this is an older smaller hotel right in the heart of touristy istanbul. less than 5 minutes from the grand bazaar and about 10 minutes from the sophia haggia or from the blue mosque. go up 2 short blocks and you're right on the main drag. catch a taksi from this spot, not from the hotel, or else you'll pay an extra ten dollars. nobody seemed to know where the hotel was so the taksi would just drive around and around. i personally think it was a scam. the taksi driver playing dumb but i'm not that stupid. we had a good quaint breakfast every morning at 7 a.m. to start the day. the room was smaller with a small color t.v. and 2 single beds. the beds were ok since we came to be tourists, not to sleep all day. the bathroom was older style but it was functional. be thankful for this since we rode an older train to ankara and the toilet was just a hole on the floor. the room had wireless internet. the streets are full of hawkers, garment workers, leather sellers, all kinds of folks selling their wares. a vibrant dynamic atmosphere. on sunday we walked about 15 minutes down to the river, bay, or ocean, or whatever it was. we saw huge ships and some men fishing, ordinary folks truly enjoying themselves. the hotel was a very good base point to start from. we felt safe and comfortable and the hotel staff were very polite. someone is on site at every moment of the day. we never felt obligated at any time, the staff was respectful. my girlfriend and i will definitely go back there anytime. the hotel is indicative of turkish culture. the staff have limited english but its enough to make one start learning their language since we are in their country.