Allstar Ambassador Hotel, Istanbul

This September, we embarked on a lovely trip of the East Europa and parts of Turkey in celebration of our 15th wedding anniversary. Ambassador Hotel was to be our treat at the end of this lovely vacation. Front Desk Manager of Ambassador Hotel, Bunyamin , clearly went above and beyond the call of duty. Once we had checked in, he invited us to the rooftop lounge and began our visit with a detailed conversation to discover what we would like to get out of our Istanbul experience. Once armed with this information he made a number of suggestions of things to do and see during our stay in Istanbul. From his selection of a guide to take us on a historic walking tour, to his personal tutelage in negotiating with shopkeepers in the Grand Bazaar his recommendations were flawless and his personal assistance was unparalleled. The staff at the Ambassador Hotel was equally committed to the best overall experience for their guests. This hotel is small and intimate and while there, we felt like we were part of the family. Many thanks to Bunyamin and all of the staff at the AMBASSADOR ! I will definitely stay at the Ambassador Hotel again Ambassador Hotel was indeed the jewel that capped a most memorable holiday for us.

Eight days at the Ambassador - the reception staff were really friendly and exceptionally helpful. They went out of their way to assist my successful purchasing of a ticket to se the Bodrum Trip. The hotel is close to the Grand Bazaar and Blue Mosque. The breakfasts were a terrific spread of traditional Turkish food (after all, one is in Turkey) and the breakfast room has a glorious view. The breakfast staff were a bit too keen whipping your plate away before you have quite finished eating. I had booked and prepaid for a double bed but my request for a quiet room meant swapping that booking for kingside bed . The modern fibreglass shower bath was an interesting challenge as the actual side of the bath was so high that it was quite dangerous stepping in and out of the bath. Pleased I travel with a small rubber bath mat! The Ottoman house adjoining my bedhead wall was being loudly demolished over that entire week and at one stage something like a battering ram hit the wall behind my head and dislodged the actual bedhead close to my head. I have previously stayed close to the Turkish Islamic Museum and would look for accommodation in that area on my next visit to Istanbul

I traveled to Istanbul in early May Previously i had read that the hotel's location was different from location indicated on various maps in Internet and it took about 10 minutes to find AMBASSADOR Hotel after I get out of tramway. Normal time to get to HH is 2 minutes. I bookedr single room. I didn't care about AC, big space etc. All I needed was a bed, a bathroom and average breakfast as I came to Istanbul for business. The room proved to be extremely small and there were 2 beds. The bath drops into lavatory pan and trash bucket. The square of the room was about 7 sq.m. and the bathroom and WC combined less than 1 sq.m. I stayed at hotel 4 nights and my room was never cleaned during that time as well as bedclothes was never changed. I didn't care - they didn't care. I kept a window open daylong and closed it overnight. It was not so warm in September and closed window protected me against morning noise, so I didn't need AC. Many people complain about steep stairs. It was not a problem for me but I have no idea how to lift a babycarriage to your floor as only one of two wings has elevator. However I saw several families with babies Breakfast is poor but i guess it's OK for a hotel of this level. Turkish sausage and cheese are nasty, you can eat eggs, tomatos, bread, butter, jams, honey etc. There is also a great view of Bosphorus from several tables situated outdoor The best feature of the hotel is location. Sultanahmet is probably the best place in Istanbul in terms of transport accessibility.If you fly into Istanbul via Sabina Gokcen airport, get the E10 bus from the airport to Kadikoy, and then the ferry to Eminönü – There is also a supermarket near HotelI had cable TV in my room but TV-set couldn't be turned on. However WiFi connection speed was sufficient to watch online-video The bottomline is that this hotel is OK for a single traveller or for a group of young people, not for anybody else I would not stay there again.. If you’re after somewhere cheap and cheerful, this is the place to stay.

Ambassasdor was not as described, all the rooms were very small and shabby in need of some repair , it was generally disappointing. On the plus side I found the staff polite, although comparing it to my last two trips to Istanbul the hotel fell very short. The breakfast was also disappointing. I had travelled alone and was planning to meet friends out in Istanbul and had asked if the hotel would allow one of my friends to stay with me and they agreed at a cost of 40 Euros per night. When I arrived they declined that this arrangement had been made and then finally agreed on 59 Euros per night. When my friend arrived we agreed that this was a bit steep and decided that we wouldn't continue with the arrangement but that I would stay alone. The hotel still charged me for one night despite the fact that my friend didn't stay or have breakfast and only spent about 2 hours with me in the room before heading out for dinner, no luggage was even brought over. They insisted that since the person had entered the room I would be charged, even though there was no check -in and no key was given. I was surprised with their lack of understanding or flexibility. I would definitely give the hotel a miss for many reasons; including all of the above and the fact that it is right by the train track and despite being in one of the back streets it is a very noisy location.

