Me and my wife visited Istanbul in December 2011. It was our honeymoon trip and we wanted the best of everything, and at the same time be not too extravagant. So, we started our search back in June/July on the internet. We narrowed down to 4-5 hotels and finally called up Butik Star.
We asked for a deluxe room with a balcony and Bosphorus view. Since it was off season, we got a good rate for our choice. And for that rate, if you compare with other hotels, the room was really good. It was quite big - appropriate for a deluxe room, had proper lighting, cupboards, electric plugs, curtains... The balcony had a table for two and the view from there was really really amazing. The bathroom was clean and had a good shower system. Buffet breakfast was served everyday from 7 to 10 am and had a huge variety of things to choose from. However, the menu was fixed and it was the same throughout our 10 day trip. The hotel staff is not too vast, so you get to know everyone by 2-3 days. They were all friendly and approachable.
One of the best things about this hotel was its location. Its in the Taksim area near Taksim square, hardly 5 minutes walk from the main subway and funikular system, which is a huge advantage considering the taxi rates over there. A lot of good cheap restaurants are also in the proximity like Bambi Cafe. Istiklal Caddessi is like 3 mins away from the hotel, which is a huge huge advantage. We used to go there every night after 8pm when we were done sight-seeing other parts of Istanbul.
There were a few drawbacks of this hotel. The staff is very friendly, but almost all of them do not comprehend english very well, which was an obstacle to us when we wanted something which was out of the normal routine. Although the room was cleaned each and every day, we noticed that after 3 days they stopped providing us bath towels and bathroom slippers (maybe they ran out of them or something). The water that came in the washbasin was lukewarm, not hot, as we would have liked it... however the shower didn't have that problem. The bathroom walls were very thin, every now and then we would clearly hear our neighbours go to the toilet, and I'm sure they would have heard us too - not really what we were expecting. The cupboard had a safebox so our passports and money was very safe. Since the staff is not too much at the hotel, sometimes the room service was slow. But they were courteous so it wasn't a big issue. The area around the hotel is pretty upbeat so many different shops are there. The money changers are a little costly as compared to other places like Sultanahmet or Beyazid.
My advice to the tourists who are young and full of fun is to book this hotel early on, and get the deluxe room if possible. The best thing is the hot and happening Istiklal street and the proximity to the subway/funikular/tram system. The staff is really friendly and always at your service. If we ever get to visit turkey again we will definitely stay here.
Room Tip: Choose Room 701, very nice view.
When there is any language difficulty with the staff, use google...
See more room tips
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
