Mercure Istanbul West Hotel and Convention Center

The mattress and pillow were unbelievable, the best I’ve ever slept on. I want one of each! I’ve tried beds at a few other Mercure hotels and they felt completely different. Even though Mercure sells its products online, these seemed like they came from another planet. Please help me find them! We ended up here a few years ago after our flight was canceled and we were brought to the hotel in the middle of the night. I can’t say much about the food because we weren’t given any, and the staff were unfortunately unkind.

The restaurant and bar were reasonably priced, and the food was nice. Breakfast was a decent buffet too, though the tables could have been cleaned and reset more often. The reception team were friendly, and the manager helped a lot when there was a payment problem with our travel booking company. The area is very built up and there aren’t any views, but the location worked for our business trip. Rooms are a bit tired and no-frills, but they’re spacious, clean, and comfortable. The bed was very comfy with a choice of pillows, and the shower was good.

This definitely doesn’t feel like a five star hotel. The building is old and seems poorly maintained. The staff acted irresponsibly, and if you’re staying here, you need to know Turkish. The service deserves zero stars, though one is the lowest option here.

My room stayed at 27.5°C or 81.5°F throughout my two nights, because the hotel had turned off air conditioning for “the winter” even though it was still warm. Several technicians came by, mostly to point a thermometer at the vent and confirm the heat. Someone said they’d switch on AC just for my room, but that never happened. Another technician called it “normal” and suggested opening the window. It only opens a sliver, and I got the room down to about 26.5°C at best. The room itself was standard and fairly clean, except for green mold(?) on one shower head. If you can afford it, book somewhere better. This place wasn’t worth it.