Nişantaşı Diamond Hotel

The location is great, but that’s about it. My room hadn’t been cleaned or prepared when I arrived late in the evening, and the Wi-Fi was down every day.

The location was good, but staying there was a nightmare. There was a bad smell everywhere, including the toilet, which smelled of urine and poop, and the smell of smoke was all around. The kitchen and dishes weren’t clean, and the tea was always supposedly finished. Breakfast seemed to be kept from the previous day, with nothing fresh, especially the boiled eggs, which looked two days old and refrigerated. Room cleaning wasn’t regular, so you had to ask for it, and the water was a big problem too. They also asked for a large amount of money to “upgrade” our room even though we’d already paid for it on Booking.com.

We were five women in a strange place at midnight, looking for another hotel after the rooms turned out dingy, dirty, and unfit for purpose. I had arrived at midnight and paid for seven nights without seeing them first. They said they would refund me, but the manager wasn’t available, and we still haven’t received the money. Booking.com was told we didn’t show up, so we couldn’t leave a bad review there. Before we arrived, we also got a scam WhatsApp message with our booking details, demanding £100 to secure the room because they were supposedly always fully booked. They asked for card details, but thankfully we blocked them and sent nothing. Now we have to charge back over £700 through the bank. Don’t book this hotel. Scam! I’m giving one star only because I can’t give zero.

The location of the Diamond Nişantaşı Hotel is fantastic, with shops, dry cleaning, fine dining, and gyms all nearby and easy to reach on foot. I stayed about a week. Some appliances and fittings in my first room were broken or faulty: the toilet kept running, the shower had no wall attachment, and some lights didn’t work. I told the staff, who said they’d fix things the next day or move me. They kept their word and relocated me the following day to a room where everything worked. Staff were very helpful and accommodating, and some speak English and Russian as well as Turkish. On my first night, the concierge even arranged a meal to be ordered and delivered to me. Thanks for the wonderful hospitality!