I had booked a room in another hotel through Expedia. After a long flight from Chicago, I got there just to find out that the hotel did not have any rooms available! To make a long story short, a middle man brought me to Yunus Emre hotel and I told the person at the front desk about the situation. He said he has a room with three beds and asked for $150 for one night (I told him that I want to stay there for only one night and will decide whether I want to stay longer later). I agreed since I did not know the area and did not have any other choice. The next day after a good night sleep, I went walking around looking for another hotel. I found a much better room with 3 beds (I didn't ask for 3 beds; it was just there) in another hotel about 3 minutes walking distance from Yunus Emre for $50 a night. When I was checking out of Yunus Emre I told the front desk that what he did was not fair. His response was that customers negotiate for a lower rate and we do the opposite and ask for a higher rate whenever we can. He said this goes both ways and I should not be unhappy about it!
This hotel is in a good location and is clean. However, the building is old (like many other buildings in the old town) and other than the bathroom and roof terrace (that is used for serving breakfast) there hasn't been much renovations. You'll get a gigantic key and key chain to your room, the TV and heating/cooling system is old, there is a small old elevator, ...
With three beds in my room there was not much space left for luggage and I had to put my luggage on one of the beds.
Overall, I think you can find a better hotel for the price nearby.
- Yunus Emre Istanbul
