Kral Mert Hotel — Hotel in Fatih

I walked in and asked for a four nite stay as I wasn't happy with my hostel next door. Luckily they had a room available and quoted me 50TL/nite which when I checked is actually cheaper than their booking.com rates. The staff speak very basic English but this is probably the nicest hotel on this street of the ones I looked at when I was trying to change hotels. ||I stayed in a double room for the first three nites then was hastily moved in the morning by the cleaning lady to a single bed room for the last night. Both rooms had private ensuite with flat screen tv. The second smaller room did not have A/C or hairdryer but that wasn't a problem. Hot water and water pressure was fine in both rooms and hotel is kept very clean. ||The location is great in an authentic local non touristy bazaar. The street will wind thru and connect to the Spice Bazaar and New Mosque area so you can be in Eminonou in about 5 mins. There are also great places to eat nearby for 5-8TL and I didn't get ripped off on this street as people try to do in touristy areas. I even got a haircut from one of the many barbers for 4TL ($2). A few doors down are two local hammams from the 15th century. I went to one and paid 38TL with foam bath and massage so much cheaper than the touristic ones. People will speak very basic English on this street if any. ||I think breakfast may have been included but I didn't come down to check. No foreigners were staying here but that can be said for most of the street. This is a great location to experience real life and Aksaray metro is about a 20 min walk passing by the Roman Aqueduct if you know exactly where to go. If this is your first visit to Istanbul the location may not be perfect for all the touristic sights but if you don't mind walking or have been here before the street life will give you a unique experience. One small problem the smoke from the kebab shops sometimes blows up into the windows. Stairwell railing is a bit wobbly and rooms are small if you have large cases or a lot of luggage. Otherwise I had a nice stay for four nites and will try to stay here or on this...

We had booked 3 nights accommodation at the Kral Mert Hotel in Istanbul. We had a CONFIRMED BOOKING through Booking.com. When we arrived the hotel was full. We were taken to a hotel that belonged to the owner's friend just across the road. The room was fine and we decided that it would by OK for a few nights. However the next morning we had to check out of the second hotel. The Kral Mert was still full so. The owner assured us he would find us somewhere to stay that night. So we went off to explore Istanbul without knowing if we would have somewhere to stay. When we arrived back he had found us another room in a friend's hotel. We complained to Booking .com who were very good. The owner had recorded us as NO SHOWS which meant we were going to be charged TWICE!!. It turns out that all the hotels use the one Booking.Com account. He advertises far more rooms than the 9 or so that he has in the Kral Mert itself. On the last night we did actually stay in the Kral Mert which was far superior to the places we had been farmed out to. The owner did get a friend to take us to the bus station at 3 am in the morning - but he had to do something to make amends for his shambolic booking system. Be aware if you book the Kral Mert you may well NOT be staying there and the alternative he takes you to is not as...

I wanted to spend some time in Istanbul near the centre but in typical Turkish district. I went through some travel guides and decided to go to Kucuk Pazar. And that was the best I could do! ||The most important pros of Kral Mert Hotel is it's location. The district is Turkish with great food, Gipsies and a lot of shops. Unfortunately Istanbul municipality want to revitalise that part of town and they will destroy it and build it from the scratch. Pity! But you still have a chance to come and see it. ||Hotel is located near very nice new bridge built for new line of Metro. The station Halic is placed on the bridge not far from Hotel. The Sirkeci Harbour is located not very far too. ||As regards hotel: rooms are small but clean. They serve small continental breakfasts. ||Staff is very helpful and talkative. It's nice to spend evening sitting with them and other guests near the...