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Reviews of Best Western Empire Palace Hotel & Spa - Special Class

4 out of 5
Best Western Empire Palace Hotel & Spa - Special Class
Hocapasa Mah. Hudavendigar Cad. 17/19, Sirkeci, Old City Sultanahmet, Istanbul, Istanbul

Reviews

8.0

Very good

Rating 10 - Excellent. 91 out of 299 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 131 out of 299 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 57 out of 299 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 10 out of 299 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 10 out of 299 reviews" "

8.4/10

Cleanliness

8.4/10

Staff & service

7.6/10

Amenities

7.8/10

Property conditions & facilities

7.4/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

2/10 Terrible

K

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Difficult to get to and terrible amenities
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2023
Response from TAMER on Feb 26, 2024
Thank you for taking time to provide us with your feedback. Your feedback will be forwarded to our housekeeping department. We appreciate all kinds of constructive feedback as it allows us to review our standards and further improve our hotel experience. It is with great concern to have learned that we did not deliver an experience that met your expectations or the proud service standards of ours. We look forward to hearing from you. With renewed apologies.

2/10 Terrible

K

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Difficult to get to and bare minimum amenities
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024
Response from TAMER on Feb 26, 2024
Thank you for taking time to provide us with your feedback. Your feedback will be forwarded to our housekeeping department. We appreciate all kinds of constructive feedback as it allows us to review our standards and further improve our hotel experience. It is with great concern to have learned that we did not deliver an experience that met your expectations or the proud service standards of ours. We look forward to hearing from you. With renewed apologies.

10/10 Excellent

Nawfal

Stayed 4 nights in Jan 2024

2/10 Terrible

K

Travelled with family
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Very bare minimum facilities and staff
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2023
Response from TAMER on Feb 26, 2024
Thank you for taking time to provide us with your feedback. Your feedback will be forwarded to our housekeeping department. We appreciate all kinds of constructive feedback as it allows us to review our standards and further improve our hotel experience. It is with great concern to have learned that we did not deliver an experience that met your expectations or the proud service standards of ours. We look forward to hearing from you. With renewed apologies.

6/10 Okay

Ayesha Siddika

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
We were a group of 19. The rooms were all ready for us when we checked in. There were no issues with the rooms. The staff were lovely. The main thing for us was cleanliness and the rooms were all nice and clean. The breakfast was very limited and wasn’t great. I would say it is is a basic breakfast. The location is great. Walkable everywhere
Stayed 4 nights in Dec 2023
Response from TAMER on Feb 26, 2024
Thank you for taking time to provide us with your feedback. Your feedback will be forwarded to our housekeeping department. We appreciate all kinds of constructive feedback as it allows us to review our standards and further improve our hotel experience. It is with great concern to have learned that we did not deliver an experience that met your expectations or the proud service standards of ours. We look forward to hearing from you. With renewed apologies.

10/10 Excellent

Olga

Stayed 4 nights in Dec 2023

10/10 Excellent

Joyce

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
The location is great. and Staff are courtesy. Salim, the manager is very helpful to extend late check out and kindly to exchange local currency for us.
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2023

10/10 Excellent

Jean Guy

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Location
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2023

6/10 Okay

Tammy

Travelled with group
Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Even though it was not cleanest place for me the staff made all the difference. I forgot my phone in the room and they were so trustworthy and caring with all the arrangements to send it back to my country. Forever grateful for that
Stayed 3 nights in Aug 2023
Response from Bw Member on Nov 8, 2023
Thank you for choosing us.

6/10 Okay

JULIE

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness
Convenient
Hotel convenient for Haggi Sofia and Blue Mosques. On tram route. Most things walkable. Plenty of restaurants in the area, hotel restaurant quite good. Wouldn't say this was a 4* hotel more a basic 3*
Stayed 4 nights in Jun 2023

2/10 Terrible

Viktoriia, Moscow

Travelled with family
Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Not to be confused with the Best Western hotel chain. It's just a name. Despite the friendliness of the staff, the Hotel does not meet the stated level and price. Noisy, everything is not fresh- furniture, rooms, not tasty in the restaurant.
Stayed 2 nights in May 2023
Response from Ebru Akkoc on May 9, 2023
Dear Viktoriia,On behalf of our entire team, I would like to apologize for not exceeding your expectations. Your satisfaction is important to us and we will be using the feedback you gave us to implement improvements to ensure we offer a better experience for guests in the future. Best RegardsEbru Akkoc Kilic

6/10 Okay

Kim

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Noise from aircon/heater too loud and need to be turned off as disturbing one’s sleep. Also noise from restaurant below. Passageways to room cluttered and untidy everyday. Generally staff ok except one particular reception staff who was most sourpuss when we did not use any taxi service he offered. We had booked another hotel for our extended stay! Breakfast the same everyday.
Stayed 3 nights in Nov 2022
Response from TAMER on Jan 11, 2023
Thank you for choosing us

