Sultanahmet Deluxe Hotel

I had a very unpleasant stay at Sultanahmet Deluxe hotel and can’t think of anything nice to say. The room smelled bad, the sheets were dirty and smelly, the WiFi barely worked, and the hot water kept cutting out. Staff couldn’t speak basic English. When I asked them to print something, they couldn’t even open their email to receive my message. They laughed when I tried to complain. They also told Booking I hadn’t shown up for my reservation, and Booking nearly charged me a no-show fee. It seemed like they were trying to avoid my negative review. Don’t stay here.

I spent two nights here. It’s conveniently located near Sultanahmet in the city center, and the hotel can arrange transportation, but don’t be fooled by the name. There’s nothing deluxe about it. The neighborhood has damaged buildings and isn’t very nice. The room and bedding were unclean, and there were sometimes open holes in the walls, so expect insects at night.

We booked five nights for six of us, two adults and four children, but left after two because we couldn’t tolerate the conditions. We had a so-called two-bedroom suite on the third floor that was actually one bedroom and a living room with a sofa bed and single bed. Of its three windows, two had no curtains, so early sun came into the room and we couldn’t do anything about it. The balcony was shared with the room next door. They gave us only one towel and there was no toilet paper. The shower sprayed straight onto the bathroom floor, leaving it hazardous, and two of our little ones slipped there twice. When we tried to cancel the remaining nights, nobody at the front desk was available. The person there was asleep, and it took about 15 minutes to wake him. He said he couldn’t do anything and we’d have to wait until 5 PM for the person in charge. After I checked my family into another hotel and came back, the person said the day had passed and he couldn’t refund the money. After a long back-and-forth, he charged us for that night but not the rest, only because I’d paid one night in cash and was supposed to pay the remainder on checkout day. Very poor quality and not recommended. Definitely our worst experience in Istanbul.

We booked a room for three people, paid, and then were told there wasn’t a room for three available. They said they’d move us the next day, so we were given a room for six on floor -1, below ground. The reception guy disappeared the following day. The room smelled of mold so badly it was hard to breathe, and it was full of spiders. We couldn’t sleep. There was no light in the bathroom, so showering meant using a phone flashlight. Service was horrible, really there was no service. We stayed four days and it was an awful experience. I’ve worked in this sector for years and never seen anything like it. If you arrive late, you have to knock and wait around 30 minutes for them to wake up. I don’t recommend this to anyone.