Hampton by Hilton Istanbul Sirkeci

This was my first trip to Turkey, and I was a bit nervous. Out of many hotels, I chose this one, and reality proved I made an excellent choice! The front desk staff were incredibly polite and patient. Even with a language barrier, they listened carefully and even helped us book a taxi – a huge thank you to them! The room was clean and tidy, the mattress was very comfortable, and the breakfast was incredibly rich and delicious, perfect for my Chinese palate. If I ever come back to Istanbul, I'll definitely stay here again.

For a trip to Istanbul's Old City, the Hampton by Hilton Sirkeci is a top choice. Its location is a major highlight, just a short walk from Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, and the Grand Bazaar. It's also right next to Sirkeci train station and a tram stop, making intercontinental travel and sightseeing incredibly convenient. The hotel itself is new and clean, with compact yet practical room layouts, comfortable bedding, and excellent water pressure in the bathrooms. Housekeeping is thorough daily. The breakfast buffet offers a good variety of Turkish local dishes and Western light meals, and complimentary tea and snacks are available all day. They have a 24-hour front desk and a small gym. The front desk staff are friendly and professional, always ready to help with travel planning or arranging taxis. Overall, it offers great value for money, making it a hassle-free stay for pure tourists.

The breakfast was great! The service was very nice. The slope outside the entrance can be a bit slippery when it rains, so you can take a taxi to a nearby spot and walk up. There are lots of cute little cats by the entrance! Overall, it was good.

Good value for money. We had a bit of trouble finding it at first as we weren't familiar with the area, but it's very close to the Blue Mosque and the ferry terminal. The hotel's cleanliness and rooms are both good. The front desk staff can communicate in English and are very friendly. You can store your luggage there in advance, and if you need more water in your room, you can ask the front desk to send some up for free. The hotel breakfast is also good with a decent variety; the waffles are delicious and not too sweet.

The hotel's location is pretty good, within a 15-minute walk to attractions in the old town. It's also just a 3-minute walk from the hotel where the 007 movie was filmed. The room was standard, had everything we needed, and the breakfast offered a good variety. There are plenty of dining options nearby, and the ferry terminal is only 10 minutes away. Overall, it's a decent place. The only downside is that taxis can't access the street in front of the hotel during the day, so we had to drag our luggage uphill for a bit. There were two cute cats at the hotel entrance!

They gave our family of three a basement room, and not just any basement, but a sub-basement room! (We checked in at 2 PM.) You can check other reviews; the reasons for negative feedback are almost identical: staying in the basement, and it's always Chinese guests. We refused, and after several phone calls, we were moved to a smaller room upstairs. I reported two issues to Trip.com: 1. The room photos displayed were completely different from the actual room photos. 2. We were given a sub-basement room, which didn't match the stated starting floor for that room type. Trip.com's response: hotels are allowed to 'beautify' room photos; also, the hotel adamantly denied providing a sub-basement room. Ultimately, Trip.com offered 600 RMB compensation to appease us. In summary: 1. The hotel is despicable, specifically targeting Chinese families for basement rooms. 2. There's only one way to protect our rights: all families assigned to sub-basement rooms should demand compensation from Trip.com, forcing the platform to strengthen its oversight.

This isn't a bad hotel, located in a quiet neighborhood of Istanbul. Breakfast is a buffet, quite varied, served from 7:00 AM to 10:30 AM. The room has an iron and ironing board, but no cup for toothbrushes. The hotel doesn't provide toothbrushes or toothpaste, but they could at least provide a cup. The rooms are small, with a small table and chair. The Wi-Fi is slow (10 Mbps). I chose this hotel for its central yet quiet location, and it certainly delivered on that front.

I booked two separate five-night stays and was assigned a room in the second basement, which only had a small window facing an inner courtyard. There were bugs on the bed. One afternoon, I returned to the hotel at 1 PM to find my room hadn't been cleaned, despite having the 'clean my room' sign on the door. When I came back later, the room had been sprayed with an overwhelming amount of air freshener – so much that my throat hurt and my eyes burned.