Linada Hotel Taksim

We were in the room for 3 days and really liked the hotel. It’s close to the shopping center in Taksim and easy to reach everywhere. There are lots of bars around, so it can get a bit noisy at night, and earplugs might help. Our room was spacious, clean, and comfortable, with nice morning sunlight. The towels and sheets were fresh and clean. Khan from Pakistan was very nice and waited for our late check-in, since we got in from the airport after midnight. Everything went smoothly. The room wasn’t cleaned during our stay, but we kept it tidy, so that was fine. The only problem was water leaking from the shower. Aside from that, everything was great, and we’ll definitely come back.

The morning receptionist was a real disappointment, unhelpful, disengaged, and unprofessional. I asked several times to have the room cleaned and got no response. Once, he tried to sell us an upgrade at an astronomical price, not realizing we could stay at a 5-star hotel for what he was asking.

The location was the only good part of this place. We had booked Taksim34 on Agoda, which was rated a little better, but were put in the adjacent Linada Hotel. They said it was part of the same property, even though the two are listed separately on the websites. We booked at the last minute because of return flight problems and just wanted somewhere comfortable to relax, but the room wasn’t as described online. It was cramped, with no bench or little table for our things. The small window faced a weird, dark corner inside the building, so there was no natural light. There was no bathroom fan and nowhere to hang towels. All the lights were on one switch, so turning it off left the room completely dark, with no bedside or other lights. We also had to ask for toilet paper because only about a quarter of a roll was left and there was no spare in the bathroom. The TV never worked during our stay. I contacted reception several times, and someone came to look, but nobody fixed it. We asked if we could change rooms or get the TV replaced, but nothing came of it. With our situation, having a working TV for entertainment would have been nice. The website seemed to exaggerate a lot of things. The hallway stairs were filthy too, if you chose them over the tiny elevator. We’d planned to add 2 nights to our original 3, but there’s no chance of that now. We’ll book closer to the airport instead. There are plenty of other places in Taksim, and I’d avoid this one. Honestly, I also wonder whether a couple of the reviews are valid.

The sheets were clean and smelled good, and the location was good. There’s also a falafel place across from the hotel that I really recommend. Still, our stay was horrible, and the photos are totally fake. One morning there was no water, so we couldn’t shower. As tourists, that meant we had to stay at the hotel while they sorted it out. When we were leaving, a woman was arguing in the lobby because she didn’t want to stay there, saying the hotel was horrible. On the second day we asked for the room to be cleaned. We came back at 4:30 pm and it hadn’t been done. Around 5:30, a woman knocked to ask if she could clean. I said no, but offered to hand her the trash. She asked, a little rudely, whether I couldn’t take it out myself. After that, she gave me the supplies I needed for the room. I don’t recommend this hotel.