Need some Istanbul hotel/geography guidance
 

My husband and I will be in Istanbul in late Sept for 5 nights and are trying to choose between two hotels. The House Hotel Galatasaray which is about a 25 minute or a 10 minute tram ride (so I am told) walk from the Blue Mosque and is located in the historic district of Galatasaray, and the Faros Hotel which is about a 2 minute walk from the Blue Mosque (I am just using the Mosque as a reference point)
We prefer the accommodations at the Galatasaray hotel, but could use some advice on the neighborhood and/or its proximity to everything Istanbul. We love to walk, but are not sure that we want to hike it 25 minutes everytime we leave the hotel. Some Istanbul orientation would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance.

The House hotel Galatasaray has no proximity to the standard historic sites of the city. You could walk down the hill within about 12 minutes and catch the tram to go there, which will be a 15 minute ride and trams are frequent.

On your way back you would take the same tram back all the way to the end of the line to kabatas, take the funicular up to Taksim and then either walk or take the historic tram to galatasaray. Or you can take a taxi, which should not cost more than 12TL for the ride back to your hotel, although the tram is a better choice during the rush hour.

The hotel is very close to one of the evening fun spots called the French street with cafes, restaurants and nice ambience but not terrific food. You will also be very close to istiklal Street where life goes on for 24 hours, and to Cihangir (through the back streets) where the artsy people and expats congregate. You will also be in the thick of one of the antique shop areas in Istanbul.

One of my nieces just bought a flat close to House hortel, and finished renovating and furnishing it and will tak me there this Thursday. I can write more about the hotel after that visit.

The web site of the hotel looks terrific.

I would prefer it to any hotel in Sultanahmet because of the location which will allow you to go out at any time of the day or night and feel the throbbing of the city with people in the streets and open shops and cafes. Sultanahmet has tourists and more tourists and the people who make money from tourists and that is it in terms of the life style of the district.



A few hundred yards up from your hotel, you have the people of a very cosmopolitan city and their lives.

Otherchelebi,
Thank you so much for the quick response and great information. I would really love to hear your opinion of the hotel if you get a chance to write more after your visit with your niece. Thanks again.

I agree. Stay in Galatasaray area where you'll find many fun stuff to do at night. It's very close to an long avenue called which is kind of like Times Square area with many restaurants and shops that are open late. Sultanahmet area is not fun at night.

Thanks Boncuk. Sounds like Galatasaray is the better place to be.

For a different opinion I'm going to say stay in Sultanahmet. We were there for 8 nights two years ago and stayed there. We stayed at the Hotel Tashkonak, less than five minute walk from the Blue Mosque. It was about 80€ double in March. www.hoteltashkonak.com/

What otherchelebi says about the neighborhoods is correct. Sultanahmet does have a lot of tourist stuff. But it's also where the majority of the main tourist sites are located. It was quiet at night, but that can be a good thing. We went to Galatasary for dinner several evenings, the others we ate in Sultanahmet. There were plenty of restaurants to choose from.

Boncuk used the example of Galatasary being like Times Square - well not exactly but sort of. So to stick with the NY example, (assuming you know NY which you may not) would you rather stay in Times Square or the uppper West Side - only in the case of Istanbul the proximity to tourist sites is switched.

Isabel,
Thanks for your reply. I am actually from NY and would always rather be on the Upper West side than Times Square.
So, if I read your advice correctly, you are saying stay where the attractions are in Sultanahment,enjoy the peace and quiet at night and head over to Galatasaray for a bit of liveliness and some good restaurants in the evening. Thanks again.

Isabel and macksix, the similarities, including boncuk's are rather off. Well, actually it is almost impossible to find any similarity between Manhattan and Istanbul. But galatasaray area is definitely not times Square. It is more like between 30th and 45th and between 1st and Park, but with turn of the century buildings, narrow streets and a mixture of residential, entertainment and business. That is also why it never looks abandoned, empty dirty and depressing as the area around times Square does after the theatres are over.

The Sultanahmet area is composed of narrow tourist streets around the large spaces dominated by the Blue Mosque, the Hippodrome, Saint Sophia, etc. Most of these streets are now traffic free. Many have restored old Turkish wooden houses and some of the streets look very nice.
The area has no relation to upper west side where i have lived for a while (99th and Westend)
If i were given an alternative in Manhattan i would also definitely prefer my old address to Times Square.

the advantage of sutanahmet is that if you are going to spend all your days among the historic sights, you may be able to walk back to your hotel to rest in between.

Otherchelebi and Isabel,
Thanks for the Manhattan analogies. Those help quite a bit, as I am an East Side girl and very familiar with that part of Manhattan.
Otherchelebi, I would still be interested to hear your thoughts on the hotel after you visit your niece in Galatasary. Thanks so much for your time.

Otherchelebi - just wondering if you ever got a chance to take a look at the Hotel Galatasaray while you were visiting your niece.
Thanks!

I am so embarrassed, i actually did find the street the hotel is on but could not drive the street to have a look because of some road works. Did not think that the location was good, and actually and mistakenly wrote what i thought of it on another thread or as a PM to Lcuy.

I apologize, and here it is:

The hotel is too far down from istiklal street. It is very close to the French Street which is a nice location to visit but not to stay. At night, except for the proximity of French street, i do not like the neighborhood. Another nice accommodation is Tom Tom suites, which is close by and suffers from similar problems.

I would suggest a third alternative. Villa Zurich at Cihangir. most rooms are small but a very pleasant location. Going with the Manhattan Analogy, like lower East side, bohemian, artistic, cafes, restaurants, bakeries, patisseries, life goes on till wee hours, shady streets with nice trees.

We just stayed four nights in the Sultanahmet area and loved it. Very close to the main sites as mentioned. We don't mind other tourists and will even talk to them from time to time.

I would definitely stay in the Sultanahmet area. We had a small, lovely hotel with a room with a view of the Blue Mosque, great breakfasts, even dinners if you wanted to eat there. Quiet and serene at night. Lovely memories.

macksix,

We stayed at the Faros less than a year ago. Yes, Sultanahmet is touristy, but that didn't bother us; we wanted to stay near the main sites. It's ideally located, just a few steps from the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sofia, the Basilica Cistern, and not far from Topkapi and the Grand Bazaar. The tram, which we took often, runs along Divan Yolu and the stop is a few yards from the front door of the hotel. We loved hearing it when we were in our room. We also loved the calls to prayer which seemed to be in competition with one another.

The hotel itself is relatively small (20-some rooms, I think), with a good restaurant and very friendly and helpful staff. We'd stay there again.

Ellen

Otherchelebi - Thank you so much for your reply and for taking the time to look for the hotel. We would have been very disappointed to be in a questionable neighborhood.
Ellen7005/Colduphere/jtrandolph, thanks for your reply as well. It seems like the Faros may be the best choice.