I will be visiting Istanbul in June and would like to know if the Ciragan Palace is worth the price. We are debating between staying there, the Swissotel or some the smaller, less expensive hotels in the Sultanhamet area...any thoughts on the above or on places to stay in Pammukale or Antalya would be much appreciated

Dear John, <BR>I am going to Istanbul in Oct. I have <BR>been using on the Internet Istanbulhotels.com, as there are 2-5 star hotels to choose from. I will be <BR>staying at the Ambassador (3 stars). Breakfast is included and they have an <BR>800 number, hotel will also pick you up <BR>at airport. It is in the Sultanhanet area of the city and it seems like a good location.

Don't waste any of your valuable travel time going to Pammukale. I found it basically a sad waste of time and even a little creepy... nothing like the pictures you see. If you are into the east european hanging out with a lot of fat tourists in a hot spring... then go. If not... you arent missing anything. Want a hot bath... get a good Turkish bath and enjoy.

We were in Istanbul last Fall and stayed at the Hotel Sarnic in Sultanhamet area. We found it very convenient, even walking down to the waterfront a couple of times. The Sarnic is a special class hotel and we did find it using Istanbulhotel.com. We e-mailed each other and arranged the reservation on line directly. They didn't ask for a deposit either and did have a room for us. Just check out any room that is offered to make sure it's a good room. <BR>alan

As a Turkish citizen traveling a lot in europe and states, Cırağan Palace would be one of the best places to stay in whole world. It is just on the coast of bosphgorus and a magnificent old building with some new aditions tough I did not stayed in the hotel it has the peputation for being the best in Istanbul. If you can afford it try it. Specially request a room with bosphorus view. Swiss hotel could be a good choice also and If you want to have a magnificent bosphorus view Ceylan Intercontinental and Conrad Istanbul would also very good. Tough the best service I had in Istanbul was at the Hilton. <BR> <BR>The Sultanahmet area is located in the heart of the old city, Most of the time I travel to Istanbul by car and parkıng could be a problem in that area so I did not have any experience with Sultanahmet area hotels. <BR> <BR>Dr. Ahmet Akman <BR> <BR>

I made a reservation secured with a credit card for Allson Hotel in Singapore but I have to cancel it now. Their cancelation policy requires a 7 day advance cancelation otherwise they charge a night. The problem is the hotel is not answering my e mails about cancelation. Does anyone have some advice?

I think it is definitely worth a telephone call to ensure they are notified of the cancellation. The price of a call must be a lot cheaper than the cost of the room for a night.

Stayed at the Kempinski Ciragan Palace for 3 nights in January of this year. During this time of the year the rates were quite inexpensive..It is definately a very exquisite and luxurious hotel. It is certainly an experience to stay at the Ciragan, especially with a room overlooking the Boshourous..It was quite impressive and this place at least for me on this trip lived up to its billing as one of the Finest Hotels in the world. It is only a short taxi ride to the old town and sights..also, although I did not stay there I did check out the Four Seasons which is quite nice..and located easily within walking distance to the Spice Market, Tokapi, Blue Mosque, and the Haigh of Sophia.....It is about a 10-15 minutes cab ride to these sights from the Ciragan.