Not recommended. The Dar Halabia in Aleppo’s Old City is listed by Lonely Planet and is marked "our pick". It would seem that since getting that designation, the hotel sees no reason to make any further effort; very disappointing.
If one word had to describe Dar Halabia it would be "shabby" and we are not overly picky. Prior to booking the Dar Halabia in Aleppo's Old City, we emailed and asked, among other questions, if there was wifi in the rooms. The response was, "Wifi in all hotel." Based on their answers, we booked. On arrival we were offered our choice of a room on the second floor or one down the street. We asked the receptionist which one he would choose, he said upstairs, Room 12. There was garbage uncollected in the room and bathroom. The bathroom, with a door which refused to stay closed, was dirty, particularly the toilet seat which had not been cleaned thoroughly (I had to clean it before it could be used). This lack of cleanliness continued through the room with grungy handles on the closet, dirty and stained welcome sheet, etc. The room had a metal queen bed, small tray table, chairs and a wardrobe. We attempted to get on the internet ... no wifi. Feeling my way in the dark and down steep stairs, I asked about the wifi and was given a myriad of reasons including "too many people used wifi so it broke." The bed quality was borderline. The morning gave us only cold water. Breakfast served on a rooftop terrace was good, although drinks were limited to only coffee, tea or hot water; no juice. Over breakfast we spoke with other guests who were also moving on from their relatively expensive and less than satisfactory stay.
After speaking to the owner by phone, we checked out without a penalty and ended up at the sparkling clean, less expensive, TOURIST HOTEL (see separate review).
- Dar Halabia Aleppo
- Hotel Dar Halabia
