Norway M. Pourbayat My experience from Alzer Hotel is form may 2008. Alzar is a small hotel with international standard with a friendly atmosphere. I have been tour manager for a group of academics and professionals who have been interested in Turkish culture and Istanbul. I have received only positive feedback from tour members. I have many experiences from several hotels in Istanbul but my experience as a tour manager from Azar Hotel was very positive. Alzar Hotel, located in the historic part of Istanbul, and only a few metres from the Blue mosque in Sultanhamet. This location is unique. At the same time, there are not too much traffic noise around the hotell and it's not far from the city's most valuable historical and cultural places. By staying at the Azar hotell saved us a lot of time by not using taxi or bus. The hotel has a politely and kind staff. The food is very good and safe. The hotel has a very rich and good breakfast with well-behaved kitchen - personnel. The rooms are large enough, clean and inventories are very nice and have a high quality. Bathrooms are large, modern and clean. The hotel has a very skilled manager that she could assist with information and assistance already in the planning phase and before we left for IStanbul. The price is not high in relation to quality. The room walls are not insulated against the noise, but they are not so noisy even the hotel is located in middle of a mega city. I'm going to use the same hotel for my groups in the future, and can safely recommend to other agencies, and tourists who want quality in relation to the price they pay.

Nice location, OK facilities, but VERY questionable business ethics. We PRE-PAID our reservations through our travel agent-- two days at the beginning of our trip and two days at the end. First two days were fine...but upon our return, we were informed that a "small problem" existed and the hotel gave away our reservations to another group. They proposed to move us into another hotel for one night and then force us to pack up and move back to the Alzer the second night. Packing up after one night and then shifting over to the Alzer would be a nightmare, so I proposed that we spend both nights at the other hotel and was told they were booked up the second night. After checking into the other hotel, I asked about availability for the second night and sure enough, they had space....so...the Alzer lied. I asked the other hotel to call over and see if we can stay the second night and their reply was "no, that wasn't good for the Alzer." I then walked over to the Alzer and they FINALLY recanted and we stayed put. So, would I recommend the Alzer again...no way...they really don't care about their customers even when the PRE-PAY for a reservation!

We had a fantastic holiday in Istanbul and Hotel Alzer offered Turkish hospitality at its best! From the moment of arrival we were shown to our room and was given some information about the location we were staying in and recommendations for tours/restaurants. The hotel and room were very clean and staff were very friendly making sure that we were happy at all times. Breakfast was served on the 5th floor and offered fantastic views of Sultan Ahmet mosque and St Sophia. The staff present at breakfast was a lovely man who made sure that eveyone was happy and was happy to accommodate any special requests. I would throughly recommend staying at this hotel especially due to its close location to all the historical sites. The only word of advice would be around the taxi drivers. We only had one bad experience when we were charged a night rate when using the taxi in the morning. Between the hours of 6am-12 midnight make sure that the meter shows 'gunduz' starting rate of 2.00 TL. any hours after that the taxi's double the rate. Better still its always recommended to ask the hotel staff to call you a taxi!! Take the Bosphoras tour from Eminonu harbour over to Anadolu Kavagi (asian side) and make sure you sample the fresh fish and take a walk up to Yoros Castle for wonderful views. Also highly recommended is the sufi music concert and whirling dervishes ceremony held at Sirkeci station - follow the tram line and its about a 15 minute walk. Lastly, whilst the Han restaurant which is very near Topkapi Palace looks very good we would advise that you avoid eating here as the staff are extremely rude and the food is better almost everywhere else! Try the Rumeli cafe highly recommended for its food and service!

Whenever we visit countries, such as Turkey, with a rich culture we like to stay at hotels which give the feeling of what it is like to live in that country. The Alzer hotel offers that and more. They kindly arranged our transfers from sabina gokcen airport, which can take 1-2 hours depending on traffic. We were welcomed at the hotel at 2am. Our room and the hotel itself was stylishly furnished and decorated in keeping with traditional ottoman tastes. The online photographs were a true likeness of what it looked like at the hotel. The bedding and bathroom were clean and the shower was nice and powerfull. The breakfast buffet offered various choices of tasty cuisine and the views from the table were breathtaking. Great way to start the day. All the major sites were within walking distance. The hotel was located on the main street, so we did not have to walk in any side streets or up/down the hills. After visiting the beautiful mosques and palaces it was nice to find a bit of that same style in the hotel. Overall Mrs. Meral and all the hotel staff were very friendly and professional. They were attentive to our needs and helped make our visit to Turkey an enjoyable one.