The Dersaadet Hotel
 

My wife, mother-in-law and I just returned from a great week in Istanbul. The experience was made all the more pleasureable by our fortunate choice of hotel. The Dersaadet is a gem and a great find. I highly recommend it.

If you're looking for a small, independently run boutique hotel with many of the amenities of a 5* hotel, this is it. Rooms are very well appointed with phone, TV, comfortable beds, smoking/no smoking choice, etc. Bathrooms are tastefully decorated and some larger rooms have baths as well as showers. We like the views from the top (3rd) floor. The corner suites are particularly nice. There are great views of the stunning Blue Mosque and the sea from the charming roof terrace where breakfast and cocktails are served.

The lobby has 24 hour broadband and wifi Internet access. Receptionists are very experienced, professional, informed and charming. The hotel is run by Deniz Duyar, a young man with a three-generation background in hotel management -- and it shows. He has a superb eye for detail.

Free airport pickup is offered (a $20 value) and Deniz was kind enough to offer a free airport lift to my mother-in-law late at night!

You won't go wrong here!
Happy travels!

Hello brownkat.

Your report is just exactly what i've been looking for.
I was indecisive among several boutique hotels about which i read throughly.
But finally i found the comment that calls the Dersaadet Hotel as "gem"!!
Please kindly help me with several points.
- How is circumstance around the hotel?
Is it not so noisy? Safe enough?
- How is circumstance inside the hotel?
Is it a quiet hotel?
- Is the hotel easy to access by taxi?
Or is there any sort of conspicuous building, which everybody knows?
- Did you have no problem in hot water?

Thank you in advance!!

hi cigdem,

i've also been looking for an istanbul hotel or B&B. One thing to consider is that brownkat has only posted 3 times on Fodors and only to recommend this hotel. It could be that he was just very excited/pleased with his hotel stay or that it's a plug by someone who doesn't regularly participate in the forum. just a thought...

I found the turkeytravelplanner website a terrific resource for hotel and other information on Istanbul when I was planning a trip there a couple of years ago. The site also has forums where you can ask questions about specific hotels.

If you ask for their "best" rate when you email hotels for room rates you'll almost always get rates lower than what is shown on the websites, especially if you specify cash payment.

Dear fishee,
I think the same way as you.
The hotel must be nice and worth trying.
Have you decided to stay here, or still searching others as well?

Dear Maddy,
Please let me know URL of the terrific website on Istanbul that you're talking about.
I would like to check hotels in other area than Sultanahmet,
but i cannot find posts about other area much.

Thanks!
cigdem

The reviews for the Dersaadet are excellent on tripadvisor, for what that's worth... It's still in the running although ideally I would have liked to stay at the Empress Zoe

http://www.emzoe.com/htm/124/ent.php

My friend is having problems with stairs due to a knee injury, however, which pretty much rules the Zoe out. My other considerations are the Naz Wooden House Inn (cheapest of all my options) although back-facing rooms suffer from noise.

http://www.nazwoodenhouseinn.com/

The Uyan hotel also looks nice for the rate and has a lovely terrace but it's the most "hotel-ish".

http://www.uyanhotel.com/

Let me know if you run across anything that looks interesting.

Hi cigdem. The website is

turkeytravelplanner.com

From the main page there's links to hotel area descriptions, hotel reviews and the forum pages where you can ask questions.

Dear fishee and Maddy

I checked out URLs you've kindly given to me, finding all the hotels looking fab.
In the meantime, I contacted with the Dersaadet Hotel, and was informed that
they don't have any room for Apr. 29&30, but have for May. 1-6.
So I'm trying to stay two hotels,
one is Dersaadet, the other is one from your information.

fishee, when will you go to turkey with your friend?
If your trip would be later than mine,
I can give you report of hotels I'll stay, especially from point of view of your friend's knee.
On the other hand, regarding Empress Zoe,
one of my friends points out attention to position of rooms should be paid,
to avoid being annoyed by with noise of street.(turist's rants)
The noise matter depends on occasion which we cannot expect in advance,
but I guess you should ask the hotel
to give you quiet room for safety sake,
when booking.

Maddy, have you ever stayed in small hotels in Istanbul?
If yes, would you please let us know your experience?

Thanx!!
cigdem

cigdem,

I'll be Istanbul for late summer so reports would be really appreciated. However, I feel like with many of these small places, the specific room seems to make a big difference. So please note which room you stayed in!

I can't stay in Em Zoe anyway due to all the stairs... Have a great trip.

cigdem, I stayed at a Best Western that was just ok. The location was good but the air conditioning didn't work very well and also we got the hard sell as soon as we walked through the door for guide services, car rental etc. I don't remember off the top of my head which Best Western it was and I know there are several in the old section of Istanbul but if you want the name, let me know, and I'll find my info at home later.

Several other hotels that I considered before booking the Best Western (besides the Dersaadet - I looked at that one too) were the Apricot hotel, the Sari Kanak??, Seven Hills, and the Hali Hotel. Maybe try some of those?

Hi
OK, I'll check out hotels and report to you.
I'm planning to stay in Besktas (New-City Area) for the first two-three days.
Hope to find nice one.
To revert back to you!!
Chie

Just returned from Turkey with my family of 5. Stayed at the Dersaadet and recommend it without hesitation. the location is great and the staff is very friendly. For sometime modern and inexpensive near Taskin square, we also stayed at the Rose Pera hotel. Hope that helps.

GT2 -- thanks for the report back. Could you describe the room you stayed in -- corner suite, standard, lower/higher floor? thanks again

Merhaba GT2,

I'm also interested in which room you stayed, how big it was etc.
On the other hand, how was the Rose Pera hotel?
Since I have to stay other hotel than Dersaadet due to fully-booking,
I'm planning to stay in hotel near Taksim Square.
Awaiting for your report
Thanx in advance
cigdem

I travelled with my family of five and stayed in the Corner suite. My kids are small (7, 9, 10) so it worked out Ok with three beds. The Rose Pera is located just down the street from the Mamara Pera ($350USD) whereas the Rose is probably more like $100. It is a very modern hotel, not a lot of character but very clean. The owner of the travel agency (Matiana Travel) I used stays there when he is in Istanbul. There is a beautiful view from the roof and the location is helpful. Hope that helps.

Hi GT2,
Thank you very much for your useful info. The place and location of Pera Rose seems to be very suitable for me.
I'll enjoy modern taste in new city and classic one in old city!
Thanks again,
cigdem

Dear marionceylan,

Thank you for web sites showing a lot of boutique hotels which i love more than normal big hotel.
I'll check it out, and revert back to you with report.
I'm very excited to fly to Istanbul next weekend!

Thanks again
cigdem