Loved this place. Small and quaint with friendly and helpful staff. In the old town of Istanbul.
We stayed in a garden room with a beautiful little garden with a daybed and pillows etc.
Home cooked breakfast provided with a good buffet selection.
Fantastic location for sightseeing and in the middle of heaps of restaurants.
Free computer with internet service provided.
Will definitely stay here again if we are ever here.
Welcoming and knowledgeable staff; very comfortable canopied bed with red, hand- embroidered canopy; 4 plush pillows and goose-down quilt; immaculately clean; strong, hot showers; and fabulous buffet breakfast with Bosphorus views. Wonderful, central old town location and steps away from 4 streets of excellent, reasonably priced restaurants. Free Wi-fi and Net access. The breakfast is amazing, particularly the fresh-squeezed juice which tasted a little different each day, depending on the available fruits. You don't expect good showers in a budget hotel, but Sebnem provided them. The bed was so comfortable (& I was in 2 different rooms), I felt as though I were at home. This hotel is a true find. They provide little extras to make you feel welcome and comfortable. I plan on returning soon.
We read all the fabulous reviews before we booked and Sebnem met our sky high expectations.
Rooms are simple and small, but hardly claustrophobic, and very clean. Breakfast food was plentiful, with lots of variety, most of it very good. The terrace is a terrific place to drink morning coffee or tea and plan your day. Location is great, within easy walking distance to Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia and Topkapi Palace. Room rates are very reasonable--Consider that the Four Seasons Istanbul is barely a block away, and other than maybe a larger room, it's got nothing on this place.
Finally, the staff here make this otherwise 4-star a 5: They're super helpful with luggage, directions and all the other usual niceities. When I came down with food poisoning (definitely avoid the kebap plate at Pudding Shop!), one of the kitchen staff went out of his way to bring me a warm hydrating tea and ice when I could barely muster the energy to even talk. Everyone took a turn to check in and ask if I needed anything. Very much appreciated this!
Had two rooms here for two nights and the hotel was a fantastic choice.
Very central in the old town but that can be said of hundreds of similar small hotels.
What made this a great choice was:
- clean and tastefully designed bedrooms, there was a quirky style, with a modern bathroom. One of the rooms was smaller but adequate for a city break, the other was larger with a four poster and another bed.
- the lounge / breakfast terrace was accessible all day and the staff were welcoming any time of day, Mr Cappuccino man was very warm and funny. With an inside and outside area we could not have asked for more. The Wifi was slick.
- the breakfast was great. Only a small selection on the savoury buffet but this was ample and good quality. The bread and cake section was excellent with most being made freshly each day. The coffee was excellent with a choice not dissimilar from a cafe and there was a wide selection of teas.
Would not hesitate to recommend it to friends.
My husband and I spent 2 nights here at the beginning of our trip to Turkey and then another 6 nights at the end of our trip 5 weeks later. We loved this hotel - peaceful, efficient, friendly staff, great breakfasts and wonderful view of the Bosphorus from the roof top dining area. It is within very easy walking distance of the Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque and also the tram.
The friendly desk staff will help you with anything including car hire, airport transers and pickups, booking tours, instructions for the tram tokens, and storing items posted back to the hotel so we didn't have to carry them around Turkey!
The roof top is a lovely place to relax and enjoy a drink looking over the Bosphorus. Breakfast is fresh and delicious and includes home made pastries and cakes as well as the usual Turkish breakfast spread. The free wifi and computers is an added bonus.
We stayed in a double room for the first 2 nights which was fine, but I recommend paying a little more for a garden room with a courtyard as it's bigger and opens onto your own private couryard.
We'll definitely stay here next time we visit Istanbul.
We began our trip in Turkey by staying in the Sultanahmet area at the Sebnem Hotel. They arranged transportation from the airport for us which went well. This is in a great location on a quiet dead-end street close to many restaurants and within easy walking distance to the Hagia Sophia and the tram line. Our room was small but clean and the bathroom was very functional with full-time hot water. The breakfast buffet was excellent and served on the top floor with an amazing view over the water. I was a bit chilly but during warmer weather it would be a great place to dine outside. The staff was exceptional and everyone spoke great english. They were very helpful and full of excellent recommendations. Late one evening, I was having problems getting on line (they have 3 laptops available for use) and two of the staff sat with me and offered assistance on how to use the Turkish keyboard and set up a new Google account. I would recommend this hotel due to the location and the amazing staff who made our stay so pleasant.
