I am trying to decide between the following hotels in Istanbul: Hotel Sari Konak, the Nena Hotel and Angel's Home Hotel. All are highly recommended on Trip Advisor. Any advice as to which is best-clean and relatively quiet? They all sound nice and fairly similar. Has anyone stayed at these hotels or have others to recommend in Sultanahmet.
Thanks for your help.

Good opportunity to test Tripadvisor ! Weather all the postings are true ?

I do not know the others personally but Sari Konak is good option,
Happy travelling,
Murat

I'm checking out the Empress Zoe which looks really nice and it's received very high praise on this site. I also had Sari Konak on my list at one point, but it got crossed off -- is that the same as the Tash Konak?

I think Murat might be hinting that tripadvisor posts, particularly in some cities, are gently encouraged or loaded by ownership, so they aren't so reliable.

Professionally I have not used the hotel myself, but I know they were recommended by Conde Nast Johansens some years ago. Also I friend of mine from NYC, she travels very regularly and stays in this hotel, based on her recommendation I added my post. having said that I have been in this hotel and liked the location & atmosphere.

Hi Romalover you got the point...

happy travelling,
Murat

Murat,
Can you recommend some hotels in Istanbul that you do know and like. This is my first trip and I am overwhelmed by all the choices. I am interested in hotels priced at 80-130 Euros per night. Thanks for your help!

hello murat -- which hotel got a rec from conde nast? sari konak or empress zoe?

Check out the Uyan Hotel. We stayed there last September and it seems to be in your price range. We were in a superior room and it was huge and immaculate. It is right by the Four Seasons and Seven Hills. I stewed about the choice for months and was extremely happy with our decision. If were to go back, we'd stay there again.

Jclare,
I am often happy with the feed back of Armada. If I need to book a boutique & stylish hotel than ofcourse choices are different.
Romalover; Sarikonak used to be recommended by C.N johansens. At the moment there are 5 hotels on the list. 2 Of them at asian site ( I love them ) and 3 are central one by Taksim and two near the Tunnel & Pera area.
www.johansens.com and search for Turkey for the names.

Jclare, for your budget you should find a good accommodation, larger room and good location. Sometimes internet rates does not correpond with the actual state....So compare the names on your list. Your budget buys a suite in Armada for example.

Happy travelling and you can drop me a line or two if you need further assistance....

Murat

I also realy enjoyed the Hotel Uyan -- we paid 82 Euro for a standard room (two twin beds) and the location was great. The standard double room with a tiny balcony was really cute, and the same price. I wrote a trip report with details...

My parents loved their stay at the Yesel Ev. The reviews on TripAdvisor seem to back up there opinion.

www.istanbulyesilev.com

Yesel Ev is an elegant hotel but it's quite expensive.

The garden is a nice place for dinner, late in the evening.

romalover - I stayed at the Empress Zoe hotel back in 1999. I thought it to be a very nice hotel, well worth my money. I took pictures of it (my room and outside the hotel) and even have some of the literature from the hotel. Currently I'm at work, but if you would like, I could scan the photos and literature to give you more info - just let me know! The location, imo, was primo as you had the Blue Mosque behind you to your right and Ayasofya (Hagai Sofia)behind you to your left. The top terrace had a pretty good view out over the sea of Marmara as well. Also, you're really close to Topkapi Palace as well and some other important sites.

thanks trafael, We've gone ahead and booked one of Empress Zoe's cheaper rooms. They have a great website with pretty good pictures and descriptions of each room but thanks for the offer! Do you recall which room you stayed in? I'm happy to know that so many people have loved this hotel, it makes us feel better.

romalover - good choice! The room I stayed in was right above the entrance to the hotel. I see they're redesigned their website, so it's kinda hard to find a picture of the building that shows where I was (it's the 2 arched windows above the doorway). You'll really like the hotel because of it's location. There is one thing I should make mention is that right across the street and to the left is a small mosque, so you'll get the call to prayer from that, as well as from the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque! To get to my room, I had to climb this winding staircase. You can actually see it in their 'gallery' section - it's the photo on the far left in the middle row of the pictures. When I stayed there, I ate dinner at this restaurant close to the Blue Mosque as well as this other restaurant in the area. I'll have to get out my photo album cos I kept all that info! The location was good enough that I could walk from the hotel down to the Egyptian bazar.

I second the Hotel Uyan as a great place to stay. Close to many attractions, large rooms, well maintained.

Thank you to everyone for your suggestions. Unfortunately the Empress Zoe and Hotel Uyan are booked. I will report back on where I do stay but I'm not entirely sure where that will be!

My friends stayed at the Nena last September and liked it very much..more than that I can't tell you since I did not see the place when I was there.

I just booked for late Oct. and early Nov. at Seven Hills for 140 euros for a double. I about went nuts comparing all the places but finally opted for Seven hills when I saw that it was right near 4 Seasons at about a third of the price or less and has what appears to be the best rooftop bar in town with views in all directions of everything. The reception staff could not have been nicer while helping me with the booking. I'm looking forward to staying there.

Julie,

Seven Hills does indeeed have a breathtaking dining rooftop -- your rate should include breakfast and it's an absolutely incredible place to start the morning.

Their room rate is relatively high -- as is their dinner and coffee. I didn't see their rooms, however -- perhaps they're much nicer than the Uyan which is next door?www.uyanhotel.com

That rate should also include an airport pick-up for your whole group which is also very convenient.

I think the Uyan offers free pick up if you book for more than three nights but Seven Hills charges for it and quite a bit--35 euros per direction. I intend to check out the Uyan when I'm there to see whether I made the right pick. It looked nice on the website and was about 30 - 40 euros cheaper but I just sort of got into the Seven Hills idea and decided to go for it.