Nupera Hotel

The family room had a lovely view of Istanbul, and we could walk to Istiklal Street, which is a major area for shopping and strolling. For the price, it was a decent deal, and it wasn’t expensive. The room was clean enough, and both the air conditioning and hot water worked well. It’s also near a metro station. Breakfast was really poor, though, and the staff couldn’t communicate in English, so we needed a translation app the whole time.

The location near taksim was the only real plus. Everything else felt like a disaster, from reception through to the room. It was tiny, had no window, and looked nowhere near as nice as the photos. There was a large hole above the shower, the bed was dirty, and the coffee machine looked filthy. We didn’t even have a remote for the TV. Breakfast was worse. It smelled really bad, and all they had were tomatoes and cucumbers. The bread smelled as if it had been made a week earlier, so we ate nothing. I wouldn’t recommend this place.

I really enjoyed my time at this hotel. The service was great and the staff were lovely. Best hotel I’ve ever visited, highly recommended.

Taksim is only a three-minute walk away, and the internet was good. Still, we won’t choose this hotel for another visit. The area has lots of hotels, and this one just wasn’t worth returning to. Our room was spacious, but the children’s room was far too small. There were tiny biting bugs we couldn’t see, which I think were fleas. Once we got home, we sent our luggage for fumigation. The TV only showed the Discovery Channel. The AC didn’t work, and it was hot and humid. Opening the windows let in air, but also flies. The hotel faces a hospital emergency entrance, so people were coming and going and talking around the clock. It was really noisy, with ambulance sirens every 2 to 3 hours. That’s an excellent rate coming from me, a doctor. There was one guy at reception, one cleaner, and one breakfast lady. Their English was very broken, except for the breakfast lady, who is from Ghana. Don’t ask reception for anything, he’ll say yes and then do nothing. There’s a convenience store uphill with almost everything, but if they don’t scan the items, they cheat you. We stayed because a tourist company had already charged us for the accommodation. One thing I kept wondering: Turkey, and Istanbul especially, attracts so many tourists, so how come hardly anyone speaks English? And when they do, it’s extremely broken. Google Translate voice was our companion through the trip.