I was a bit worried about this hotel after reading previous reviews but I had a very pleasant stay albeit with a few caveats. The building is slightly dated and would never have won any architectural awards, even in its heyday, but I think this complaint has been exaggerated slightly by other reviewers. The location is very central although I agree it is a little out of the way which seems to annoy some people. However the metro is a healthy 10 minute walk away so I couldn't see much to complain about there. And there are plenty of cabs anyway. It is also true that there are security guards and an x-ray scanner at the entrance but this is true of most Istanbul hotels. I can't think of many exceptions and I lived in the city for years not that long ago. There is an irritating rule that food shouldn't be brought into the hotel, ostensibly for hygiene reasons, but again almost all Istanbul hotels do the same thing and it is one of those rules that you are supposed to ignore as far as I can tell. I never had a problem and I waltzed straight past security with shopping several times a day.

The sports club is good with a decent gym and a heated swimming pool. On the negative side, the hamam is barely above room temperature and seemed very neglected. The door to the hamam was wide open every time I waked past so I couldn't see the point other than that it looks good in the marketing brochures. The breakfast buffet is excellent with lots to choose from. The room was a decent size, unlike newer hotels in the city, with plenty of storage space and a comfortable bed. Housekeeping was competent but maybe a little too enthusiastic at times.

The main letdown at this hotel is the quality of the staff. I never found them to be rude as other reviewers have suggested but some of them seemed to be fairly inept. This hotel advertises itself as 5 star but this isn't always obvious in any exchanges you might have with the staff. In a country where a job is often granted based on favours owed to a father or uncle, this isn't always unusual but they should compensate for the inadequacies of their recruitment procedures with a robust training programme and this is definitely lacking. I was also surprised sometimes by just how messy some of the staff looked. Something as simple as a comb, an iron and maybe a little hot water would have gone a long way. I can't think of a single occasion throughout a 4 day stay when I saw a staff member smile which is a bit weird in that type of environment.

The like it or lump it approach to customer service is quite common in Turkey and definitely isn't confined to hotels but without going into unnecessary detail it still jarred on more than one occasion during my stay and it was almost always down to the quality of the staff. For that reason I think this hotel deserves 3 stars, otherwise I would happily have given it 4 stars. Maybe the HR manager needs to rethink his strategy and/or career options.

its located in sisli area which is quiet and peaceful.the hotel is new and bedrooms are clean and cozy,the bathroom is really nice and the hotel puts cologne , vanity set,and slippers.the tv channel choice is limited but in istanbul nobody stays indoor.reception helps you a lot and you can ask for a ride to metro station at any hour for free,stay there because in istanbul new built hotels are rare!the breakfast is also very good.

Very good rooms, excellent stay. A bit out of centre but ideal for conventions.

Second visit to this hotel and I guess I'm starting to like this hotel, though it's not one of the fancy properties that you would come across the globe. The best part of this hotel is that most of the trade-shows, exhibitions, seminars are held here, so staying at the hotel makes sense as the bother of travelling by taxi or any other means of transport is not needed. Savings both money and time...Istanbul traffic can get to your nerves and to add to it the ticking taxi meter. WiFi is free, breakfast is tolerable, staff is courteous( language is a stumbling block) god knows why they have this security check every time one enters and leave the hotel. Overall a good hotel at affordable price.