10/10 Excellent

Norma

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Great location. Friendly staff. Good food

10/10 Excellent

Sarah

Travelled with pets, Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Staff was great and the gentleman who works at the counter was awesome.
Stayed 3 nights in Jun 2022

10/10 Excellent

Ambreen

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Great place to live …. Close to all attractions, walking distance to blue mosque, topkapi palace . Tram stat aoon was 2 min away . Surrounded by restaurants. Hotel staff was very helpful , excellent breakfast .
Stayed 3 nights in Jun 2022

8/10 Good

Khairan, Houston

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Everyone was friendly and helpful. Enjoyed my stay. If the hotel wants to improve they should focus on making breakfast better.
Stayed 3 nights in Jun 2022

10/10 Excellent

Abraham

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Conveniently located for sightseeing in the old city and also close to all public transport
Stayed 10 nights in Jan 2022
Response from BW on Apr 16, 2022
Thank you for choosing Best Western Empire Palace Hotel

8/10 Good

Andrey

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2022

6/10 Okay

Taha

Disliked: Room comfort
To much noise came from outside specials the metro so you cannot sleep well We took room on 4th floor and the sound was so high
Stayed 3 nights in Dec 2021

8/10 Good

paul

Stayed 1 night in Oct 2021

10/10 Excellent

Elena

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
I like this hotel. The location is perfect , minutes from the most popular places. The breakfast was very good . But the best of everything was the service. At the reception they make you feel like you are the most important guest. Something like you are visiting friends. I definitely will recommend this hotel to anyone.
Stayed 13 nights in Sep 2021
Response from Tamer on Nov 15, 2021
Thank you for choosing us.

10/10 Excellent

BAYRAM

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Excellent property and very convenient to all Istanbul attractions. The rooms were clean, very comfortable, and the staff was amazing. They went over and beyond to help make our stay enjoyable. Property is well maintained and has a fantastic old time charm. I highly recommend this hotel for anyone visiting Istanbul.
Stayed 5 nights in Aug 2021

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
selim the receptionist is very helpful and friendly , He greets with a smile and make you feel at home, the location is great, but only the noise is the biggest problem. Cable doesnt have any English channel, the breakfast is good.
Stayed 11 nights in Aug 2021

10/10 Excellent

BAYRAM

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2021

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 3 nights in Jul 2021

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Stayed 3 nights in Aug 2020
Response from Best Western Empire Palace Hotel on Oct 6, 2020
Thank you for choosing Best Western Empire Palace Hotel

8/10 Good

Sandeep

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Very conveniently located. friendly staff. Should remove the TVs in the lobby.
Stayed 5 nights in Feb 2020
Response from Tamer ÇİFTÇİ – Sales Manager on Feb 29, 2020
Thank you so much for leaving such an amazing review following your recent stay. We are glad that you enjoyed your time with us. We will forward to your next stay.

4/10 Poor

Tuncay

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Noisy Not good breakfast Wait for much time room cleanning
Stayed 4 nights in Aug 2019
Response from Tamer ÇİFTÇİ Sales Manager on Sep 9, 2019
Thank you for taking time to provide us with your feedback.. We appreciate all kinds of constructive feedback as it allows us to review our standards and further improve our hotel experience. It is with great concern to have learned that we did not deliver an experience that met your expectations or the proud service standards of ours. We look forward to hearing from you. With renewed apologies. Tamer ÇİFTÇİ Sales Manager

8/10 Good

Mustafa

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Very good
Nice hotel but difficult to have taxi if you are with your family. Breakfast are limited.
Stayed 6 nights in Aug 2019
Response from Tamer ÇİFTÇİ Sales Manager on Sep 9, 2019
Thank you for taking time to provide us with your feedback.. We appreciate all kinds of constructive feedback as it allows us to review our standards and further improve our hotel experience. It is with great concern to have learned that we did not deliver an experience that met your expectations or the proud service standards of ours. We look forward to hearing from you. With renewed apologies. Tamer ÇİFTÇİ Sales Manager

8/10 Good

Mustafa

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Good experience for young people not old one.
It’s good hotel but the biggest problem was that there are no car can come to the hotel so it was difficult to walk with the family to reach the main road.
Stayed 5 nights in Aug 2019
Response from Tamer ÇİFTÇİ Sales Manager on Sep 9, 2019
Thank you for taking time to provide us with your feedback.. We appreciate all kinds of constructive feedback as it allows us to review our standards and further improve our hotel experience. It is with great concern to have learned that we did not deliver an experience that met your expectations or the proud service standards of ours. We look forward to hearing from you. With renewed apologies. Tamer ÇİFTÇİ Sales Manager

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Family visit
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2019
Response from TAMER ÇİFTÇİ on Jun 13, 2019
Thank you so much for leaving such an amazing review following your recent stay. We are glad that you enjoyed your time with us.

