Orient Express Hotel

Very Friendly Staff - Super Location!!

This hotel has a perfect location. Close to all sites and easy transportation. The staff was very friendly and helpful to us with our daily questions about places to eat and how to get to places of our interest that were not very turisty and we had poor information about. We were travelling on a budget and it was very important to us to feel the local culture and the staff was very good in keeping us on this track indicating buses, local ferries, tram that we use taxi only once, to go to the airport at 3 in the morning... Only problem is that we stayed in the 7th floor, which has a restaurant on the top. It got noisy sometimes at night. If you stay at the 6th floor down, opposite to the street, you may have a quieter room. Out of that, we had an excellent stay, I would recommend and use it again, for sure. Also there is a bonus, upon arrival while setting up your register, the staff have you sit at their cafe with a cup of tea and bagel (turkish one)with cream cheese while a really nice young lady explains to you your location in the map, local of interest, day that sites are closed, etc. Loved it!

Traveler's tip on dining

It is not truth that you cannot find good places to eat at the Sultanameth area. If you are not looking for too fancy stuff, the Hocapasa area has plenty, you can eat well all over the city for that matter. Be aware though that the food is rather plain, not spicy at all, and seasoning is light as well.

Has nice pool, small old rooms

This hotel was great for kids because of the pool.It is not a big pool. The rooms are small and old. Excellent location for major Istanbul attractions. Good breakfast.

Good location for quick overnight in Istanbul

Fine hotel for a quick overnight stop near the train station. Solid three stars I suppose.

A new kind of experience

This was first time we have ever checked into a hotel to have a hotel employee sit us down, and over tea, as us what we wanted from our trip, and then make suggestions on how we could do what we wanted. I’m sure that their goal was to steer us to businesses that they had relationships with, but we had no bad experiences and there was no pressure on us to go with their suggestions. All employees were very friendly. We felt well cared for. As we checked out we were told, "We will miss you" and felt it to be true. Take european plug adaptors - front desk probably won’t have them.

Traveler's tip on shopping

This hotel is in old section of Istanbul and you can walk to almost everything. You will be called after on the street every few meters - everyone sells carpets, ceramics, has a bakery or a cafe. Be prepared to bargain for what you want (other than for food). If you are annoyed by being asked 40x per day to look at something, then Istanbul is not for you. Be firm, look, ask, touch, be prepared to walk away - you can have a fantastic time.