Pullman Istanbul Hotel & Convention Center 5 stars

Shame to call itself a 5 stars hotel. The 1st stay in that hotel for 1 night, we checked in as a group of more than 40 people, and all of us didn’t want to stay there for 1 more night. Our door could be opened with 3 fingers by pulling lightly from inside and the water kettle was leaking, and water was everywhere on the counter. My fault was that we left our jackets and a pant in the closet and forgot to check before we checked out at 7am and found out at 9:30am. Our tour leader has called the hotel and you know what, without any new tenants check in yet, our clothes could not be found. I don’t want to blame anyone, but it is a hotel that cannot be trusted. Unfortunately, we have to come back to stay 2 more nights, too bad, we have no choice and the hotel said they have promised to upgrade all our rooms. The room I’ve was bigger, but there was no air conditioning. I understand that the hotel’s air conditioning may not be turned on yet, but at least no heat. My room’s temperature rose from 24 to 29 degrees in 15 minutes. Technician came and said, nothing they can do, when we want to turn on the fan, even though we have chosen the air conditioner icon, they still come out with heat and suggested us to open the window, but our window was facing the lobby, it was very noisy that they give us another room. Too bad, this room was on executive level but beside the water tank service, we can hear the water running noise all the time. Change again, when I found the room has a window to the outside and no water running noise, we accept it. And we were not the only one to have this problem, all my friends have heat in their rooms, and some have sewer smell in the bathroom. We found the kettle was broken, the phone was not working, we have tp ask our friend to call for the service. And in the morning and found the air dryer was not working too. Too bad, I must wear wet hair for my breakfast. The attitude of the staff was bad, no one smiling, trained with a uniform poker face. This was the worst experience we have ever had in a 5 stars hotel.

I am mainly writing this review to report the concierge. I believe his name was Erkan. My boyfriend and I had two nights in Istanbul, just one full day. When we arrived, we asked to speak to the concierge. He was not available on the evening of our arrival. The following day, we woke up early and were able to talk to him. He offered tours ranging from 4-8 hrs. We opted for the longer one, 8 hrs. He charged us $300 for a tour for two people. The plan was to be driven into the city and then have a guide take us to the main sites- Topkapi Palace, Blue Mosque, Hagia Sofia, Basilica Cistern. Our expectations was that we would have someone giving us some information from each site of interest. Instead, what we received was a ride into the city. The driver took us to some store and from there a “tour guide” passed us on to his cousin- a young man named Amir. He was just a college student who walked us from one entrance to the next. He had no information to share. He appeared to be be bothered when I asked to wait 30 min for the Blue Mosque to reopen. My boyfriend and I felt so scammed. We essentially paid $300 (6000 TL) for a cab to drive into the Old City. Not only that but at the end, whomever was working with the concierge also wanted us to buy tea and sweets from him. It was a total disappointment. The city was beautiful but we got a very bad impression of Istanbul and Turkey from this. We would expect to be scammed if we had found the tour at some random place, or in the streets. But within our Hotel?? Very shameful. I hope with this message to warn the travelers! Do NOT book with the concierge of this hotel. Absolute scam!

The hotel is getting pretty old, what you can see as soon as you leave the lobby. I come here frequently for business travels but today will be my last visit. The breakfast is ridiculous and far away from any 5 Stars. If you want to have eggs, you have to PAY EXTRA. The rooms are big and spacious however very noisy. At least the gym is great. WiFi is very good. During my last stay they charged me the full amount twice! I tried to write them several mails however NO SINGLE Answer!!!! They were simply ignoring this issue. So my credit card company had to solve this it. UNACCEPTABLE! WORST SERVICE EVER! As I am here for business, I always book the flexible rate. This time I have to leave back home one night earlier. The staff at the reception doesn’t know, how to check me out earlier and give me back the money for the last night. RIDICULOUS!!! UNACCEPTABLE !!! Since Corona the Executive Lounge is closed. Doesn’t make any sense to book such a room. The alternative in the lobby is worth nothing. UNACCEPTABLE!!! Location is not attractive. Staff doesn’t know how to do their job. Breakfast rather 3 Stars. AND BIG TROUBLES AT THE ChECK-OUT! UNACCEPTABLE!!! NEVER AGAIN! 2 Stars because of gym and the good old times, when the old airport was next to the hotel!

The Hotel was ok and breakfast was great but location was terrible. Not close to anything, had to take a taxi everywhere . Located on a busy intersection, nothing close by to walk to. Far from airport and far from tourist sites.

This hotel is a long way from hotel and cost about £40 on normal metered taxi. Would be more if taken airport taxis. From time we entered it was not a good experience. 2 front desk ladies were looking at their phone even when we approached the desk and we had fo say hello to get their attention. Room were ok. Breakfast was not good and limited in selection. We just had toast and some pastries Do not take any tour offered by the concierge service. Entry fees not included in the euro 200 tour package and it was rushed photo opportunities from outside buildings We had only limited stop over time and took it as matter of convenience. The driver kept insisting we go for lunch at a seafood restaurant which charged us about £450 for 4 starters and 2 main. This was after we spotted errors in their bill including 2x taxes n more dishes than we ordered The driver’s £50 meal was also added to our bill