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Staff & service
The property is located very close to the historical sites so this really helps if your not a walker. Rooms are a little small and abit out dated. Staff were always helpfull ,breakfast does get boring as it seems its the same menu every day,this really needs updating.
Stayed 4 nights in Mar 2019
Response from TAMER ÇİFTÇİ Sales Manager on Apr 30, 2019
Thank you for your valued feedback. We are glad that you enjoyed your time with us. I will forward your compliments to my colleagues who will be very happy to know that our endeavor to make all our guests feel at home .We will forward to your next stay. Best regards. TAMER ÇİFTÇİ Sales Manager

10/10 Excellent

John

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Old city charm, great stay!
Had a great stay at this centrally located hotel in the old city. The staff here were excellent and helped us with tours and local city tips. A special thanks to Selim and Irfan who made our stay enjoyable. The housekeeping staff were great at responding to any needs we had. Would stay again.
Stayed 8 nights in Mar 2019
Response from Tamer ÇİFTÇİ Sales Manager on Apr 29, 2019
Thank you for taking time to provide us with your feedback. Your feedback will be forwarded to our housekeeping department. We appreciate all kinds of constructive feedback as it allows us to review our standards and further improve our hotel experience. It is with great concern to have learned that we did not deliver an experience that met your expectations or the proud service standards of ours. We look forward to hearing from you. With renewed apologies. Tamer ÇİFTÇİ Sales Manager

8/10 Good

Hany

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Very nice Hotel
Its very nice hotel very clean very nice staff the only draw back is the very poor breakfast buffet and coffee. Other than that it is very nice hotel nice location and professional staff.
Stayed 3 nights in Feb 2019
Response from TAMER ÇİFTÇİ Online Sales Manager on Mar 4, 2019
Thank you for your valued feedback. We are glad that you enjoyed your time with us. I will forward your compliments to my colleagues who will be very happy to know that our endeavor to make all our guests feel at home .We will forward to your next stay. Best regards. TAMER ÇİFTÇİ Online Sales Manager

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
This hotel is walking distance from key tourist sites (5 minutes to palace and 8 minutes to Hagia Sofia). The breakfast is ok, the bathroom is clean. The walls are a bit thin being able to hear what is going on outside, but after a full day of walking, easy to fall asleep. Oh yeah, the area is nice with a bunch of restaurants and shops on the street.
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2018
Response from EbruAkkoc-Operations Manager on Dec 24, 2018
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience we are glad you enjoyed your stay and look forward to your future return.

6/10 Okay

GAIL, LONDON

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
EXPEDIOA HAD NOT BOOKED A BATH THE OIGINAL ROOOM HAD THE SAFE ON THE FLOO SOCKETS NOT WOKING AND MANY UNNACEPTABLE BASIC ESSENTIAL IRFAN ON DITY WAS EXPECTOIPNALLY HELPFUL LATE AT MIGHT AND MOBVED US TO ANOTHER ROOM WHERE THERE WERE SIMILAR PROBL;EMS WE WERE THEN MPVED TYO AN ACCEP[TYABLE ROOM THE STAFF WERE FRIENDLY I DISUCSSE WIT THE HOTELS OPERATIONS MANAGER ANAMNYOMPROVEMNETS WERE INTHEPIPELINE WE LOOK FORRD TO SITINGISTANBUL IN LATE FEB OR MAKR AND HOPEFULL WILL STAY IN A NEW LY RENOVATE HOTEL. EVEYONE WAS VEY HELPFUL AN DYTE TIRD ROOM WAS OF A OOD SIZE. THE SAFE WS MOVE DTO A STYOOL INSIDE THE WARTDROBE AS NO ONE AN CRAWL ON THE FLOOR AND OPEN A SAFE WITH NO LIGHTS
Stayed 4 nights in Nov 2018
Response from EbruAkkoc-Operations Manager on Dec 24, 2018
Thank you for your review.

