Ramada By Wyndham Istanbul Old City

“A great Address in Istanbul !”

For our first ever International Holiday and belated honeymoon,both of which were to be in Istanbul,I wanted us to have a hotel that had reasonable pricing,a great location with excellent public transport links and superb reputation. The first sign of a quality hotel is how responsive they are to … more

For our first ever International Holiday and belated honeymoon,both of which were to be in Istanbul,I wanted us to have a hotel that had reasonable pricing,a great location with excellent public transport links and superb reputation. The first sign of a quality hotel is how responsive they are to emails. Hotels in busy areas of major cities have 24 hour reception. Therefore it is a reasonable expectation for swift responses,even with time differences. I am very happy that very early on,my contact with the hotel led me to Mr Semih Huni,the Front Office Manager. In the lead up to my arrival,Semih offered endless support,help and recommendations to ensure our first ever Istanbul stay would be perfect. If only the whole of our stay had been here at the Ramada by Wyndham Istanbul Old City. On our arrival day,we were very warmly welcomed by Mr Samet and Ms Fatima at Reception. We were told we may instantly connect to the hotel WiFi without passwords,were offered 2 complimentary welcome Lemon Juice vouchers and I was told that a package that I was awaiting had not yet arrived. After a beautiful checkin,we were told we had been upgraded to a Terrace Executive Room with a balcony. We were naturally delighted to hear this ! Upon entering our room,rose petals and non-lit candles led to and on our bed along with beautiful swans and also rose petals on swan shaped towels in the bathroom which also had exquisite bathroom amenities,a hairdryer and a box of tissues. Mr Semih had organised Turkish nibbles and the fridge had free cans of coke,water bottles abd Turkish fruit cakes. The room also had a Nespresso machine and pods as well as 2 Istanbul maps sponsored by the nearby Historia Mall. What beautiful surpriss for us on our first ever Istanbul stay ! There is a lot of storage space with large wardrobes. There is an easy to use safe to securely leave your personal belongings. The TV Channels list is enormous but there was not a single Urdu/Hindi language channel and barely any exciting English language channels. There was MBC Bollywood but dubbed in Arabic. For this room type,a smart tv with youtube is more appropriate where guests can choose content based on their language preferences. I noticed several Pakistani and Indian guests on both days. I was wearing traditional Pakistani male dress and was asked by a few people of my origin which I happily told them is British Pakistani. The location is in a bustling shopping area and if you come out of the hotel and turn right to walk around 15 steps and just before the Simit Salonu shop,there is a helpfully placed kiosk to buy the Istanbulkart. It was TRY165 ( in June 2026 ) to buy the card and we topped it up with TRY 500 which about gets 2 people around the city for the day. When you cross the road and after scanning your Istanbulkart ( 1 swipe per per person travelling to get through the turnstile and only one card needed ),you will find yourself at the tramstop for the T1 line and it is named Findikzade. The stop is 5 stops from the Grand Bazaar ( stop name is Beyazit ), 7 stops from Blue Mosque / Aya Sofya / Topkapi Palace ( stop name SultanAhmet ) and 10 stops to the stop named Eminonu for the ferry port to Uskudar in Asia as well as Galata Bridge and Galata Tower. As you see,the hotel location is outstandingly convenient. The Breakfast was mainly continental but hot items were on offer along with a selection of teas,coffee,water and juices. There was a good variety of Turkish cheeses,salads,jams,spreads,cereals,fruits and breads too. There was even a cute little fridge for kid's milkshake cartons. Tables were cleared and reset at lightning speed and all with a smile. It was disheartening that a neighbouring room chose to smoke in the balcony and have loud phone conversations for both nights of our stay. As it was so warm at night,we had to have the terrace door open. However,I was most impressed when Ms Fatima got me to shut the terrace door and she switched on our air conditioning from reception ! I did note a safety issue with the balcony as it is at waist height and as such a safety risk. I do hope the hotel will fit a safety screen for the safety of guests. Despite the warning sticker you see in my photos,this is a disaster waiting to happen if not sorted soon. The hotel told me that the balcony railings at the hotel comply with the applicable building safety regulations and generally accepted European safety practices. They are not planning any additional modifications at this time. However,I have yet to see any Western hotel with waist height balconies. All hotel signage and publications are in Turkish,Spanish and English. I only saw 3 Spanish people during my stay, a group of 3 ladies. But I guess the hotel must attract many Spanish speaking tourists for all notices to include Spanish translation. Prices are in Euros at the hotel and I was dismayed to pay close to GBP50.00 for Room Service. It was very odd having to pay in Euros in a Turkish hotel. All staff we met during our 2 night stay had a can-do attitude. They were smartly dressed,professional and exceptionally good hosts. I had to ring Ms Fatima a few times to sort out things. Each time,she was of utmost help and enthusiasm. Mr Abdullah kindly offered a free late checkout,Mr Ferhat brought us lemonades and extra toiletries with a smile and kindness,Mr Samet always had a smile and he radiated kindness and finally Ms Erguvan,Ms Natali and Ecrin from the Breakfast Room were super kind,professional and very warm hosts. Any items we needed brought up to the room like laundry bags,drinks etc were all brought within minutes by always smiling staff. On the 2nd night I was paying a bill with Ms Fatima and had some concerns which she caringly listened to. She then gave me two cute Istanbul magnets as a gift and I was touched by this thoughtful gesture. A Good team is ony as good as the manager who motivates,empowers and values them. Mr Semih has built a strong team who are dedicated to serving guests with superior service. There is an iron and ironing board hanging in the wardrobe and a laundry service is offered. The cleanliness level is off the scale and is very meticulously maintained,something which is very important to me when staying in a hotel. The computers and printer located in the lobby are available for all guests to use free of charge,including printing. Would I stay again and recommend this hotel to family,friends and associates ? 101% yes and I cannot wait for my next stay ! Thank You to Mr Semih and his amazing team for creating a magical stay. Again,if only we had stayed at this hotel for our entire stay.

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