Şebnem Hotel

Good
Traveller Type: Family with Young Children
  : - The staff was very friendly and tried all to make the guests feel "at home", they were very helpful (sometimes almost too much). - The hotel is perfectly situated. - The additionally booked transfer from and to the airport worked perfectly.
  : - The room was above a passageway and facing a street, which meant that late at night we sometimes had to put up with noise (removal trucks) and people talking and laughing under the window. - Try to "sell" fewer additional offers, as this can come across as pushy. Just mention once that you are happy to help with insider knowledge about the city if it is needed, then people will be happy to approach you if necessary, but have peace of mind if they don't need it. - The door of the bathroom should be fixed and it would be great if it was possible to get a second comforter from the beginning, even if the hotel is fully booked (at least 1 spare comforter in housekeeping...). But the stuff did all to help us with other and good ideas!

Good
Traveller Type:
  : Really good location.
  : Room wasnt as nice as pictured on booking.com. I think the staff were trying to be helpful but very pushy when selling tours.

Very Good
Traveller Type: Family with Young Children
  : Breakfast was amazing!
  : Very small bathroom and not as clean as I would like it to be.

Poor
Traveller Type: Solo Traveler

Fair
Traveller Type:
  : Really cant understand the comments.First of all: the staff was super friendly, especially the lady at the breakfast and the cleaning lady, but also disappointing in some other ways.The location was good, supermarkets are quite far away.
  : We were told (via WhatsApp (and I did not gave permission to contact me with WhatsApp, theres an option on booking.com for conversations with the customer, they should use this instead of WhatsApp) right before arriving) that a pickup service from the airport would be 60 and a pickup and return price would be 100 - we didnt choose this option and arrived by ourself with the train. Right at the beginning (after arriving and without the pickup service) we were asked if wed like to get the shuttle service to the airport booked or not. We had been unsure about it, but we took the shuttle. The thing is: The shuttle is a regular taxi and it would be 1100 Lira, which is roughly about 31, so we thought thats a good deal. - and its actually a fixed price/special offer with the taxi company, we were told. After weve been at the airport the taxi driver told us it would be roughly about 950 Lira. We gave him 1100, cause we didnt cared much, the rest was a tip, but: hows that even possible? 60 one way, 100 both the return shuttle and than its just the 1100 Lira thinglooks pretty dishonest to me. The other thing is: We had to change rooms, which we didnt even cared much about, but the second room was pretty small, the mattresses are compared to the first one an absolute nightmare (way to soft and to thin) and the hair dryer was smoky and not turning on while holding upside down. I actually got a video of it and we were able to see not only smoke coming out of it but also electrical shocks, the rubber of the dryer literally burnt down - thats super dangerous. Wasnt even able to blow dry my hair for two days. We actually told one guy, he told us hell handle it, but he didnt. The breakfast wasnt even that good. There were no big slices of bread or anything like that, just slices of baguette. Weve been disappointed about it. The nice pictures on booking are just about the premium room which may be better but the rest is super old and outdated.

Wonderful
Traveller Type: Solo Traveler

Wonderful
Traveller Type: Traveling as Couple
  : Best breakfast we have had in our travels. Converted us to Turkish food.Staff were absolutely wonderful ensuring we get the most out of our 5 day stay. Many thank to Rukiye and Ali, Feride and Fatma. Good team that work here. Would stay here again

Wonderful
Traveller Type: Family with Young Children
  : The location is fantastic! 3 minutes away from Hagia Sofia and Topkapi palace. If its your 1st time in Istanbul, highly recommend to stay in this place, because you will save time and money on transportation and will be able to easily explore old city at any time of the day. Also, breakfast was nice, included traditional Turkish dishes, fruit, vegetables, sweets (buffet system). And the terrace, where you take breakfast, has a fascinating view on the Bosporus.Finally, I appreciate the help and hospitality of the hosts, Ali gave us a lot of good recommendations, explained everything about the city centre and must visit places, supported the arrangement of boat tour and hamam.
  : Room was small and very simple, old-fashioned, good only for sleeping, not comfortable to spend relaxing time. There is no free tea or coffee, only cooler. I was disappointed, that they do not provide toothpaste, toothbrush, shower gel, only shampoo (bad quality). So I would say, that the room has very minimum you need to stay. Mostly you pay for the location, hospitality and terrace.