Radisson Blu Hotel, Istanbul Ottomare — Hotel in Zeytinburnu

Overall, the hotel experience was pretty good but there were definitely a number of things that could have been better. The hotel pool area was very pretty and a nice place to hang out. All the staff at the hotel were very nice and accommodating. The front desk staff were about the only people on our trip that spoke English so they were able to help with making recommendations, ordering taxis instantaneously and answered many of our questions. The servers at the pool and coffee bar were very attentive. However, when we would ask for things to be sent to our room, the staff would forget to bring them and we had to ask multiple times. The hotel food was not very good. I ordered a Caesar salad that was tiny with wilted iceberg lettuce and a dressing that tasted like plain mayonnaise. The breakfast buffet had lots of options but many of them were not ideal for breakfast, lots of cold vegetable salads, cold cuts, hummus, etc. which are not ideal breakfast foods for me. When ordering from the menu, order foods from the Grilled foods section, that food was much better. The cocktails and coffee were good. Unfortunately, two of my very valuable gold necklaces were stolen from my hotel room. I've never once in my life had anything stolen from me, so that was very disappointing. I looked through all of my belongings and the entire hotel room multiple times and never found it. I literally had them in my hand earlier that day, I know they were there. Someone delivered towels to our room later that day when we were not there and when I came back that evening they were gone. I think I must have accidentally left them out on the bed or dresser and that person took them. The hotel staff was apologetic and contacted housekeeping and had them help me look through the room, but if someone stole them it's not like they were going to admit it or give them back. The hotel gym was very nice. The indoor pool was not heated which was odd. I had a massage while I was there and the lady told me to remove my clothes and literally stood there watching me, she did not turn around or leave the room which is strange. There were multiple times where she exposed my breasts during the massage. At the end she applied a lotion to my face and I broke out in a rash of red dots all over my face. I've never had a reaction to any skin care products ever, so that was the only thing that could have caused it. Also, I wouldn't say this hotel is in the best location for sight seeing. Although it is within 5 miles of many of the attractions like restaurants and the bazaar, the traffic was so bad that it took 30 minutes to an hour to get to most places. There was a very nice shopping center with lots of restaurants that was an 8 minute walk so that was the only thing...

Unfortunately my experience at the hotel was not as positive given by many others.

1. I had booked 3 rooms under 1 booking back in Feb 2024 but was allocated 3 rooms on 3 different floor which would have been fine, however, we not could reach each other due to lift security, so we had to go to lobby wait and then go to my other family room...Perhaps, it was my fault for not stating we need the rooms together but logic would dictate family bookings, it is appropriate to assign/block room close together or at least on the same floor, if operating a 5 star hotel...I did not have an issue so far with for Hilton, Crowne Plaza or Marriot.
2. Initially our bedroom AC did not work and had flooding/standing water issues within the shower which seemed to be a common aspect in this specific hotel (poor installation/design). We had AC engineer in our room between 11.30 - 12.30am after it was confirmed to staff member that the AC was not working (room temperature was 26 degree Celsius) and promptly they changed us to another temporary room until they relocated us to an upgraded room. On this aspect, supervisor was professional & understanding.
3. Front line staff (bar, front desk, etc) in general, I found to be uninterested (not sure how to best describe the attitude), for example; waiting 10-15 mins for recognition that I required drinks/service and followed up with slow speed in completing...there was one moment, I prompted 3 times and was recognized but continued to be ignore. I did provide feedback to front reception at checkout and the response was shrugging of shoulders without any interest. I also happened to observe another customer being treated the same way but he lost his temper whilst i just walked away as I did not want to continue to ruin my holiday.

There are other aspects, I can further state but this would become a novel...

I would recommend to other visitors; Do not go with Hotel recommendations it is a tourist trap (from experience), if you are new to hotel & location, you will find restaurants and excursions much more cheaper outside or online. There is a great place to eat Fisekhane, just within 10mins walk and service is fantastic.

I would recommend to management team of Radisson Blu to perhaps consider some of the comments above for further improvements as generally it is a good hotel but not 5 Star based on the service levels. I hope my visit to another Radisson Blu hotel in another country (i had already booked before this trip) will not be the same and this is just a specific...

We stayed here for one night in early May. As we were unable to check in early, we decided to have a beer in the sunshine by the pool and that’s when we discovered how expensive the drinks are at this hotel. Certainly you are a captive market, so just prepare yourself. The pool area is lovely and relaxing (although you do have to adjust to the noise from the main road that runs alongside because it is constantly busy).||At check-in our status was not noted, other than to confirm we had breakfast included, so it was a pleasant surprise to find we were upgraded as we walked into a lovely Junior Suite with a decent sized balcony that had views of the pool and sea. ||The bed was very large and the pillows good. The bathroom was also very large with a good looking walk-in shower that sadly was out of body wash and not nearly as effective as it looked once water started coming out. Also, rather bizarrely, there was a see-through door to the toilet, not even partially frosted. Odd.

The sofa was comfortable and a great spot to relax, but the selection of television channels for English speaking guests is poor. We couldn’t even find MTV and YouTube or mirroring didn’t appear to be an option.||Although the hotel looks massive when you are standing outside, you soon discover that it only covers five floors of the building, the rest of the floors are private apartments. The location is interesting - it is close to Fiskene, which is great area to relax with plenty of options to eat and a B1 (Marmaray) station is 15 minutes walk away, but otherwise there is very little around and there is quite a lot noise from the road outside (I used earplugs for sleeping). ||I had high hopes for breakfast, but was disappointed and would describe it as average at best and despite seeming to have lots of options, there was nothing spectacular. Eggs were available to be cooked to order, if asked. The Virgin Mary station was empty for the entire time we were at breakfast. Luckily, the malted sourdough bread was very good.||Despite having written what feels like a three-star review, the other thing worth bearing in mind is that this hotel is often a good value option for Istanbul (the cost of drinks at the bar aside) if you are happy to walk or take taxis and we found it relaxing to be further out of town. ||All the staff we met were polite and the room we were given was an excellent size. This is one of the better Radisson that we have stayed...