Ambassador Reviews

I stayed at the Ambassador for one night in January, 2005, at the end of a business trip.

The hotel is very conveniently located, a few minutes' walk from the main attractions of the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia and Basilica Cistern, and not much further from the Grand Bazaar. It is described as a 'first class' hotel, although my general impression about Turkish hotels is that this type of phrase is used with a great deal of poetic licence. The hotel has some rooms facing the busy main road and others facing a walkway at the back, so if noise bothers you, ask for a quiet room. Remember, though, that Istanbul has a large cat population, so you will still be lucky to get away with avoiding the wailing noise at night.

I booked a non-smoking double room, and was pleasantly surprised to discover that even a hotel as small as this one had a non-smoking floor - not common in Istanbul. The room was not spacious, and the shower room was very small, but both were very clean, and the heating worked efficiently (didn't try the air conditioning as it was January). The bed was very comfortable, but there is little working space, and some of the furniture looked like it was due for replacement.

Breakfast is taken in the top floor restaurant, with views over the historical attractions, and I understand that outside seating is provided in the summer. The breakfast buffet was quite extensive for a hotel of this size and class, and it was refreshing to discover that a small part of the restaurant was allocated to non-smokers (although most smokers went outside on the morning I was there).

The outstanding memory of this hotel was the friendliness and helpfulness of the members of staff - much better than at other hotels in Istanbul I have stayed in. The friendly girl on reception who always had time to talk to everyone, the guy who opened the bar on the top floor because I wanted a beer, the waiter who clucked around pouring tea and coffee at breakfast - they were all a credit not only to the hotel, but to Istanbul.

The hotel is also located near to the tourist restaurant area. Most of these offer typical international tourist and local fare at reasonable prices, but the quality varies. I found the Palmiye restaurant very friendly, with good food, but the toasted sandwich I had for lunch at the Sultan Pub was expensive (for Istanbul) and poor value compared with sandwiches at other restaurants locally.

Overall, the Ambassador is an excellent value hotel for the price paid, superbly located near the historical attractions. If you can ignore the tired furniture in the rooms and the lack of working space, there is no reason to stay anywhere else.