Istanbul - the best of both worlds

Advantages: Fascinating, historic, romantic, magical, nowhere else like it
Disadvantages: Must go at the right time, can be very busy

...some of the footballers from Galatasaray, Fenerbahce or Besiktas posing in the VIP areas. There is a massive amount of accommodation in Istanbul; all the international chains are there but there is a vast selection of accommodation right across the spectrum. Wherever you stay I would recommend you take advantage of airport transfers, if you are arriving or departing by air. The larger hotels do this independently but the hostels and smaller hotels have a joint service which they will book for you. Your first time in Istanbul can be quite overwhelming and the transfer service is less expensive than you might think. Usually I don't bother with them but Istanbul is one city where you might want to consider it. Istanbul is a wonderfully exhilarating city to visit. It's a place where you use all your senses and a true "experience". There...

fizzytom 05.04.2009 · Read review
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Review of Istanbul (Turkey)

Istanbul one city in two continents

Advantages: So many wonderful sights, clean and easy to get around, reasonable prices
Disadvantages: Smoking in some places put us off our meals

...Istanbul sightseeing. This is a review of my experience and really there is so much to see and do you need to read a few of the great reviews on this site, as I did before we went in order to make your own mind up as to what you want to experience for yourself. There is no way I could go into depth about every sight, I have tried to create a desire to go and a taste of what is there. WHEN WE WERE IN ISTANBUL: We spent five days in Istanbul just before Easter 2009 and we stayed at the Orient Express Hotel in the Sirkeci area of old Istanbul. (Another separate review) Istanbul is the only city built on two continents and split by the sea. The Bosporus is the section of water which unites the two continents and joins the Sea of Marmara to the Black sea. FIRST IMPRESSIONS: The first thing that struck me as we drove from the Airport to...

catsholiday 27.05.2009 · Read review
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Review of Istanbul (Turkey)

Orient Express but not on rails - Great Istanbul hotel

Advantages: Great location, very good customer service and food in restaurants good
Disadvantages: rooms a little dark and we had no view , could not flush toilet paper in the toilet

...The Orient Express Hotel , Hudavendigar Cad No: 34-34110 www.orientexpresshotel.com This hotel is part of the Sirkeci group which is a group of hotels and restaurants in Istanbul. Sirkeci is also an area of the old part of Istanbul and The Sirkeci Railway Station was the terminus of the famous Orient Express train and was just round the corner from the hotel. GETTING THERE: We arrived at the airport after a flight from Birmingham via Amsterdam and having read a number of reviews about the taxis from the airport and their enthusiasm for speed and reluctance to accept a fair fare or take four people in one taxi, we choose to book an airport transfer. We were met by a gentleman with our name on his notice and then escorted to a taxi outside. The journey was quite speedy but incident free, a couple of hairy moments, some very close...

catsholiday 25.05.2009 · Read review
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Review of Orient Express Hotel, Istanbul

A peaceful haven within sight of Istanbul

Advantages: Quiet, no traffic noise or pollution, good food, scenic
Disadvantages: Not huge amounts to do

...the trip just for this! It takes 30 minutes to reach the first island and then about fifteen minutes between islands after that. Then the ferry goes back to the city and terminates at Eminonu. You can also make the journey by catamaran to and from Eminonu. We did this on the way back. It's a ten minute bus ride from Taksim Square or Sultanahmet. THE ISLANDS We stopped for the day at Burgazada which is the second stop of the ferry but I will write a little on each of the others first. Kinaliada - this island is most popular with Istanbul's Armenian community and has quite a distinct look with its white houses that cling to the hill. As the ferry pulled in there were quite a few people bathing on the pebbly beach but we had read up a little and couldn't find enough that we wanted to see on this island and didn't fancy swimming here...

fizzytom 22.04.2009 · Read review
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Review of Princess Islands, Istanbul

Fine seafood cuisine in prime Istanbul tourist territory

Advantages: Excellent seafood, good value for money, good tourist location
Disadvantages: I'm about 20km away from it

...INTRODUCTION On my business trip to Turkey, I get to go to Istanbul centre at the weekends if I?m lucky. There aren?t many decent restaurants where I am staying and so any chance to find one is very welcome. It was when walking around the tourist mainstay of Sultanahmet that myself and a colleague had to choose somewhere to eat, which was proving tricky, as the Lonely Planet recommendation for the area didn?t seem to exist any more. As this area is one of Istanbul?s main tourist traps, this threw me a bit. Restaurants in big city tourist areas to me guarantee several things; proximity to sights, high prices, outside tables, insistent restaurateurs and menus disappointingly tailored for tourists. The choice came down to which one we instinctively liked and I favoured Pasha, as it seemed to have a decent seafood menu, so in we...

larsbaby 16.06.2009 · Read review
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Review of Pasha, Istanbul

Ooh la la in Istanbul?

