Çemberlitaş Hamamı — Attraction in Fatih

Unfortunally I had not a happy first experience in Cemberlitas Hamani. I paid 200TL to recieved a bath, foam treatment and 30min oil massage. What I got instead was an absolutely STRESSFUL time!!! I arrived at 7.00pm thinking it was the best time to be calm on a Thursday night (25/5/17) when the bath started a family entered with a baby (I want to be clear I love babies, for many years I worked with children) somehow the baby who was really small was not comfortable and start to scream and cry for 1 HOUR in a row, without the mom being enough considered to take the baby outside until past 30min. When the bath was done I made myself very clear with the employee that I was absolutely upset for the situation and I asked to speak with the manager or supervisor, but the manager was not working and they don't have a supervisor (I guess). I explained to the employee why I was so upset, because not matter if children are allowed if a kid is not feeling well they should have ask them to take the baby outside until he is enough calm to come back. I even gave her an example "if you take your BABY to the movies; he is indeed allow to enter, but it he start crying without stopping your responsability as an employee (and also the parents should be considered with other guests) to ask the mom to leave for 10/15 min because the baby would be clearly ruining the movie for everyone in the cinema. Maybe here in Turkey is common but me as a tourist I am not going to relax hearing a very uncomfortable baby. I was clearly not the only one who was upset about the situation. When I intended to relax in the oil massage floor, I could hear the baby crying. I was 2 floors higher than him.... by then it was absolutely impossible for me to relax or even try to have a good time. I spoke again to the reception where they say "we agree but...." but they did not offered me neither agree where I thought it was a fair solution, to either received the same treatment I paid again or to give me my money back. They called the manager Mr. Mustafa Bayrale but he only offered me a entrance to the place but nothing else. I left my details and I hope than Mr. Bayrale will contact me tomorrow to talk with me about my experience because I would do that if I was the manager was try to find a solution that makes the costumer happy!!! Which he didn't.

The only good think I can say right now was than even I was upset the girls from the massages did there best under the circumstances. And hopefully I will received a call tomorrrow and I can change my review for a good one.

I almost forgot to mention the 20 min I spent trying to explain the reception and employee why I was upset about. Not the best first day in...

Having been to another one of the very highly rated Hamam's, I can properly review Cemberlitas.

For the price you pay at Cemberlitas, it's... Fine. Not amazing, not terrible, just... Fine.

The base full service price is 40€. I paid for the added massage for 60€ total.

The entry area is basic. The change rooms and toilet/shower area feels more like a community centre pool: a little musty smell, and not that pleasant. The hamam attendant leads you into the hamam, but then didn't tell me I was supposed to go into the hot room/alcoves. So I just admired the beautiful stone and marble structure inside, but missed the sauna part of the experience.

Eventually, the attendant washed me and did the scrub. It felt... Rushed. Not particularly relaxing. I guess this may be what a basic hamam would be like. (I wonder where locals go, and if this is kinda the "basic service" treatment). The foam wash/massage was again short and felt rushed.

Then, I was led to the massage room. I've had a lot of massages in my life (over 50), and this was... Average. I did get a head and face massage, so that was nice.

Then, off to the shower (a bottle of basic random body wash), and no tea or anything afterwards.

Tip is part of the culture and expected by the attendants, so be prepared.

After going to one of the top rated ones, where I paid 70€ for an extended basic service (longer foam wash/massage, but no additional massage), I can say that Cemberlitas is definitely below that level, and I didn't feel particularly relaxed afterwards.

They have a lot of availability, which is their strongest point. So if you can't reserve one at another fancier place, it's definitely worth checking out here. And 60€ does give a full hamam experience along with an additional massage, so that price point is... Okay I suppose. But again, I'd rather pay 70€ for no extra massage and a more relaxing overall experience elsewhere, and certainly 50€ elsewhere over...

Words from someone who tried 3 hamams during my visit and could compare.

The place: Clean and quite well preserved. The interior has a nice feel and the deco seems to be authentic (though I'm not an expert), with the wooden changing cabins making you feel like going back in time. The inside of the Hamam feels bright with its domed high ceilings. But you can see mold building up and needs a clean up desperately.

The service: I paid 190 Liras (Oct 2015) which includes a scrub, wash and ending with a 30 minutes massage. But it felt like everything was done in 20min, by this extremely rushed off old man. They are not really interested in being friendly, they are just shifting volumes of tourists. Then again, I've seen other workers doing a much better job than mine did, but the problem is that you get picked by them, so I guess the experience is very much relative to who washes you.

Overall: Converting it to British £, it cost me around £45 quid. And I don't think the whole experience got as close to being authentic and what it is supposed to be - a wholelistic spiritual clensing. I'd say if you don't care about spending (a lot of) money, then go for it. Otherwise, try and find something cheaper. I left feeling like it was the most expensive wash i've ever had.

The best (or least disappointing) one of the 3 hamams was the Cinili Hamam. It's on the Asian side and from the metro it takes some good 30 min walk uphill into a neighborhood. The hamami is good, smaller than the other ones. But they only charge 25 Liras entrance or 10 more for a peel and massage. The guys scrubbed and wash much better than the other places, also because it was much quieter and for its location, definitely not a top tourist place. I've even seen a few Turkish locals going there too which was quite reassuring. If you have the time and want to go for something a bit more relevant and make the most out of your bucks, go...