Stayed at the Arden City Hotel for 4 nights over Easter long-weekend for my first visit (hopefully not my last) to Istanbul. Overall, my impression of the hotel is good. I would highly, highly recommend going to their private hamam next door. I had a full body scrub and massage that left my skin looking and feeling fantastic. It’s very clean and hygienic and even better, it’s not rushed like it would be at the more “famous” hamams. The massage was a deep-tissue massage so be prepared. While the attendants (A Crimean woman who has perfected her English banter, and her Turkish assistant) are clinically detached, you really need to get over any body shyness you may have, as it really is a full body scrub.
What I liked:
- The location. If you want to explore the top five (Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Basilica Cistern, Grand Bazaar, Topkapi Palace) then this is the hotel for you. It is perfectly situated within easy (less than 10 minutes) walking distance of all five. Get an Istanbul card from the front desk, load it with 20 TL at the Tram stop and you can take the tram to Karaköy, then take the Funicular up to Taksim Square. The card is super useful as you can also use it for the Public WCs (1 TL) in Parks.
- The room. We stayed in the Deluxe Room on the 2nd floor which was quiet. The décor is a little kitschy but the beds are quite comfortable.
What could be improved:
- The WiFi signal was weak in our room, even with a router/repeater literally outside the door of the room.
- It was not clear that we could order hot food at breakfast (e.g., an omelet) for an extra fee. Perhaps this could be explained at check-in.