Ilkbal Delux Hotel & Spa Istanbul

I gave the service a 2 because the staff were nice, but otherwise don't book here. This can't be a 4-star hotel, maybe a 2 at most. Nobody speaks any language besides Turkish, so communication is out of the question. The rooms are tiny, the lavatory is rusty, and the cleanliness is terrible. The lift is very slow, and the walls are so thin you can hear your neighbors breathing.

The facilities were run down and dirty. The pool area had a low light, but that didn't hide the mess. The advertised photos are misleading. The sauna was barely warm, the changing room had a dead roach, and the shower there was completely broken. In my room, something kept leaking in the shower and left a rusty puddle in the cabin. The fridge didn't work, even after I had to plug it into the wall myself after a day of travel. I shouldn't have to do construction work in my room 😂, and there wasn't even drinking water. I booked this for an Istanbul stopover because I wanted to spend the day using the advertised pool, sauna, steam room, and Turkish bath. The front desk told me the facilities were free. Finding them wasn't easy: the elevator said the health club was on the fifth floor, but that floor only had rooms. I eventually found them on -1. The facilities staff member was on her phone and didn't get up to help me. When she finished the call, she shouted across the whole space for me to come over. Awful service. She used Google Translate, which made no sense, and made me stand there reading the nonsense it produced. You have to buy a swimming cap for 200 Lira to use the pool. Why should guests have to buy one to use “free” facilities? The front desk man wasn't at the check-in counter when I arrived, and staff had no uniforms, so it was hard to tell them from other people. He asked me multiple times whether I was staying alone and how many nights I'd booked. Unprofessional. Skip this place, and don't be taken in by the nice pictures. The reality is completely different.

The staff seemed clueless and weren't helpful. They couldn't make another room key for one of the guests while the other was out, so we waited hours to get back in. They said it was hotel protocol and they couldn't create an extra card. What happens if you lose yours? The first room was barely even 1 star. Its window looked straight at a brick wall, the furnishings were dated and poor quality, and the bathroom was substandard. It was directly opposite the elevator, with the door beside the bed, so we heard guests coming and going. I asked for a change, but they could only move us the next day. The replacement room was a little better, with a much nicer city view from its Juliet balcony, but it was still low-end 3* at best. The walls were very thin, so everything from the next room carried through. Cleaners were inconsiderate, shouting and talking loudly in the next room early in the morning, even over their phone speaker and even with a do not disturb sign out. The basement pool put us off enough that we didn't dare go in. The gym looked nothing like the pictures. It was tucked into a store closet beside the pool, with a broken multigym, a treadmill, and a rowing machine. I couldn't bring myself to try them, so I don't know if they worked. The photos and description aren't accurate. All in all, one of my worst hotel stays, and definitely not worth the fairly high cost. Pay a bit more for a much better option or choose somewhere else.

The pool was full of sand, hair, and dirt, and the sauna was disgustingly filthy and had no electricity. The steam room was okay if the other conditions don't bother you. The terraces were narrow enough that someone could easily fall. The staff had only a low level of English. My family and I have never stayed in a place this run-down or unhygienic. The rooms were beyond criticism. The Google and Booking reviews are 101% real.