User reviews of Istanbul
You gotta to see it!!
An amazing city! When the old meets the modern, where Asia meets Europe! I lived there 2 years, it was an unforgattable experience.
You did not find this review helpful.
(Report Problem)Hostel advisory!
There is a hostel that is abusing the integrity of the hostel rating system as well as pressuring/coercing their guests into giving them inflated ratings. This experience happened to me and many others while staying at the Bahaus Guesthouse in Istanbul. Furthermore, my traveling companioning gave honest and helpful feedback on hostelworld.com and it was immediately deleted by the Bahuas Manager/owner. Even more frightening, she has since received two very offensive and belligerent emails from him. I hope this webpage will honor our feedback written to inform other travelers. The Manager/owner of Bahaus will pressure you to write him excellent reviews and ratings. While we were there, he would continually comment about the guests who did not give him a positive review or rating. Most of these interactions were extremely uncomfortable. Many of the guests would try to avoid him. Also, this owner/manager would push activities and services on us and his other guests that would cost a ridiculous amount of money (i.e. a 50 euro party in the only common room). When we chose not to attend, he made disparaging comments wanting us feel guilty. I should add that he was frequently inebriated making some interactions potentially volatile. In short, we found him to be so aggressively confrontational that he was actually a liability to his own business. Sadly, he had some decent staff who were obviously afraid of him. They even resorted to begging us for excellent ratings and comments because they were afraid of “what he would do”. On our last night, the manager was even more relentless and said that we should write our review right then and there (while he watched) because he said he needed us to boost his rating after a previous guest gave his hostel a low security rating. Though this hostel had plenty of other issues (i.e., no water, cold showers, miscommunication on prices/ costs of services, payment receipts not issued leading to awkward situations, resistance to advertised kitchen use, cold rooms, etc.) most of us agree that these issues could have occurred at any hostel. Some of the guests felt so stressed that they moved to the Sultan Hostel, the Orient Hostel and Yuclet Interyouth Hostel where they said that the atmosphere was much better. We were unable to move because we had prepaid on arrival. The good news is that Istanbul is a BLAST no matter where you stay! We highly recommend the Archaeological Museum, Aya Sofya and the Underground Cistern. For fun, check out the inexpensive ferry services, Taxsim’s main street and a walk through the Grand Bazaar. If you stay in Sultanamet, Restaurant Doy-Doy is inexpensive and delicious and Taxsim has the fantastic Marco Pasha Restaurant. Enjoy and be safe! saalbano@yahoo.com
You have found this review helpful.
(Report Problem)we cant wait to go
it was wonderfull it was wonderfull it was wonderfull it was wonderfull it was wonderfull it was wonderfull
You have found this review helpful.
(Report Problem)Most beautiful city (country!)
A incedible city, unvaluable! I liked historical buildings and Ayasofia (should be in 7 wonders). Maslak is the Manathan of the city with those huge buildings, and Bogaz bridge is the most beautiful view of the city, I live in LA and belive that LA and Istanbul can't be comparable... You must visit Istanbul before you go.
You did not find this review helpful.
(Report Problem)Back in a heartbeat
Where to start? I loved everything! The food! It is everywhere and it is very good. The Turkish people are warm and fun. If you are willing to converse with the vendors on the street, instead of just ignoring them, you can have loads of fun talking with them. I never had any trouble with having things stolen but you should alway be careful no matter where you are. The historical sites are around every corner. And the prices area a bit high for some of them but when will you get this chance again? Public Transportation is the key to traveling there. It is cheap and goes close to where you want to be, especially on the European side of the Bosphorus. But, don't be afraid to go to the Asian side as well, you will miss an entirely different experience and wonderful sites. I stayed on the Asian side and the atmosphere was incredible. Peaploe watching skills are a must. Just sit in a street cafe and watch. It is incredible what you'll see.
You did not find this review helpful.
(Report Problem)fantastic
it is the hart of the world but it is the hart itself
You have found this review helpful.
(Report Problem)Sponsored Links
- "Cheap Flights Istanbul"
- Compare flights to Istanbul from all Airports in the Uk.Cheapflights.co.uk/istanbul
- "350 Hotels in Istanbul - Turkey"
- Save up to 50% Guest-reviews. No reservation fee, pay at the hotel.Booking.com/hotels-in-istanbul
- "Istanbul"
- Research Istanbul Hotels and Istanbul Attractions.Istanbul.TripAdvisor.co.uk
- "Www.Istanbul Rates"
- Need a Hotel in Istanbul? Www.Istanbul Hotel Bargains.www.NexTag.co.uk/hotels