While planning my third trip to Istanbul this year I realized I had neglected to post a review of my stay at the Ottoman Hotel Imperial this summer - time to remedy that lapse as this Hotel deserves to be recognized.
The short form of this review: this is a fine, small hotel that is very clean, reliable and a great value. If you don't like smaller rooms, reserve one of the bigger rooms. You won't be disappointed, and I liked it well enough that I'm planning my third visit in a year to Istanbul and hope to stay in this hotel again. In what follows I'll comment on what some of the other reviews have discussed.
After a great experience at the hotel on a business trip in January when my son and visited Istanbul in August I knew I wanted us to stay at the Ottoman. We had a tough itinerary planned with a late night arrival and an early morning departure, so I needed reliable airport pickup. I also wanted us close to the main historical sites - can't get any closer than this hotel, which is right across a narrow street from the Aja Sophia church/mosque/museum.
I booked my room directly with the hotel and exchanged email with them about the airport pickup. I planned the trip two months in advance but the hotel did not lose any info about the pickup and was right on top of it.
We stayed for three days. As before, the service was flawless, from airport pickup to welcome at the hotel to a ride back to the airport. I had reserved a larger room with a view of the Aja Sophia. See my other review for photos, which could have been of this same room and the same view.
In the winter the hotel served breakfast in a somewhat unappealing lower level room. In the summer it is served on a delightful terrace. Some other reviewers commented that there are stairs involved, as indeed there are. The seating area for dining is on the outdoor terrace while the actual buffet is located in a glass-enclosed room that is a flight of steps up from the terrace. Both have very appealing old Istanbul, leafy urban views.
There are large umbrellas or canopies covering part of the terrace and breakfast continued to be served there during light rain, with staff members holding umbrellas over guests in the open spot between terrace and the steps up to the buffet. This sounds not-so-pleasant but in fact it was somehow a very charming experience, a somewhat unexpected combination of endearing hospitality and an authentic sense of place, not overly manufactured to the point that rain is denied any part of life.
Breakfast itself has been criticized in some of the reviews, and I suppose that depends upon what one expects. This is not a five star hotel with multiple omlette chefs and endless array of breakfast foods. The buffet has a good variety of foods but they tend to simpler Turkish fare, with slices of different sorts of local cold cut meats, odd garnishes like crushed black olive paste, Turkish breads and bagels, sliced cucumbers and olives, local cheeses and some hot choices of the runny scrambled eggs sort. Think of it as a local alternative midway between the absolutely unappealing European continental "breakfast" and the more elaborate display at some of the deliberately international, big-breakfast buffets. I'm a big breakfast eater and liked it just fine, especially since it had a local style to it.
One other reviewer criticized the hotel staff for recommending a restaurant not to his liking. I think that's harsh and a bit unfair as there are many restaurants within a short walk with a wide range of prices. I'd give the restaurant at the hotel a try for convenience, and if you want something else read the many reviews here in tripadvisor. I don't mean to discredit the staff at the hotel but I would not expect them to be as good at recommending restaurants as the collective intelligence of many travellers on this website.
We ended up eating on the rooftop terrace of a restaurant called the Seven Hills, a truly outstanding view with (astonishingly for a place with a great view...) outstanding food. As they say, bring your camera.
Bottom line: great small hotel with personal, warm, welcoming staff. It has a perfect location for tourism, in the middle of where you want to be while still being quiet and restful. It is clean, reliable and an outstanding value for your money.