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 4 nights in Oct 2018
Response from EbruAkkoc on Oct 30, 2018
Dear Anonymous, Thank you for being our guest at the Best Western Empire Palace Hotel. Ebru Akkoc Operations Manager

8/10 Good

Garri

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 7 nights in Sep 2018
Response from EbruAkkoc on Oct 22, 2018
Dear Garri, Thank you for being our guest at the Best Western empire Palace Hotel. Hope to become your hotel of choice in the future. Ebru Akkoc Operations Manager

6/10 Okay

Imad

Hotel is okay for price and location.
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2018
Response from Ebru on Oct 5, 2018
Dear Imad, Thank you for your review, we would expect your score to be more than three. Best Regards, Ebru Akkoc Operations Manager

8/10 Good

Brian

Great location
This hotel is in a great location - better than I realised when I booked. Within a few minutes walk of Hagia Sofia, great restaurants and the waterfront. And for anyone who doesn’t want the walk, it’s right on the tram line. The staff were very friendly and welcoming. The room was clean and thank goodness it had air conditioning that actually works and you feel it cooling you. I was a little disappointed that breakfast was rather disorganised... we had to ask for crockery and cutlery, along with other guests... and the food selection wasn’t really of the standard I’ve come to expect at a Best Western. Overall though, I was happy and would go back.
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2018
Response from Ebru on Oct 5, 2018
Dear Brian, Thank you for your kind review, We took into consideration of your comment. We glad to host you on our nice Hotel. We look forward to have you hear again. Best Regards, Ebru Akkoc Operations Manager

2/10 Terrible

Rahul

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Best Western Empire Palance and Olympic Hotel
They claimed not to have a room for us and pushed us to an inferior Hotel called Olympic Hotel. When we questioned them the owner was rude and asked us to call Hotel.com and get our refund. Given it was late at night we accepted but Olympic Hotel was really not even a 2 star!
Stayed 1 night in May 2018
Response from MELİSA on May 31, 2018
We're disappointed you had this problem. We are apalogize from you. For our Boss he was always kind to our guest. Are you sure was his our boss? We are very sorry also this Hotel is normally same category with us. We'd look forward to a second opportunity so we demonstrate the high-caliber service we're capable of providing. Best Regards, Melisa DONUKOK

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Convenient Hotel
The staff were inviting, helpful and friendly. The hotel was particularly well situated. The breakfast room was a little modest but fine. My room was extremely pleasant. The evening meal menu was very good.
Stayed 5 nights in Mar 2018
Response from Alihan Akkoc on Apr 12, 2018
Thank you so much for your awesome review of our hotel. We are so pleased to hear that you enjoyed your stay with us. We take pride in our quiet but exciting hotel. We are glad our team members were kind and helpful. We hope you will stay with us upon your return to Istanbul!

10/10 Excellent

Ahmed, California

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
I did stay 3 days
Clean hotel, friendly staff , near all markets, and priced reasonably
Stayed 3 nights in Nov 2017

10/10 Excellent

jafar, uk

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
hotenol is near every thing you whant to visit
the hotel is near the old city but we but we have towalk some distance to get to the hotel when we been droped and picked up

10/10 Excellent

Abdul, Manchester

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Disliked: Staff & service
great hotel
amazing worth every penny
Response from General Manager on Dec 31, 2016
Hello,Thank you so much for your nice comment..We are so happy for your comfortable staying at BW Empire Palace Hotel.We hope to see you again at our hotel..Best Regards - Tamer ÇİFTÇİ - Sales Supervisor

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Response from General Manager on Sep 11, 2016
Thank you very much! Highly appreciated!

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Good
Nice hotel .. the staff Very helpful.. The location is good for food .. Activists every thing you need ., the man his name is Arfan friendly and make my stay good thanks
Response from Valkana Ozensooy on Sep 11, 2016
Thank you very much for your kind review! Your feedback is valuable to us and we are happy that you are satisfied with our services. Hope to see you again soon! Best regards,

8/10 Good

Bilal, Lebanon

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great Hotel
Nice hotel, great staff and service (Suleiman). Clean and room comfort and very good breakfast. Close to historic places and tram stations.
Response from Valkana Ozensoy on Sep 11, 2016
Thank you very much for your kind review! Your feedback is valuable to us we have taken in consideration all your recommendations. Please accept kinest greetings from all our staff members. Hope to see you again soon! Best regards,

8/10 Good

Mustafa M., Vancouver, Canada

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great helpful staff and great customer service
Arrived in the hotel after making the reservation through Expedia. My Trip Advisor search showed the hotel has free parking but when I got to the hotel I informed otherwise. When I arrived in the hotel late at night, staff Arif and Zakaria were kind to locate an otopark nearby and advised they will mention my parking concern to the manager. The staff of the day shift, Suleyman and Abdallah were equally helpful. So thanks to all for the great customer service during my stay at the hotel. The hotel is a great choice for location and helpful staff especially if you are tourists. The restaurant choices are very tasty and well prepared.
View from room
Street view

8/10 Good

Elguja

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Response from Tea Cimirotic on Jun 28, 2016
Thank you very much for your kind review, I will be more than happy to share it with the Team! We are looking forward to welcome you back to our Best Western Empire Palace Hotel! Best regards, Best Western Empire Palace Team