Spent 2 nights at Safir Hotel, price 98 USD p/night. Rooms clean, TV (only Iranian), mini fridge, really odd loo (small seat hole, never seen this before but we managed). The hotel was partially being renovated, so the odd banging here and there, but not at night or early morning. Must say, the people at reception desk were really helpful with bus times and ticket information. Location is a short walk (15 mins) to bazar (go at night when cooler and livelier) and short walk to bridges.

Breakfast buffet typical Iranian (flat bread, cucumber, tomato, honey, jam, boiled egg, a kind of lime green jelly which we thought was off but really refreshing and other Iranian food). There is also a dark, small coffee shop, in the basement which serves coffee and some snacks. Wifi in lobby. Caters mostly for Iranian tourists and business people, but as tourists we were well looked after.

Tip - if you plan on buying any enamel wear, handicrafts or similar, do it in Esfahan as Tehran has none to be found with the quality and price offered by the bazar.

Tip - when in the bazar area / square be mindful of some of the Iranian kids ( 12 y/old ish). We had experience with 1 who told us a sob story about his life in Afghanistan and ended up he only wanted money from us, he was well dressed, spoke good English. It wasn't until a local Iranian man came over and basically said some words in Farsi that he backed off and we ended up walking off. Nothing too major but something to be aware of. All in all most of the Iranian people who stopped to ask " where from" really just wanted to talk. They are mostly very friendly and kind.

Safir was the best hotel I stayed during my Iran Journey, very clean room, free wireless Internet, very friendly and helpful staff, Excellent location and professional manager.
it is close to the main tourist attractions and as my conference was in Abbasi hotel, the location for me was ideal.
They even upgraded our room to a nice suite. as twin room was not available in that time front desk said that I must wait for 1 hour but the manager upgraded our room to a presidential suite.

I love this hotel and definitely I will go and stay there again.

The Safir looked like a promising oasis of good-quality hotel upon arrival - efficient-looking front desk, nice sweeping staircase, lounge chairs, happy travellers. And to be sure, the rooms are fine. But the service was a little Fawlty Towers-like. It started with them checking me into a room that was already taken. They couldn't figure out why they couldn't find the room key, but let me in with a master-key and assured me they'd find it later. Only there was already luggage in the room. Not that that convinced them that things were not as they should be. Which is not surprising, given they had no idea who was staying in any room. It took intervention from the tour guide to sort things out.

On another occasion, the concierge accidentally let himself into my room by accident, just after I'd taken a shower. He copped an eyeful of semi-dressed female and was so shocked he slammed the door shut and locked it...and locked me in the room.

So few stars for service. But the rooms are OK. The key recommendation is that it's directly opposite the pricey Abbasi Hotel, and you can go in and enjoy their beautiful garden for dinner/afternoon tea, and their stunningly decorated lobby, whenever you like.

Reliable hotel in a convenient location. An easy 10 min walk to Imam Square and Blue Mosque. 5 minutes to Isfahan’s marvellous bridges. As per Tehran, the rack rates tended to be local prices. And “other”. Which is disappointing.

Room itself unremarkable. The hotel appears to be undergoing some renovations, but whilst visible, I did not hear it. The lift is tiny. Let me say that again. Tiny. Which for a five storey building can get tedious. Coffee shop attached to hotel serves are hang out joint for locals/couples, which I found interesting to observe. Well priced, ok coffee too. Again, the “non smoking room” option appears moot. Front desk friendly/tried to be helpful. Their English was OK too.

Isfahan is a city aimed at tourists. The city appears to have better luck with the locals than with foreigners: an observation that you can probably ascribe to the entire country: a serious image problem. Which is unfortunate given I found Isfahan to be one of the genuinely friendliest places I have ever been too.