Faros Hotel Istanbul

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

Pleasant enough little hotel above a restaurant. Staff very friendly and helpful. Room rather small (as is usual for single travellers - Oh for the day when our single room supplement payments actually provide us with a normal room rather than a cupboard). No outside windows in my room - there was a window which provided a view of a neighbouring wall 2 feet away. None of this really matters though because this hotel is around 200 yards from the Blue Mosque, Haghia Sophia and the underground cistern. The location really is perfect. So, if you come to Istanbul for the sights, stay at the Faros. If you want a massive room with a view, perhaps go elsewhere.

Would go back any time

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Faros Hotel Istanbul. It’s perfectly situated, just a stone throw away from all the key sights. The room was contemporary, comfortable and well laid out, the staff friendly and accommodating. It felt a real treat sitting in the restaurant and watching the world go past.

Traveller's tip on local attractions

Hagia Sophia, the Cistern and some of the smaller mosques near the spice market were worth seeing. We were a little disappointed by the Great Bazaar. While the building is impressive, the produce lacks variety and authenticity: mainly cheap copies of designer brands rather than traditional, local craft (exception rugs).

Excellent Hotel in centre of Instanbul

Stayed for three days at the Faros and found it to be an excellent choice. The staff were friendly and helpful, the rooms regularly cleaned, the position excellent for tourist Istanbul. I will certainly go back there again.

Traveller's tip on getting the most out of your stay

Use the tram service to move around the city, clean, air conditioned, fast and inexpensive.

Would go back anytime, previous reviews were good guide and true.

Walking distance from main attractions and nearby trams can take you to City Walls or across to Attaturks’ Palace (only 75 pence/passenger/trip). Staff very friendly and helpful, I was able to use the Hotel PC to check-in and PRINT our boarding passes for home flight. Meals good but for variety we ate sometimes at other local restaurants. Only gripe was the mattress on hard side for us.

Traveller's tip

Take advantage of pre-booking Airport-Hotel Transport, this saves money and avoids hassle! Beware the very persistent street salesmen, unless you ARE interested in Carpets/Leather/Jewellery tell them not to waste THEIR time. By the way there are steep hills everywhere!

Great location

Faros Hotel has an ideal location for sightseeing, with most main sights in easy walking distance. It’s also on a tram route for longer journeys. Rooms are clean, food is good and staff are friendly and helpful. It’s in a lively area, so if you want a quieter room, ask for one away from the front. Overall, I would certainly recommend this hotel.

Traveller's tip

Hotel can arrange transport to or from Attaturk Airport (30 mins by road) for 20 Euros per couple with luggage. Much cheaper than taxis.

Good value for money

Very helpful, friendly staff. Good buffet breakfasts, evening meals not bad. Excellent location for major tourist bits. Would definitely recommend and would use again myself.

Traveller's tip on getting the most out of your stay

Hotel organised a good shuttle bus back to airport - much cheaper than the taxi used at start of holiday. Don’t be afraid to use public transport (trams and ferries) in Istanbul - the locals are very friendly and helpful. You have to stand still and look puzzled and many will come to your aid! Watch out for the carpet salesmen who can be a bit of a nuisance.

One of the Worlds great historic cities

Great location very friendly staff. money well spent.

Traveller's tip on local attractions

Do not miss the Archelogical Museum and make sure you have plenty of time to enjoy the displays.

A good and friendly hotel in an excellent location

The hotel has around 23 rooms. It is a very friendly place to stay and the staff resolved problems and queries promptly, in particular, a change of room for one couple in our party. (There is at least one marginal room in the hotel). The restaurant and bar served good food. The restaurant staff were very friendly and keen to ensure that their customers were happy. They liked to share a joke, but they remained professional at their jobs at the same time. My frame of reference for these remarks is based on 20 years of international business travel in many 4*/5* hotels. The Faros is not one of those but it is a nice comfortable place to stay, close to the main sights in the old city, i.e. a nice holiday hotel.

