TRY: Gulhane Park Hotel

1 Nobethane Street, Istanbul, Turkey

At first, I wondered whether I should go back to the hotel that I went to on my first trip to Istanbul, Turkey a few years ago. Chancing upon Gulhane Park Hotel (4*) that's pretty highly rated online, I decided to stay there for 4D3N, only to be disappointed and convinced that I shouldn't go back there. Read further to find out why.

From Istanbul Ataturk Airport, my BFF, my sister and I took a train ride to Sirkeci Marmaray station.

Ahhh, the Bosphorus, the pride of Istanbul~

The hotel is within a short walking distance from one of the station exits, though I can't remember exactly which one.

Serving us at the check-in counter was a rather obnoxious man who's possibly the manager of the hotel or someone of a certain rank. Granted, he can speak English pretty fluently, but I recall him talking to me with an air of superiority. When I wanted to pay using American Express credit card, he declined even though there's the logo at the counter.

The man in a black suit is the irritating guy, while the other one is friendly.

There's only one computer for sharing.

I didn't see the bar in operation at all throughout my stay.

I forgot to take a picture of the elevator, but anyway, my BFF and I were assigned to a room on the third floor. My sister waited downstairs while we were escorted to our room by one of the staff members. Afterwards, I asked my sister to go up for a short while to get her goods from me, while my BFF went down to ask for the Wi-Fi password. According to my BFF, the obnoxious man told him off, saying that he had already given me the password when I clearly didn't receive anything from him. On top of that, he also told him to ask my sister to get out of the room.

It's clear that the hotel isn't 4* according to international standards, but it actually doesn't bother me because I just need a place to sleep comfortably when I'm travelling. However, the room had a slightly musty smell, so I immediately opened the window to let some fresh air in.

The bed and pillows are too soft for my liking.

The bathroom was clean, having a rather powerful shower.

There was a construction going on near the hotel, but the work only happened during the day. There wasn't any noise in the evening.

When three of us went down, I asked my sister to tell the guy in Turkish that she just wanted to take some stuff from my luggage. It was unfortunate that he was no longer at the counter, but my sister did tell the friendly guy, who told her with a smile not to worry at all. Anyway, before leaving, we checked out the basement where the Turkish bath, sauna and gym are.