The Gift Hotel

The location made it easy to get around, close to the ports, bus stops, and metro, and within easy reach of karakoy and sultanhamet. The hotel was clean and the rooms were spacious, but the service was awful. I've stayed in boutique hotels all over the world and haven't run into this kind of poor hospitality and what felt like scams before. Room service repeatedly failed to refill soap, toilet paper, and water. We had to ask over and over, then wait, and when we requested 5-6 bottles, only 2 arrived. By the third day we bought our own water and soap. The AC was another problem: they said it was controlled for the whole building, so we couldn't switch it on or off in our room. Opening the windows meant dealing with traffic and loud noise, making it hard to sleep. On arrival, the concierge said breakfast was included but didn't explain it only covered the extra day we'd added, not the full stay. The next day we were charged 20 euros per person for what was honestly the worst hotel breakfast I've had. That concierge also sent us to a restaurant owned by someone he knew, without telling us. We only found out when the waiter asked whether 'xyz sent you' and told us to thank him. I'm certain the concierge got some sort of finder's fee or share of our bill, which was EXORBITANT at 3200 lira for meses and meat. For the convenience and price it might suit someone on a budget, but I wouldn't trust the staff.