Galatolia Suites — Hotel in Beyoğlu

First of all, the location is in a weird area, the entrance is hardly accessible, it is not facing the street, but rather located in a hidden place, in the right hand-side of the building. Besides, it resides in a strange neighborhood, with weird people nearby, which were probably employees of a workshop or something, but they tried to talk to us in Turkish every time and they seemed really rude. I don't want to imagine how it could have been like being a single woman at the sight.

Second of all, I think it was the worst place I've been checked in to. The room was extremely dirty: the curtains, the sofa, the armchair, the carpet, the curtain on the bed, the pillows, the light blinds, the sheet, the towels, the walls, the accessories in the bathroom, the shower. We had that 'ew' reaction every time we would touch something. The balcony is extremely small and it does not have an actual floor, but a metal grill, which I think makes it pretty dangerous, especially if you are traveling with small children.

Besides being very dirty (I personally don't think that the room was cleaned very recently before our stay, if they even cleaned it at all - the dust on the inside windows was super gross, I don't know if I have ever been to a more dusty place), we saw an unpleasant number of bugs in the room, bathroom, mosquitoes etc, mould near the shower. Also, they had no mosquito nets.

Third of all, the rooms do not match the pictures at all. Online they make it seem like a chique boutique suite, but it's more of a dump actually.

Pro points: they had two ACs for a single suite. We appreciate it, but it would have been nice to invest the money for the extra AC to clean the room up and buy new towels, sheets etc., because I am very serious when saying that someone could get a bacterial infection from that place because of the mold, dust, bacteria in the AC etc.

The manager was really nice and careful and I am sorry to be giving such an awful review, because he was at our service all of the time and we appreciate that, but to...

I had a confirmed booking several weeks in advance for this property at a very good price. On the day before the arrival the property all of a sudden rejected my credit card saying it allegedly didn't work. I first thought there was really a problem with my credit card but after I provided two other credit cards (Mastercard, Visa and American Express) which were all subsequently rejected by the property, I realized that this was most likely a way to cancel my confirmed booking and sell it at a more expensive price. Since the prices had gone up by more than double since the time of my reservation, saying that my credit card allegedly doesn't work was the only way for the property to cancel a confirmed booking without a penalty and without even giving the guest the chance to write a review about this negative experience on the booking portal. Extremely shameful behavior from the property which doesn't even lead to a penalty from the booking portal, and on top messes up the travel plans and makes them more expensive when having to book an alternative accommodation the day before arrival!

And a side note on my credit cards: all of my credit cards are issued in the EU and worked beforehand and afterwards without any single problem, both in my country and also in Turkey. I was able to book an alternative accommodation on the same booking portal, on the same arrival day, with the same credit cards that were rejected by this property, and I also had no issues whatsoever to pay with my credit cards during my...

I am a frequent visitor to Istanbul and have stayed in different hotels in different parts of Istanbul downtown. This time, I had to book my stay last minute, almost a few hours before departure and chose this hotel only because of good reviews. After my 6 day stay, I have to say that all the good reviews are 100% worthwhile. First, the hotel has a great location. It is within walking distance of Taksim and 2 metro stations. Also, literally walking 5 minutes in the other direction, you get on the harborside where you can walk againsy the backdrop of beautiful landscapes, as well as take a ferry ride from the nearest ferry station. Besides the location, that impressed the most was the hospitality and friendliness of the owner. I don't have enough words to express my gratitude for everything he did to make our stay in Istanbul easier and more joyful. Not only did he immediately comply with all our requests for the hotel, he was immensely assistance with all other issues and errands we had to run.||||I will no doubt choose this hotel over and over and recommend to everyone who wish to experience Turkish hospitality to...