Traveller's tip on recreational activities

Close to Topkapi, the Blue Mosque, the Grand Bazaar etc. On the main tram route making communications quick and easy.

An excellent experience - will return

The hotel was very central for many interesting sights and had a particularly warm and welcoming ambiance. The staff were excellent and the room was absolutely spotless and roomy. The cafe/restaurant served a variety of interesting food including a good selection of vegetarian and fish dishes at reasonable prices. I would and hopefully will return!

Traveller's tip on shopping

Possibly take Turkish lira rather than euros as most cafes and small restaurants are very happy to accept this currency and one may lose out a little when lira is translated into euros

Don’t book a suite - it’s a waste of money

We needed a room for 3, so booked a suite thinking it would be bigger and more comfortable. Arrived to find no third bed and the family room was bigger. The hotel refused to refund the difference. Other than that the location was great and the service friendly.

Couldn’t be better for all the main sights - Hagia Sophia, Top Kapi, Blue Mosque etc

One of the best hotels I have ever been to

This hotel is one of the cleanest I have ever been to. The staff is more than cordial, kind and respectable, they’re exemplory. The location was great. It was a few hundred yards to the Blue Mosque and Aya Sophia, and a two minute walk to the Grand Bazaar. The hotel has trip packages (contracted with other hotels and tourism agencies), which saves you a lot of time and $$ when you’re looking to visit as many places in a short period of time. I highly recommend going on the Bosphorous tour. Not all taxis know the hotel by name, but if you tell them to take you to the Blue Mosque, you’re pretty much there. Price is excellent for the quality of the room and level of service. This is the place I’ll go to the next time I visit.

Traveller's tip on getting the most out of your stay

The Faros Hotel is in the middle of the 3 main attractions in Istanbul (Blue Mosque, Aya Sophia, and Grand Bazaar). You couldn’t pick a better location that puts you in walking distance to all 3 places. For dining, go to a place called Kalmar. It has a great selection of Seafood.

Nice hotel but not 4 stars

The hotal is in a very good location but it is not a 4 stars, at least to my standard. I would say 3 stars and for that is a nice hotel, people are very nice and the location is extremelly good.

Traveller's tip on dining

Avoid tha hotel restaurant and that area to eat, very expensive for tourists.

Perfect place to Stay in Old Istanbul

This hotel is situated in an ideal position for site-seeing and close to the harbour and the ferries. Four to five hundred metres to the Blue Mosque, Grand Bazaar, Spice Market. The trams are on the doorstep along with various markets in the close vicinity. Coming back to the hotel- the staff could not have been nicer and obliging. I think this should suffice for you.

Traveller's tip

People have their own priorities, especially in the cities and have preconcieved ideas as to what they want to do. Ignore the beggers on the streets as advised by the hotel management.

Good hotel, great location

Faros is a small and friendly hotel in a great location in old Istanbul and you really can walk to all the key locations. Would recommend to anyone visiting the area.

superb location

I stayed at the faros hotel for 3 nights in feb 2009 and location is superb. walking distance from blue mosque, hagia sophia museum, topkapi palace and grand bazaar. The room was clean and very comfortable. the staff can’t do enough for you. definitely recommended.

Traveller's tip on dining

mexican restaurant 100yards away is a must.

Value for money and great location

This hotel is placed in a great location. Close to all the main attractions in Sultanhamet. The tram stop is almost outside the hotel allowing easy access to other parts of the city. The hotel itself is clean, tidy and comfortable. The staff at reception are very very helpful. They gave us direction to all sorts of places and always with a smile. They even bailed us out of a tight spot with our airport transfer, when they did not have too.

