Alion Hotel

The hotel feels modern and has been nicely updated, and its location is great. There isn’t a central breakfast area. My main issue was that staff need more knowledge about directions to the places tourists commonly ask about, like Konak, the market for all kinds of items, and especially restaurants. Guests would benefit from a list of popular spots and a guide showing how to walk there.

You can get to most of the area's major historical sites from Hotel Alion, and famous landmarks, restaurants, and local attractions are easy to reach. For exploring the city, the location works really well. The basics in the room were a letdown, though: shampoo, conditioner, tissues, and other necessities were missing or not replenished properly. Those small things matter to a comfortable stay. If location matters more to you than service, it may suit you. If you’re looking for better hospitality and facilities that are well maintained, you may want to stay elsewhere.

We’re a couple who travel to Izmir for business and stay around Konak twice a month throughout the year. At Alion Hotel, the room layout and beds made sleeping together difficult. We first got room 304, which was so small that our suitcases didn’t fit, then moved to 306, where there was a spare bed in the corner. The beds are small European queen size, not the king-size hotel beds we’re used to. They’re a big issue if you expect a king, and the end tables are fixed to the wall, so you can’t add a smaller bed to extend the sleeping space. We’re average height, but the bed still made sleep difficult for us as a couple. Breakfast was disappointing too. There was no toaster, so the bread came cold. The lentil soup was extremely salty and tasted like it might have come from a ready-made package. The breakfast staff didn’t speak English, and the woman couldn’t understand my room number, 306, until I showed it to her with my fingers. On February 11th, the coffee machine was broken, so we stopped going to breakfast. Only filter coffee was offered. The Wi-Fi never worked with the guest ID and room number. Reception had to come up and type the password into my phone themselves, and they had to do that twice. They also couldn’t explain the Wi-Fi instructions in English over the phone. Hasan at reception was rude and came across as uneducated and ignorant. We found him unprofessional, and he didn’t speak or understand English. When I asked for my luggage, which had been left in the spare room before departure, he opened the electrical room and had us women go in and collect our own suitcases. He didn’t know how to treat female guests or help with their bags. The cleaning staff and Alp at the front desk were the only employees I found professional. I imagine this new hotel may get its team sorted out and build a fully trained staff over time. Maybe Alp could help with that. It’s generally a clean, efficient business hotel, priced competitively among the hundreds of nearby hotels. Alion has room to learn and improve.

I had a comfortable stay, and the cleaning was perfect. The breakfast I got was cold, though, so I’d like them to serve it warm and improve it.