This hotel is in the perfect place in Taksim and has several good things about it: staff (although fewer than half of them spoke English); location, just a few minutes walk from Taksim Metro stop, 15 minutes from Findikli and 20 minutes from Tophane. The area seemed safe. However, some things just soured the experience: the walls are paper-thin and there is also a vent that provides excellent sound quality to the adjacent rooms; the room is a reasonable size made to look bigger by a 3/4 size bed; the choice of room is either at the front next to a very loud road or at the back with a view into neighbouring rooms (and vice-versa); shampoo and cheap, horrible soap is provided (no shower gel available); as we had travelled we requested an iron so we could wear our clothes - the manager insisted that we MUST use the hotel's service (paying, for example 2.50Euro to iron a shirt) even though it could not be done on-site and we would effectively be without clothes for our first day AND the receptionist said there was an iron there that she just couldn't give to us! Breakfast was very basic, but edible. Overall, I think the manager's attitude - including the fact that receiving his kickbacks from external services is more important than providing a good holiday experience - stinks so badly that people should try to find another hotel in the area. I felt sorry for his staff and the area was good, hence the overall '2' rating.