Grand Bazaar and Spice Bazaar are great places to go visit even if only for window shopping.

delightful , romantic and friendly

we chose this for a romantic second honeymoon and werent disappointed. it was everything the description said and more. location is excellent, right in heart of most beautiful part of the city. tram outside the door, taxis at snap of fingers. all sites in walking distance, grand bazaar 15 min walk. Hotel was small and friendly. A very good restaurant and friendly bar downstairs. rooms quite spacious, modern woodern floors, comfy beds, modern bathroom, very clean, nice baalcony. cleaned everyday and mini bar restocked. 4 star standard. Breakfast lovely lots of cheeses, meats, cereals fruits and lovely breads, hot eggs and all good quality. restaurant outside which even in december was lovely becasuse of all patio heaters. we stayed week before xmas and despite turks not celebrating xmas hotel still had tree and lights and was very festive. everyone spoke good english and were happy to chat and be helpful. very laid back but noticed also very professional and would be ideal to stay on business too. would definitely return

Traveller's tip on saving a few bucks

use trams and buses not taxis. cafes r very expensive in main sights so take in drinksfood and have picnic. theres lovely parks within 5 mins walk so buy breads, kebabs, takeouts n eat in park. buytea from vendors walking around parks. Down near port vendors selling barbie fish are much nicer than restaurants. choose restaurants in back streets its much cheaper.Barter for everything when shopping and dont be frightened walking away someone will always have a deal.

Faros Fabulous

My Wife and i were very surprised at how professional and friendly this hotel is. We will be back.

Traveller's tip on saving a few bucks

Check the arcades down from the Faros and lok for a Silver Smith . Very cheap jewellery.

What a location

We have just returned from a delightful four days at the Faros Hotel.As it was quite small, 23 bedrooms, it was not quite as roomy as most four stars, but it had everything that a traveller could require. Rooms were clean, breakfast good and location excellent. All the main sights were within walking distance.

Traveller's tip on saving a few bucks

There were lots of eating places very near the hotel and the quality of the hotel’s small restaurant was very good. Generally the food in Turkey is very varied and there is something for everyone. Take the metro from the airport and then the tram to Sultanmet and it stops virtually outside the hotel door.Would definitely recommend this hotel.

Can’t wait to go back

Very good location. Friendly helpful people. Definitely would come back.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

I STAIED WITH MY WIFE FOR 13 NIGHT AND WE WAS IMPRESSED. OUR ROOM WAS VERY CLEAN WITH NICE VIEW. STAFF ARE VERY FRIENDLY AND HELP FULL. BRACKFAST WAS EXCELENT AND VERY CLOSE TO METRO AND BLUE MASQUE. WE RECOMMEND FOR EVERY ONE. IF WE WANT TO GO TO ISTANBUL WE WILL GO TO FAROS HOTEL. IN ONE WORD I CAN SAY IT WAS PERFECT.

IT IS VERY CLOSED TO MOST FAMOUSE PLACES LIKE: THE ROMAN HIPPODROME, SAINT SOPHIA MUSEUM, AND GRAND BAZZAR.

Excellent Hotel And Location

Hotel is in the perfect location for tourists to Istanbul. Within walking distances of the major mesuems and the Grand Bazaar. The tram is right outside the hotel, easy to travel to most areas of Istanbul. Recommend the hotel to everyone, not 4 star but above 3 star.

it was satisfactory

the best thing of this hotel is the location, at the centre of the old city, close to all the attractions, no need to use public transport. staff are friendly.

Highly Recommended

This hotel is ideally situated for anyone wanting to see the city sights. The main sights, including the Grand Bazaar, are all in easy walking distance although it is only a minute or two from a stop on the efficient and very reasonably priced tram system which will take you to the harbour or into the shopping district. The room was amongst the cleanest, most comfortable and well equipped of any I have stayed in in Europe, including well-known business hotel chains. Breakfast was a splendid array of meat, cheese, fruit, cerials ,jams, breads as well as a hot cabinet. This is served in the adjoining & jointly owned Central restaurant/bar which also serves excellent lunches/evening meals as well as reasonably priced drinks until late. Friendly, english speaking staff capped a truly enjoyable stay of 5 nights.

Traveller's tip on dining

Expect to be propositioned outside Istanbul restaurants by the owners at mealtimes. Keep walking, politely declining unless you are almost certain that you want to eat there. If you do stop, it is not always easy to get away as the owners are very enthusiastic about their menus!