Sefa Plus Hotel

For this price, there are better places to stay. The service was very poor, and although the listing mentioned a bar, there wasn’t one. The bathroom lock was broken, and there was no soap, slippers, or blanket. You had to keep asking for everything.

The owner was a big help when we arrived late and needed food. He suggested places and even called in an order for us since we don’t speak Turkish. Our room had a handy mini fridge, and it was clean and very reasonably priced. We could walk to Hagia Sofia, the blue mosque, the street car, and the grand bazaar in just a few minutes. It suited our short trip perfectly, and I’ll book ahead next time.

We booked two rooms for five adults in August, planning to stay two nights, and ended up staying 17. It felt like home, and we can’t wait to return to La Maison Bleue. Mahmut, the new owner, was kind, friendly, and always ready to help with service, food, or ideas for places to visit. When the Wi-Fi wasn’t reaching our third-floor room, he had a new router installed there the next day. One room’s mini fridge wasn’t working well, and he replaced it right away. The staff were responsive too, bringing us whatever we asked for. The location made it easy to get around on foot. We were close to the beach, the tram station, and Fatih/Sultanahmet sights including Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace Museum, Arasta Çarşısı/Bazaar, Grand bazaar, and Mısır Çarşısı. There were plenty of restaurants and shops along the way. Our rooms were clean and comfortable, with very clean sheets and bedding, even though some were old. The mattresses were comfortable in both our first- and third-floor rooms. Bathrooms varied: small upstairs, which I actually liked, and more spacious on the first floor. The top-floor rooms seemed to have been remodeled or upgraded. Hot and cold water worked around the clock, and every room had AC and a mini refrigerator. Tea, coffee, and hot or cold drinking water were available in the lobby anytime. The hotel had new management, only three months in, so some things still needed work, such as remodeling and adding tea kettles to the rooms. I heard management was planning to replace the old bedding. There was a terrace at the hotel across the street with a beautiful view that guests could use. A new terrace was being built while we were there, and we’re looking forward to seeing it on our next visit.

The room we were given was generally clean and the Wi-Fi was decent, but the shower head was faulty. We had reserved a standard double with a garden view, yet the owner or receptionist tried to put us in a budget ground-floor room with almost no ventilation. Some of the lights weren’t working properly, and he said too much light was bad for your eyes. When we challenged the room choice, he explained that he’d put us on the ground floor because carrying our luggage to the third floor would be difficult. We hadn’t been offered a choice in the first place.