Luce di Pera

I booked through Agoda for December 27 to January 1, but when I arrived, the manager, Ahmet, said there was no record of my reservation. Three other guests, from Iran, Russia and Turkey, were told the same thing. This seemed deliberate to me. I believe the hotel was refusing to honor bookings made through sites like Agoda so they could charge guests more directly. It was dishonest and a waste of time and money after travelling all the way there. This kind of conduct also damages Turkish tourism and reflects badly on the country's hospitality industry. I strongly advise choosing somewhere else, a hotel that respects its customers and their bookings.

I checked with the property owner after booking through Agoda, and they assured me my reservation was in the system. But on the date of the stay, the receptionist said there was no booking under my name and no vacant rooms. I tried calling the owner, but neither the receptionist nor I could get through, despite trying around 9-10 times. I went back the next day and tried again, but the owner still didn't answer or return our calls. We were left soaked and exhausted in heavy rain, and had to find somewhere else to stay. We reported the problem to Agoda and filed a complaint. Agoda tried to contact the owner for 72 hours without a response, then refunded the full amount a week later. Given all the trouble and the property's complete lack of communication, I absolutely don't recommend this place.

The room we were given was filthy, with dirt on the floor and a bathroom covered in what looked like fungus. It also wasn't the larger room we had booked. When we pointed that out, we were told it might be available the following day. We decided to leave because what we received didn't match our reservation. After we said we were checking out, the owner removed the booking from the system. Thankfully, my husband managed to file a complaint with Booking. More than a month later, we still haven't got our money back. The hotel was booked through Booking, and we're still waiting for a refund. Be careful, the owner is a scammer.

The room was a reasonable size, the shower had hot water, and the hotel is within walking distance of Taksim Square, about 800 m away, and Galata Tower, around 1.3 km. But we didn't get the room we booked, a ground-floor room with a king bed and patio. Instead, they put us on the third floor with no balcony. I think they gave our room to someone else. Check-in was meant to be at 2 pm, but we didn't get into the room until 2:30. Then we waited until 3 for our luggage, so I carried it myself. They'd forgotten it, and I saw a staff member playing on his phone. Two other groups who arrived after us were served first. I don't know why, maybe because they were Turkish and white, or maybe their rooms had finished being cleaned first. I stayed because I didn't want them to have my money and an empty room they could rent to someone else. The AC remote was missing, the TV remote battery was unreliable, the toilet's big flush didn't work, there was a carpet stain, and the Wi-Fi was unreliable.