Grand Bazaar Hotel — Hotel in Fatih

We booked this hotel because of the generally decent ratings it received, but this hotel has shockingly poor customer service. In addition, many of the good reviews are about the Grand Bazaar and not the hotel (a fact which We realised too late). We were highly disappointed by the hotel although it has some advantages. ||The main issue we had was the air conditioner not working. We had a horrible first night where we couldn't sleep due to the warmth and stuffiness in the room. After complaining to the hotel reception and our travel agency they did sort this issue out, but their first excuse was that the central heating had been set a certain temperature. Our suspicion was that they left it off due to it being Spring and they could save a bit of money if they didn't put it on until summer. They refused to put us in another room saying we would have to pay the going rate for a bigger room which was ridiculous because there was something wrong with their air conditioning. They did get this sorted out at the end but the air conditioning kept going out in the middle of the night and by the last day we had to keep complaining to get the air conditioning working. Even though it was working the air conditioning was making hissing and crackling sounds which may not have been safe but we were just grateful it was working. ||The other thing we did not like about our stay is the receptionist constantly trying to get us to buy tours and activities with them which were obviously a ridiculously high price for what people can do by themselves. For example, the guy at the front told us to do a Bosphorous cruise which would cost us £30 but which we did ourselves for the cost of £2 each. ||We booked the economy room and it took time to get used to how small it is. The hotel is on a hill so be prepared to walk uphill (sometimes very steep) in order to go anywhere. It is also located next to streets of stores that sell shoes and there's so much hussle and bustle that it doesn't make for a good sight. ||There are advantages to staying in this hotel however. It is located very close to some of the main attractions. It is 5 minutes away from the Grand Bazaar and 20 minutes away from the Sultanahmet Mosque, both walking distance. ||Also the hotel is quite modern and newly built so it is quite nice to be in it most of the time. I also liked the safe that they had which was useful for keeping our documents. The bathroom is quite large with a stand in shower. It is cleaned everyday but we noticed that our main bed sheet was not changed throughout out stay. ||The breakfast is okay with lots of breads, eggs, salads etc. But I was disappointed with it because I'm sure you can get a better Turkish breakfast in restaurants/cafes. ||In summary and based on our experience, staying at this hotel was a low point in a thoroughly enjiyable time in Istanbul. This hotel is more of a 3 star than a 4 star (according to some websites) so please don't be fooled! Choose a hotel which is...

We booked this hotel because of the generally decent ratings it received, but this hotel has shockingly poor customer service. In addition, many of the good reviews are about the Grand Bazaar and not the hotel (a fact which We realised too late). We were highly disappointed by the hotel although it has some advantages.

The main issue we had was the air conditioner not working. We had a horrible first night where we couldn't sleep due to the warmth and stuffiness in the room. After complaining to the hotel reception and our travel agency they did sort this issue out, but their first excuse was that the central heating had been set a certain temperature. Our suspicion was that they left it off due to it being Spring and they could save a bit of money if they didn't put it on until summer. They refused to put us in another room saying we would have to pay the going rate for a bigger room which was ridiculous because there was something wrong with their air conditioning. They did get this sorted out at the end but the air conditioning kept going out in the middle of the night and by the last day we had to keep complaining to get the air conditioning working. Even though it was working the air conditioning was making hissing and crackling sounds which may not have been safe but we were just grateful it was working.

The other thing we did not like about our stay is the receptionist constantly trying to get us to buy tours and activities with them which were obviously a ridiculously high price for what people can do by themselves. For example, the guy at the front told us to do a Bosphorous cruise which would cost us £30 but which we did ourselves for the cost of £2 each.

We booked the economy room and it took time to get used to how small it is. The hotel is on a hill so be prepared to walk uphill (sometimes very steep) in order to go anywhere. It is also located next to streets of stores that sell shoes and there's so much hussle and bustle that it doesn't make for a good sight.

There are advantages to staying in this hotel however. It is located very close to some of the main attractions. It is 5 minutes away from the Grand Bazaar and 20 minutes away from the Sultanahmet Mosque, both walking distance.

Also the hotel is quite modern and newly built so it is quite nice to be in it most of the time. I also liked the safe that they had which was useful for keeping our documents. The bathroom is quite large with a stand in shower. It is cleaned everyday but we noticed that our main bed sheet was not changed throughout out stay.

The breakfast is okay with lots of breads, eggs, salads etc. But I was disappointed with it because I'm sure you can get a better Turkish breakfast in restaurants/cafes.

In summary and based on our experience, staying at this hotel was a low point in a thoroughly enjiyable time in Istanbul. This hotel is more of a 3 star than a 4 star (according to some websites) so please don't be fooled! Choose a hotel which is...

I stayed for 8 nights in a standard single room in this hotel, in early June 2019. I was mostly happy with my experience. Only a few minor negatives, so if it was a 1-10 scale I would have rated it 9/10. Pros and cons:||||Pros:||- Polite, helpful and well mannered staff. Unlike many other hotel reviews in Turkey which mention problems in this, I saw nothing wrong in Grand Bazaar. Thanks a lot guys. :)||- A modern hotel. Everything is new technology, including the door lock system, the elevator, the A/C system, ...||- My room was clean and well maintained. Almost everything worked perfect.||- Affordable price.||- Although small, room had everything necessary, and the shower/bathroom section was great.||- The room was silent and the famous street noise problem in Istanbul hotels didn't exist here (hotel is not in the main street).||- Big safe with enough space for my laptop and other stuff, attached to the room's closet.||- The A/C system deserves a separate positive. Istanbul was hot and humid during my stay. But when I got in the room and turned on A/C, the room became cold in 1-2 minutes.||- Breakfast is good. It's specially strong on the fruit/drinks side and it didn't bore me in 8 days.||- Hotel's wifi internet was unlimited, free and worked well with my 2 devices during my stay.||||Cons:||- My biggest problem was about the location. It's in a good touristic site of Istanbul, but you need to go inside a few alleys. I found the hotel real hard in my first day, while being tired and carrying a 5 Kg bag for 3-4 hours in hot weather. It must be easy with google maps, but I arrived late and didn't have a SIM card, so I tried to get help from locals. After showing the address to 20-30 people with no success (not exaggerating), another hotel's receptionist was kind enough to use his google maps app and guide me. I don't even think a taxi driver can find it without using google maps. If anybody else had this problem, it's better to ask around for "Gedikpasa street", go inside it and then find the "Balipasa street". 10 meters inside Balipasa, you must be able to spot the hotel in the alley to your left (the hotel is also very close to the Gedikpasa Armenian Protestant Church). Not sure if it's a fault of the hotel, but maybe they can use a few signs or something?||- My room was small , and there was no window with a view. Kind of claustrophobic. ||- Breakfast was a little weak on the meat side.||- No pool or gym.||- I always had a lot of shampoo, but few shower gels (room service said they ran out of it). Men have less hair, but larger bodies. Give them more shower gel and less shampoo...