The Old Ottoman Castle in Istanbul

Very big scam ......scammmmm

-It’s impossible to reach the hotel by a vehicle , so except walking 10 mins to reach it from the main road , which a showstopper for me and of you you agree with me don’t bother counting this review .

• Hotel area is not safe for tourists at all ( don’t wake alone after 8.00 in the evening

• Only 2 staff are working in the hotel including the receptionist & non of them letterly understands or speak English .

• Poor breakfast & full of bugs it’s better if they don’t serve it , they will prepare & put on tables for guest for 4 hours without any covering.

- The lock housing was exposed meaning it wasn’t difficult to break into our room & I discovered that all keys opens any rooms .

- No safety deposit boxes in rooms.

- Hot water constantly running out.

- No ventilation in bathroom (No window or extractor fan) leaving the bathroom misty after taking a shower and leaving it smelly after using the loo.

- Beds were extremely uncomfortable .

- Pillows were solid hurting your neck when you slept.

- Room was dust central, dust had settled everywhere and even after us wiping it off with some baby wipes it would re settle. Under the bed was filthy with dirt and dust looked like it had been forgotten about by the cleaner.

- Bed sheets were filled with dust when we asked the receptionist if we could have them changed he replied "well the cleaner has finished whos going to do it?"

• Zero customer service skills & off course no refund policy ( Expected )

I could go on but im not going to waste any more time. I have honestly never been anywhere and met such rude two faced staff , However if you are more the adventurous type, care about cleanliness, like to eat out and explore the island without feeling your being monitored DO NOT STAY in this place .

not recomended at all because people working there will commit somethingelse and when you leave they ask more money or otherwise they threaten you that they will keep your luggage
and condition of mattress in the room is pathetic also the surrounding of this hotel is also very bad in terms of theft cases in winters

Very shady business practices and horribly rude people working there. Nothing works in this hotel and the staff/owner has horrendous attitude towards customers. Don't go by the pictures because their rooms are probably cleaned once every leap year, if even.

Very bad and pathetic service. First they asked us to stay one night somewhere else and secondly breakfast was very poor. Infect we should not say it breakfast as it was like one boiled egg, 2 olive, 3 cheese pieces and very hard piece of bread. It was the worst breakfast I ever had anywhere. Definitely, I will not suggest to go there.

Staying in this hotel was the worst experience of my life! The photos do not reflect the actual hotel at all. They mix and match photos of different rooms and put it to appear as if its all the same room. We stayed in the apartment 100m or so away from the main hotel. When we first arrived we thought we were getting a 2 bedroom apartment with 3 double beds. When we arrived they told us they don’t have that kind of room but they can get us a different layout or go to their sister hotel. We agreed because he showed us pictures that looked fine (again, very misleading). When we went to the hotel it was on top of a cafe that was full of men playing cards and smoking hookah, nothing like the atmosphere we were comfortable with. We went up to the room and none of the beds had blankets and the bathroom door didn’t close. The entire building was shaking because of an engine running near by, it was terrible because you could see cracks in the wall. When we looked on the outside we realized the building was held together with some metal boards that were hammered all over the place. The place looked like it was falling apart and definitely not worth 100$ a night. The manager sent us there expecting to get the same amount of money. We called the owner and he sent us to the apartment beside the hotel where we ended up staying. Yes, this place was somewhat renovated but none of the beds had blankets, the bathroom had no shower curtain or door so right when you have a shower the bathroom is soaked and it didn’t dry up for the 3 days we were there. We wanted to meet up with the manager to arrange a refund of some sort but he kept avoiding us. He apparently stays in the office all the time to meet guests but he didn’t show up the entire time. He would tell us he was on his way then he never came. They went and bought a new front desk and couldn’t be bothered to put a kettle in the rooms.
If you for some reason end up having to stay at this hotel beware- if you are not physically 100% it will be impossible. The stairs are extremely dangerous and steep with no railing throughout most of it. My father has heart problems and going up the stairs was a nightmare and they don’t tell you this information before hand.
There are no blankets and if you want towels or toilet paper you have to ask before hand they won’t just give it to you.
The breakfast is not worth the money at all. You get what’s on the plate and 2 pieces of bread to eat it with. The lady working there is not helpful at all. She just sits and plays music on her phone and gets annoyed when you ask for more bread or tea. You’re better off buying a sandwich from the bakeries near the hotel t at-least have enough energy to go about your day.
The hotel is also quite a long way from Sultanahmet. It’s a 15min uphill walk to the Main Street then you still need to walk quite a bit to get to the main Sultanahmet square.

Finally, the first day we were there there was a huge fire 2 buildings down which was terrifying because it could have so easily been us. The electricity went off twice showing how bad the wiring is and it could easily catch fire. Again, the stairs are not equipped for a fast escape so you really need to be careful.
We ended up leaving the hotel 3 days earlier than we expected because it was too overwhelming. The owner avoided us just so he couldn’t give us a refund. I honestly feel bad for the people that work for him because they are nice guys and it’s too bad they have to work for a man like that.