Oba Hotel Istanbul

The rooms were clean and comfortable, the staff friendly and kind, and the prices reasonable. It’s a great location, about five minutes from sultan ahmet, and surprisingly quiet despite being near the city center. The main downside is poor sound insulation. You can hear squeaky floor noises from people walking above, which gets frustrating sometimes.

There are bakeries, food places, and general stores close by, handy for meals or snacks. This is our go-to hotel in Istanbul: we stayed twice and plan to come back next time too. Our first visit was for nine days in September 2020, then five days in October 2021. It covers what explorers need. The staff were lovely and helpful with all our requests, and the room was clean and cozy, with a shower cabin in the bathroom and free Wi-Fi. The wooden trim was very nice. There’s a lobby with a few tables, plus coffee and tea. This year, a PSR test was available at the hotel as well. My spouse worried about the mosque next door, but after the first night we barely noticed the calls to prayer.

This was an awful experience, and I’d strongly urge people to avoid this hotel. We’d paid in advance and asked for a triple room, but were given a double instead. When we raised the issue, the receptionist/owner? yelled and used vulgar language, then asked us to leave. We agreed to go and asked for a refund, but the receptionist/owner? refused to return our money. That behavior was disgusting and unacceptable. The location was bad too, and the hotel was very difficult to find.

The location is really convenient, just a 15-minute walk from the main points of interest, with lots of cafés and shops nearby. It’s an amazing, cozy hotel, and the room was clean with everything we needed. The owner Ismail was friendly and helpful. We had lots of interesting conversations about bikes. I’ll definitely stay there again.