Zeynep Sultan Boutique Hotel Istanbul

After staying at a mediocre hostel for our first few nights in Istanbul, we decided upon returning to the city a few weeks later to try a hotel. During the off-season, the hotels are almost as cheap as the hostels, and are infinitely more comfortable.

Zeynep Sultan is a small hotel, but it's in a great location, literally only a stones throw away from the Haigia Sophia and Topkapi Palace. During breakfast, you can sit upstairs on a roof-top cafe and watch the sun-rise over the dome of the Haigia Sophia, truly a spectacular sight. It would be very hard to find a better location in Sultanahmet.

The owner is very friendly as well. The building used to be his childhood home, and he converted it into a hotel. He used to live and work in California (and ironically he had just been in California right before we stayed at his hotel), so his English is perfect. We would spend most mornings talking to him, his nephew, and one of the other staff workers while eating breakfast. Since we were the only guests there, it was a very relaxed and amiable atmosphere.

The room itself was a bit small, and the bathroom is especially tiny. The portable heater, mounted against the wall, was also very loud, so it might be a concern if you are a light sleeper. Overall, though, these disadvantages weren't too serious, because we spent most of our time outside of the room, and were only there to sleep and shower, and the beds and shower were both comfortable.

Would definitely consider staying here again if I ever returned to Istanbul (especially at off-season prices! :)).