.5 meters wide and maybe 4.5 to 5 meters long, almost coffin-like. The bathroom was worse: dirty, moldy, and smelled like a public restroom. There wasn’t a proper shower, just a showerhead beside the toilet, and I couldn’t bring myself to use it. No hand towels, no toilet paper holder, just a roll on a shelf, and a few small, unmarked bottles of some soap-like liquid. The bathroom window opened into another space connected to a communal restroom, so we could hear and smell everything from the other side. The bed looked okay, but I didn’t use it since I was there only for a short layover in Istanbul. If I’d planned to stay a full day or two, I’d have booked elsewhere. The descriptions on Booking.com and Google are extremely misleading. This place is literally a hole in the wall.

It’s an economical hotel, and the rooms match the price. They don’t offer breakfast. The main location is İstiklal Street, with Taksim just a 4-5 minute walk away. The downside is all the nearby hotels and clubs, which made a lot of noise that carried on until around 4 am.

This is an old-school boarding house, very affordable and close to everything in Istanbul. It was clean, the staff were really friendly and accommodating, and the bedding was surprisingly good. The walls are thick, the windows are double glazed, and there’s free tea and coffee. We slept well and had a great stay. Just know it isn’t a modern hotel. The bathrooms and toilets are shared, and one is a Turkish toilet with no seat. There’s no air conditioning, though the powerful fans did the trick. Ask for a room that doesn’t face the street, since there’s a bar across from it.