Gulhane Park Hotel Istanbul

There is a lot of very small and run-down ‘hotels’ in the neighbouring areas, Gulhane Park Hotel is considered to be not-too-small. The location is good and is within easy walking distances to the major tourist attractions. There were many things the hotel could do to improve: 1. We were given a small room on the first floor, the window was facing the street lamp and the car park, the door was facing the staircase with hotel guest traffic, we experienced continuous traffic noises from the window and people’s talking noises outside the door as the walls were not sound proof. 2. The breakfast provided was poor quality and the spread was very limited. Apart from the coffee and the boiled eggs, the rest of the food could be skipped. 3. The towels were old and greyish (supposed to be white), the toiletries were poor quality stuff. We tried not to use any of those for hygiene reasons. 4. The shower cubicle was very small and the shower head was broken, it was quite a struggle to have a proper shower. 5. The toilet bowl and sink were not cleaned even once and the bed sheets were not changed at all during our entire stay of the five days! 6. There was not a single chair in the room. The hotel supposed to provide with kettle and tea bags etc. But we were only given ONE teabag throughout our entire stay of five days!

Thankyou to all the lovely staff at this hotel for making our break so lovely, they were courteous, helpful and mega friendly. Especially Soner on reception who helped us print our flight passes, thankyou. Our room was spacious even though we were a family of four and always kept very clean. The hotel is perfect for walking to all the sights and shopping on offer in Istanbul and I would recommend it highly. Thankyou for making our stay lovely, we may well be back again.

The Hotel is about 100 meter off a Metro station making it a great options for someone who comes in from the Airport and wants to see the sites. From the Airport it costs a total of 4 TLR for the Metro, you do have to make one transfer but its pretty simple. If you don't want the adventure of the Metro, call the Hotel the night ahead and they will book you a shuttle/cab. The Hotel room is small for 2, so for a family you would want a deluxe room or better. The view is not great but there are very few cars in the area and you do get a feel for Old Town. Heading West, your about 150 meters from the Sofia Museum area and maybe 350 meters from the Blue Mosque so its all reachable by foot. If you take the Metro East, your 1 stop (walking distance really) to the Ferry boat docks and the Spice Market. If you stay on the Metro as far east as you can go, you reach the Taksim area. Overall a great location for the hotel to stay in touch with both Old Town and Taksim.

Excellent hotel, great location, very clean hotel, fantastic very friendly staff, great overall value, no complaints at all

This small hotel was advised by a friend of mine who stayed. Hotel is just minutes far from blue mosque. My room was very clean and bed was very comfortable. There is terrace with great view over bosphorus which was a big bonus to enjoy my cold beer after a long day. Special thanks to Mr. Soner who arranged my transfers.

Nice hotel - nothing special but clean and friendly. Only arrived for one night but the location is excellent. Only 10 mins fm the Spice Market and just 15 fm the Grand Bazaar. The water front is just around the corner. Restaurant not great but I didn't see this as a drawback as there is so many close by. Excellent value

The guys on the night staff were really great - polite and helpful. They did send us to a cheesy, expensive touristy restaurant called Neptune one night (we asked where to go at 11 p.m. and they had a car pick us up from the restaurant). But they asked about our experience when we returned and apologized when we told them it wasn't so good. The gym equipment could use some sprucing up. The breakfast was OK... but not great. The small TV on the wall crackled. But the room, itself, was cozy and clean. The shower was a nice design. The outside of the hotel is nice. The location is fantastic... walking distance to Haghi Sophia and other top sites in Istanbul.

Stayed at the Gulhane Park for 4 nights pre Cruise. Room was very clean spacious and comfortable and we were made to feel welcome by the staff at reception. Breakfast was first rate, there was a wide range of food to choose from the buffet. The location of this hotel is perfect in terms of its nearness to the main attractions. The Topkapi Palace is only a few minutes walk and the other interesting places to visit are easily accessible after you have been to the palace eg. The Blue Mosque, Hagia Sofia, Roman Cisterns and Grand Bazaar. It is not far from the Galata Bridge(to see the fishermen at work) and Town Centre, most attractions are in walking distance and the Cruise Terminal is only 5 minutes away (1 with a crazy driver). However the real advantage of this hotel is the quality of the management and staff. They can't do enough to make you feel comfortable. We took a taxi back to the hotel after our cruise in the hope that they would look after our bags whilst we did some more sightseeing (our flight was not until 7.40pm and we docked early in the morning). When we arrived at the Hotel to ask if we could leave our bags we were told that "this is your home whilst you are in Istanbul." I don't think that one of the 5 star chains would have been so obliging. Well done Soner Onal and all the staff at the Gulhane Park Hotel.

The location was perfect, we stayed in a four person suite that had plenty of room for all of us. Clean, nice rooms and a great buffet breakfast. The staff were very nice and helpful.

We have just returned from Istanbul after a stay of five days at this hotel. The location is fantastic, all the top attractions are within 5 min walk of the hotel and so is the tram stop. The high light of our stay was without doubt the staff at the hotel. Friendly, polite and always service with a smile. Irfan the restaurant manager arranged a meal for the 7 of us on the roof at a moments notice, we had a wonderful time and I shall stay in this hotel when I return in March. Many thanks to Mr Onal and all the staff for looking after us old folks!