Variante Hotel

We arrived to find it closed. They seemed to be having some trouble with their permits.

The staff mostly couldn't speak English, and whenever I raised an issue, they had the same answer: it was a historical building. They offered me a room half the size, with a single bed instead of my double, for the same price. With all the other problems, having a little less noise wasn't worth that. The sound carried everywhere through the thin wooden walls, doors, and ceiling. I could hear cars, reception conversations, people walking upstairs, and the housekeeper vacuuming as if it were all happening in my room. I've never had such an uncomfortable hotel room. The white curtains were almost see-through, so the room was bright with the first light around 5am. There was a disgusting sewage smell from the bathroom pipes, mold in the room, and kitchen and cigarette smells from the cafe downstairs and nearby balcony from time to time. Shower temperature was a lottery. I guess one poor boiler served all the rooms. In my 3 nights, I got hot water once, otherwise it was room temperature or cold. There wasn't even a kettle or cup in the room, and I had to ask for a hair dryer every time, which was very inconvenient. You have to climb a hill to get back here, and there's no decent breakfast place nearby, the closest is 20 minutes away. I didn't like the cafe breakfast downstairs either. No coffee machine, so no cappuccino, only Turkish or instant coffee, and the omelet was very greasy. I didn't want to eat there again.

The location was very convenient, and the staff were super friendly. I had an excellent stay.

The room was neat and the view was spectacular. Mr Faysal was friendly and accommodating during our visit to Izmir. We had early outings, and he served us breakfast early himself.