3 Best Hotels in Urfa (Sanliurfa), The Black Sea Coast and Lake Van

On the northwest edge of the old town, Urfa's Hilton offers the style and services you'd expect from a top international chain. Modern, plush, and comfortable, it's a relaxed bastion of Westernization in one of Turkey's most conservative cities, although that means there's a total cultural disconnect with the city around it. There is a full range of facilities including a pool and a gym.

Built of local stone, imitating the local architectural style, this sprawling hotel tries to mix Urfa character with five-star luxury by offering spacious and comfortable rooms, with large beds, wood furniture, vaulted ceilings, and bathrooms with mosaic-like tiles and baths. Service is attentive and professional and a pool is cut into a rock chamber under the hotel.

A series of old houses near the fishponds, now in the hands of the tourism faculty of the local university, offer an enormous range of rooms, some cut out of the rock à la Cappadocia. The rooms are generally large and nicely furnished with wood pieces. Pleasant terraces overlook the park, lake, and castle.