Looking for a hotel room for two nights in the Sultanahmet area of Istanbul. Interested in decent quality (ie clean bathrooms!) and a reasonable price, with a great rooftop view! Any suggestions??

Celal Sultan, Armada, Acropol......
Depens on the price range you are looking for, there are many hotels in Sultanahmet.
Happy Travelling,
Murat

Have you looked at tripadvisor.com? Go and take a look, darling. If you give me the names of some hotels that you may be interested in, I could tell you if they are in a good location or their reputation.

I don't know why you want to stay in Sultanahmet. It is extremely touristy and full of carpet salesmen who chase you down the street for a sale. I would rather stay in Taksim or Ortakoy.

Two good hotels in Sultanahmet are Yesil Ev (Green House) and Mavi Ev (Blue House).

Do yourself a favour. Pull up <Turkey in the Straw: Thingorjus Sleeps in Istanbul> by typing it into the search box at the top of the page. This trip report will give you some ideas on Istanbul. Also, see if you can find the Istanbul trip reports of Seamus and/or Mikemo. They have recommendations for hotels in their reports.

Satan in Dior

When my family stayed in Istanbul we stayed in Sultanahmet and loved it.We had to stay in Taksim the night before we left to go home after arriving from Izmir/Ephesus.Taksim is a modern "very business type" part of the city which made me feel as though I might as well have been any big city in the USA.Personally, Sultanahmet was wonderful-close to everything that we could walk and enjoy all the history.Our hotel was directly across from the hippodrome park and a very short(5 minute walk) walk to everything from the tram to Aye Sohphia and the river.It was a Best Western hotel that is individually owned Turkish hotel with free internet,breakfast on the rooftop overlooking the Bosphorus River,lovely rooms with nice bathrooms.The price was very reasonable and the staff were great. If interested, I can go find my notes on the place as it was a terrific find for our family without breaking the bank.

Hi

Depends on your budget. We will be staying at the Hanedan Hotel - http://www.hanedanhotel.com/. Has a good roof top view and is in Sultanahmet. Around €50 for a double if you pay cash.

Cheers

Yes, darling, if you stay in Sultanahmet you are close to the Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palas, Blue Mosque, etc. But, there are other major sites in Istanbul that are not located here, namely Dolmabahce Palas, Chora Museum, Istiklal Caddesi, Mevlevi Monastery, etc. There is also no nightlife in Sultanahmet. You have to go to Ortakoy or Beyoglu for that.

Frankly, I love the freedom of Beyoglu/Taksim/Ortakoy. You can walk around and not be pestered. You can browse in a shop without a high-pressure salesman yelling in your ear. In Sultanahmet, you will pull out a map or a guidebook and the next thing you know a man will come over to help you, only to then direct you to his "cousin's" carpet shop.

Been there, done that.

Satan in Dior

Oh Thinster, Sultanahmet is not that bad....you probably got pestered so much cause you are so gorgeous.

Aneka, check out the Nena hotel; my friends stayed here (some of us were at the Four Seasons!) and liked it very much.

I believe if a tout will come to a tourist while in Sultanahmet one can always say no and walk away. In some cities you have pick pockets, some baggers and we have the young guys trying to sell all kind of things. ( I do not say its nice or anything; and annoys me too )However Sultanahmet definatelly has a charm. So a traveller should decide after reading some recommendations or based on the feeling.

One another point: If there are so many posts on trip advisor about some spesific hotel I would rather be distant to it. Trip advisor gives a bit of idea yes but everyones experience can not be same, right?
One hotel focus on trip advisor, opens the page and instead of asking guests to write something on guest book they are being us to write on trip advisor on spot !!!! So the ones who do not do this and not appear in trip advisor does not mean bad or is it? Do not think so. Fodors, trip advisor, Turkey Travel Planner forums are all giving some hints & thoughts ( actually Turkey Travel Planner gives more, becouse Tom Brosnahan gives advice and thoughts based on his experience ) and a traveller can get some ideas.
Happy travelling,
Murat

Just got back from 3 weeks in Turkey and spent a total of 7 nights at the Armada Hotel. Liked it very much - very friendly service, great buffet breakfast on the beautiful rooftop dining terrace, immaculate bathrooms. If you do stay there be sure to ask for a quiet room - those facing the street or just under the terrace can be noisy.
Of course you should stay in the Sultanahmet - that's where everything is that you'll want to see first. We also saw the Best Western mentioned by Dutyfree and it is in a great location.
Have a great trip! When are you going?

If you don't want the touts in Sultanahmet to bother you, you can never wear anything nice while walking around. If they see a pair of diamond earrings, a nice watch, good shoes, a designer bag, they assume you have some money to burn and they will hound you until you buy something. It is best to carry on like you are a hippy backpacker staying in a youth hostel. They seem to be left alone. (This is also true for the Grand Bazaar and Spice Bazaar.)

It is amusing that someone stated that if you are in Taksim you could be in any big American city. I find this funny because you usually don't hear everyone speaking Turkish on the streets of Chicago or Philadelphia. When you are in Taksim/Beyoglu you know you are in Turkey. Sultanahmet is the place where you are seated next to Swedes, Germans, Americans, Englishmen when dining out.

Go to Ortakoy for a good evening out. You will be among the "beautiful" Turks.

Handmaiden