The First Ottoman Mansion

The hostess was wonderful, and the place felt safe. The local shops are cute, and the Blue Mosque is very close. A taxi to the airport shuttle bus cost 20 lira, which was really convenient. It can be noisy if you sleep with the window open, but there's air conditioning, so that was okay.

I paid 25 euro a day for a special place in little aya sofia. It's very clean, full stop. The rooms are thoughtfully designed but very small. Still, after a day out in the city, it was nice to come back to a little street and a quiet room. I liked the curtains and windows looking onto the small streets. It felt like having an apartment, with keys for both the hotel and my room. There's a friendly jewellery and decoration shop about 20 metres away, different from the others. The room is tiny, but it has a hair dryer, a nice shower, a good bed, and it's clean. It's about a 10 minute walk through the old city's nice streets to the Grand Bazaar and other places nearby. I like walking in a big city, that's how you really get to know it. Tomorrow I'll walk to Kadikoy, two hours.

I fractured my foot before the trip and didn't stay here. The owner wouldn't even consider a partial refund and just kept the money. To me, that says a lot about how they might handle a problem if you were staying there. I'd urge people to read the negative reviews from actual guests too. Lots of red flags in my opinion, definitely avoid.

The prices were great, and the host was very, very accommodating. When I lost the key, she gave me another one without charging extra and was always there if I needed help. I'll stay again next time I visit Istanbul, IA.