I found myself in Izmir and needed a hotel for a couple of nights (I was stopping off to visit Ephesus, on my way from Istanbul to the Agean resorts in the south). Izmir is not a very touristy destination, just a big, bustling (and to be honest quite ugly) city, but is a convenient stopping off point. This hotel was recommended by my guidebook, and is on a pedestrianised street that starts near the train station and runs towards the waterfront. Sorry, can't remember the name of the street or the address, but the hotel close to the end of the street closest to the waterfront.

The rooms are a reasonable standard (nothing amazing or particularly modern or stylish), but clean with new sheets and bedspreads, and it was fine if you're just looking for a place to shower and sleep. I looked at two rooms, one at the front (which I was afraid might be a bit noisy in the evenings, as the pedestrianised street had a lot of cafes and street life) and one that faced the internal courtyard, which is used as part of the hotel's restaurant. When I was there the hotel seemed mostly empty, so the courtyard wasn't too noisy in the evening, but it could have been a problem if there were lots of guests using it. However the restaurant does close by 11:00.

There was AC in the rooms (which worked very well - the room went from stuffy and hot when I returned after a day out to lovely and cool in about 10 minutes flat) and for some reason there was unscrambled porn on the tv (not something I expected to find while innocently channel surfing).

As I said, there are lots of cafe's (with mostly food that's been precooked and is either sitting around on a hot-plate or reheated) but not many places nearby to get freshly cooked food (for travellers with nervous tummies) so I ate in their restaurant one night. It was nice (simple menu, mainly shish, salads, etc), freshly cooked when I ordered, and a good price.

The staff didn't speak much english (not surprisingly, as this isn't a touristy town). The only thing that annoyed me was when I went to pay the bill. We'd agreed on a price in Euros (as all hotels in Turkey do) and they used a terrible conversion rate to change it to Lira (about 15% more than it should have been). So if you do stay here, make sure you bring Euros with you and pay the bill in cash to avoid them overcharging you.

Local tips - there are a couple of internet cafes near the train station, but none of the staff speak any english (and I don't speak turkish) so I had a terrible time trying to use them. There's some nice mini-markets along the street, so you can buy cold drinks and fresh fruit (there was a mini-bar fridge in the room). On the waterfront, there's a big modern shopping complex that caters to the wealthy and foreigners (you need to pass through metal detectors on the way in) that has an english language bookshop, and a couple of nice (but pricey) cafes/restaurants with outdoor tables over the water.

the Antik Han Hotel is a hidden treasure in Izmir! it's in a historic building -- the former home of Ataturk's father -- and it's charming. centered around a lovely courtyard, the rooms are spacious and comfortable, have free internet access, and it's so quiet and peaceful you'd never guess that just outside is the bustle of a major city intersection. even better, it's right behind the ancient agora of Smyrna (the old name of Izmir), which is one of the best attractions of Izmir - a fascinating ruin to wander through and explore. the staff of the hotel are friendly and helpful, and the included breakfast is good. as for the service -- the staff even returned the camera we had inadvertently left behind, sending it DHL to our USA address. we thought it was gone forever, but there it was, intact and with a very kind note, when we returned home.
Antik Han is a fantastic value -- budget prices for a boutique-like experience-- and a truly wonderful find in a big city.