Erbil Tower Hotel — Hotel in Erbil Central Subdistrict

According to Trip Adviser there are 33 hotels in Erbil. Why the Ministry of Tourism booked us into this disgusting hotel is beyond me. The first room they gave me was 705 which still contained the faeces of the last occupant. I went down to reception to report this and was met with total indifference like "what are you making such a fuss about?" I was then given room 703 and upon an initial inspection it was clear that the bathroom had not been cleaned in years. After another trip to reception I was given room 901 which was on the same floor as the rest of our group. I will never know why they didn't book us all onto the one floor. This last room was a suite with some awful old leather chairs and a coffee table. The door into the room was hard to open with the key. The air conditioner wouldn't move from 16C so it was always cold, until I switched it off, but the staff would switch it back on when I left the room. The carpet and drapes were filthy. Wires were hanging out of the TV and at other places around the room. There were no bedside lamps so you had to switch the light off by the door and then stumble back to bed in the dark. The bathroom was dirty and the water was luke warm at night and cold in the morning. There was no drinking glass in the entire suite and only one towel and bathmat. These rooms were costing well over USD100 a night. On the first night a staff member came around knocking on all our doors and gave each room a plastic bag full of soft drinks and bottles of water saying they were "free." I gave mine to our security men who had the room opposite mine. On the last morning as we were all in the bus and ready to leave, the receptionists came out with a bundle of receipts for all the extras we were supposed to have had. This ranged from bottles of water to my bag of drinks. None of us had had any of these so called "extras." Much shouting ensured with us all refusing to pay. In the end the tour leader paid as he said they would call the police if se didn't. A nice little scam and they got away with it. Oh, and right out the front is a large poster in English and Arabic advertising their well known massage...

This hotel was chosen because it was close to the Citadel which was our focus and for that purpose it was perfect. The hotel is dated and a bit seedy, in need of serious repairs but it was clean, the beds were comfortable and clean and the staff helpful and nice. There was a new AC/heater which worked well. The TV was dated but worked as did the satellite tv. It seems that they are trying to make repairs in various areas, but with no tourism I'm sure money is scarce. The down side of that location is that there are few places to eat, mostly sandwich/kebob places and they close early, and on Friday night everything is closed. The good news is that along with the Citadel it is close to the caravan-serai/bazaar as well as...

Erbil (Irbil) is less traveled by westerners, but well worth it. The massive citadel above the city is being faithfully restored, and there is a busy souq nearby. I went in 2013, and found it very safe then, and I believe it still is, being watched over by the Kurdish People's Army. ||Incidentally, all faiths are happily accommodated in Erbil. ||The hotel is typical 3 star, but with good facilities by the country's standard, reasonable internet, and good breakfast. The staff were very friendly, kind and helpful. ||About half an hour from the airport, in a very good location close to the citadel above it.The hotel was undergoing renovations when I was there, so I'd advise reading much later reviews to decide if this...