Howdy all, time for another patented ‘Accommodation Review’ – this time in what I think is best described as a Bed and Breakfast in the Sultanahmet area of Istanbul, the Dilhayat Kalfa. At a little over $80AUD a night (booked well in advance) or around $52USD, this one was great value for money with a friendly host, and easily within walking distance of the main things to see and do in the Sultanahmet (Istanbul’s chief tourist zone) – The Blue Mosque, Hagia Sofia, Basilica Cistern and the Topkapi Palace. In short, I was pretty happy here!

I arrived after a ridiculously slow journey of my own making from Luxor, Egypt via Cairo and Doha. I arrived in the evening around 830pm, it’s a four storey building down a few streets 10 minutes walk away (max) from the heart of the Sultanahmet. The manager greeted me, a really friendly guy from Syria who was always happy to chat and to give advice, which is what you want in my opinion.

The room was small, to be honest smaller than I was expecting. A largish TV – I think it was a Smart TV. Small bathroom with shower, but it was all very nice and decorated with some mahogany esque cupboards. The heater was effective  -perhaps too effective, but there was a small openable window which could be used to cool things down.

The bed was big, at least a queen size but on the downside it took up a large part of the room and this limited the spare space. The only desk area was by the television at the end of the bed. But it was clean, well presented and I was comfortable there. The shower was decent too, nice hot water. The WiFi was okay, but variable sometimes running nice and fast and other times no doubt weighed down by the workload it had to deal with.

It was a tall, thin sort of building and the highlight was the top floor where there was a balcony with some great bay views and views of the local streets as well. Also on the top floor was the dining area where breakfast was served, included in the price. It was mostly cold meats, cheese and bread but there were other offerings I think like cereal. This area was also used for relaxing and it was attached to a little kitchen, which I used one night to heat something up – only to find out that I wasn’t supposed to it was only for the staff to prepare and clean up breakfast.

The lobby too was a nice area decorated in a Turkish style. There was a bit of local information to be had there and occasionally people dropped in for a coffee. Again, the manager was super nice and super helpful, and it was a very decent place to stay indeed.

Andy’s Ratings:

Value for Money: 4/5

Service: 4/5

Location: 4/5

Noise: 4/5

Cleanliness: 4/5

Total: 20/25 [80/100]

Thanks for popping by! May the Journey Never End!