Ambassador Hotel itself might be good. I'd have written a nice review if it had not been for their manager, some Burcin is pretty good at operating scams. Here is my experience. Our stay was booked 2 months in advance, guaranteed by credit card and confirmed. A day before arrival I got a phone call from Mr Burcin and was iformed that all of their bathrooms were out of order, so they wouldn't be able to accomodate us. He proposed "a partner hotel" instead, namely, Lausos Hotel. Also, he promised a free transfer as a compensation. They never provided that transfer, we waited in vain at the airport, and we finally got to the Ambassadsor Hotel by taxi, we saw their hotel full of guests. Apparently, all of those poor guests were excreting in the nearby street, or that was what Mr Burcin Barunonu wanted us to believe. He asked for a payment on the spot, refused to accept a credit card, and charged us 120 Euros per night at Lausos Hotel, though Lausose Hotel website stated clearly their price was only EUR95. We had our flight early next morning, so we weren't too fussy, paid our Euros to Mr Barunonu the Scammer and headed for Ambassador. Any way, Lausose wasn't a bad choice. Shame we were lucky enough to come upon them through Mr Barunonu You want to be cheated on - go to Ambassador Hotel and ask for Mr Barunonu . He will deliver

Just returned from 3 night break at Ambassador Hotel and highly recommend it. Hagia Sophie is literally on your doorstep and we had a fantastic view of it from our room. The view does take your breath away, I had to pinch myself! However, not all the rooms have the view, ask for one at the front. You will get woken by the call to prayer at sunrise, but thats unaviodable in a Muslim country and makes it exotic (at first, by the 3th night we were fed up with it!). Front Desk were very professional and kept all their promises. Clean and cosy rooms with antique furniture. Our double room was on the small side but there are larger rooms. We booked direct and got a good rate. Lovely turkish breakfast on the terrace/bar looking at the fabulous view. No hassles whatsoever with complimentarty airport pick up, the friendly driver was waiting for us with a sign. Overall a lovely stay in a fabulous Hotel. Would recommend.

Excellent (helpful) staff and central location of hotel. The airport-hotel pickup service was efficient and welcome after our long flight from NYC Benjamin& Nouriy & staff at Esans gave unbiased advice about local shopping, ferry trips and major sites of interest. Breakfast was always a healthy and was a combination of Turkish & traditional foods. The freshly squeezed orange juice was delicious! We spent 8 days in istanbul and would return to the Ambassador again. Make sure you visit the roof garden for photographs over the Marmara Sea.

We Only had few days to see İstanbul But I cant imagene a Better location for access to many of major sites ..most within 5-10munite walking When we arrived in the evening Bunyamin still took time for us and sit town to talk with us give is much information city for plan next day public restaurants ,budget city tours,then 10munite walk up to street to historical relaxing Çagaloglu Turkish Bath House. We slept like a babies that night in a room set up 3 seperate beds.we wake up early for tasty breakfast on the top floor(I still miss the yummy breads.olives.and fruits,)with a viev Marmara Sea.Free tea and coffea around the clock.Room small ,but very clean and comfortable Sattelite TV and free Wifi İn the rooms work perfect We found receptions staff (Ozan and Nouray)very helpful with our request for tourist map ,tram map,information and transfered to Sabiha Gokcen Airport by Shuttle 10€ PP Would we go back to Ambasador ?????? Of course yes. İt was like staying with Family and truly and amazing way to be int Turkish Culture, Highly receomended Ambassador Hotel who stay in old city Sultanahmed.. Cons .Hotel dont change bedsheet ,towels everydays

I had to go to Istanbul on business at very short notice and believe it or not selected this hotel completely blind from the internet. Tell you what I could not wished for more. All staff were excellent, very friendly and helpful , attentive and friendly.The check in was warm and their Guest Relation Team & Front Office Staff are one of the best I ever came across, multilingual, courteous and most helpful What a stunning location next to Blue Mosgueand very close (as few minute walking distance away) to Topkkapi Palaca and Hagia Sofie. Rooms are spotless, comfortable bed, good set of amenities, free wifi. Special thanks goes out to all the staff for their advice and help. As I was in Istanbul on business, only stayed for one day but I will return back with my family to have a proper visit of this interesting city

The staff at Ambassador is superb. They began taking care of us before we arrived, arranging transportation from the airport to the hotel. ( And didn't stop until the moment we left Istanbul!l. Beyond that he took a personal interest that we got to where we wanted. Everyone speaks English and all are happy to assist you in building your Turkish vocabulary if you want. With luck Benjamin, clerk, concierge and generally knowledgeable young man, will be on duty. Between Ben and Nuray and the other attentive staff you will find a warm reception and a special experience to enhance your visit. Ours was magical!