Advantages: Cheap; handy location
Disadvantages: No air con so pretty bad in summer; tiny rooms

...When we stayed at the Paris Hostel and Hotel in Istanbul it was at the end of a three month circular trip and we wanted to try some different accommodation to the place we?d stayed at some fourteen weeks earlier. A week before we were due to arrive back in Istanbul we did an online search for something suitable and found the Paris H&H. I have no idea why it?s called "hostel AND hotel". Maybe they think a dormitory means a hostel and private rooms mean a hotel? Anyway, this is plain and simple accommodation with very few, if any, frills. It is hostel standard, or one or two star standard in hotel-speak. Had we known then just how much money we had left at the end of the trip, we?d have spent more, isn?t hindsight great? The hostel is in a very useful location in the Sultanahmet district approximately halfway between the Grand...

fizzytom 28.06.2009 · Read review
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Review of Paris Hotel&Hostel, Istanbul

The authentic side of Istanbul dining

Advantages: Excellent food, great service, even some vegetarian options, authentic local dining
Disadvantages: Meat laden menu, no fish offered, calorie count off the scale, miles away from any tourist area

.... Perhaps the logic is to avoid the apparently ridiculous Istanbul traffic congestion (have they been to London?) and certainly we succeed in this respect travelling from our even further out hotel. Still, there can be advantages to this. The dining experience can be a bit more authentic, with restaurateurs not trying to impress tourists this far out from the beaten track, but trying to match the local customers? more demanding and knowledgeable expectations. After a couple of days in Turkey eating either pizza or in the hotel, never actually seeing anything but the office or hotel, I was finally taken out to dinner by one of my local colleagues, along with a Finnish colleague. We had been told by our host of a restaurant by the Black Sea not too far from our office, and this was the first opportunity he'd had to take us there. As we rode in...

larsbaby 09.05.2009 · Read review
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Review of Ünlüer Et, Istanbul

  In the lap of Turkish luxury on the outer Istanbul extremities

Advantages: Superb facilities, friendly staff
Disadvantages: Remote location and complicated to get to the tourist areas, noisy weddings

...INTRODUCTION For several months this year, I found myself in Istanbul on business, holed up in a hotel on the Asia side of the city deep in the suburbs. This gave me the opportunity to get to know a lot of things about the hotel, as well as the time to make some observations. There is quite a long travel segment at the end of this review, but if you ever find yourself here you?ll understand why! BUSINESS HOTEL TITANIC Titanic is a hotel chain in Istanbul, with other hotels dotted around various locations in the city. This hotel is located some 20km from the historic centre of the Europe side, and on the other side of the water on the Asia side. It?s a very new hotel, having opened for business in June 2008, and looks quite incongruous in the immediate area, which looks a little tatty and is under development, with many...

larsbaby 13.08.2009 · Read review
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Review of Titanic Business Hotel, Istanbul

Renaissance Hotel, Istanbul.

Advantages: Close to the airport, very grand, good facilities
Disadvantages: Rather bland, very average food, expensive

...I have had a one night stay here recently. I had never been to Istanbul before so was excited about my visit. This hotel is a five star hotel owned by the Marriott group. It's located 11 miles from the centre of Istanbul which is easy to get to by public transport or taxi. The airport is about 3 miles away and the hotel runs a free shuttle bus. First impressions: The hotel is a striking, blue glass plated tower with 27th floors and 404 rooms. It looks very grand and modern. The lobby is quite spacious and there is a security guard and a metal detector as you first enter the hotel as there have been several recent terrorist attacks in Istanbul. Check In: This was very quick and easy as there were plenty of staff milling around. They seem to speak a variety of different languages and were very polite and efficient without being...

Katieshaz 19.11.2008 · Read review
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Review of Renaissance Polat, Istanbul

One Week In Istanbul

Advantages: it´s very different
Disadvantages: it´s very different

...language. How can I know when I´ve never been to Turkey before? Well, I hear it every day, I only have to leave my house and go shopping or to the pedestrian precinct. Turks have lived in Germany since 1961 when the economy was booming, now there are about 2 1/2 million living here. My husband and I didn´t go with an organised tour, we went to a travel agency and booked a flight with Turkish Airlines (Türk Hava Yollari) and a hotel from a brochure. I could travel with my identity card, my Italian husband couldn´t, he needed his passport and had to get a visa for 10 Euro ( ~ 7 GBP) at the airport in Istanbul, you would have to do the same. When I asked in our bank if I could buy Turkish money the clerk looked at me sympathetically, no bank has Turkish money, they simply haven´t got the space to stock it. ( 1 GBP = 2.529.963 Turkish Liras...

MALU 10.05.2004 (30.09.2005) · Read review
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Review of Istanbul (Turkey)