Istanbul · Hotel shortlist
Cheap hotels near the station in Istanbul
Talia Ben-Ari Turkey, the Gulf and Egypt
These are my five favourites in Istanbul, out of the 10 that qualified. I read what other travellers scored them before I picked, so the order follows the guests, 4.2 down to 3.8.
Every one comes in under $130 a night, and the one I would book first is $35.
Highest rated of the five
Ethnica Old City Hotel
★★★★★4.2 from 841 reviews
Ethnica Old City Hotel comes out on top of this list, and not narrowly: 4.2 from 841 guest reviews is a score that holds up at that volume, which is the whole test here. A perfect ten from nine people does not beat it.
It is a 3 star property, found under historic centre and around $35 a night on the dates we checked.
10 hotels in Istanbul qualified for this list and five made it. Istanbul Harmony Hostel is the one I would book if the first is full.
Why it works for this trip
- Spatreatment rooms on site, no booking a taxi for it
- Air conditioningthe one that decides a summer trip
- Restaurantdinner downstairs on the night you land
- Bara drink without going back out
- Parkinga real consideration if you are driving in
All five, ranked
-
1
Ethnica Old City Hotel
★★★★★4.2 from 841 reviews
- Spa
- Restaurant
- Bar
- Parking
- Air conditioning
- Accessible
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2Istanbul Harmony Hostel
★★★★★4.2 from 333 reviews
- Parking
- Air conditioning
- Airport shuttle
-
3Adora Hotel
★★★★★4 from 511 reviews
- Restaurant
- Parking
- Air conditioning
- Airport shuttle
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4Septimum
★★★★★3.8 from 106 reviews
- Restaurant
- Parking
- Pet friendly
- Kid friendly
- Air conditioning
- Airport shuttle
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5Istanbul Hotel Ipek Palas
★★★★★3.8 from 1,324 reviews
- Restaurant
- Bar
- Kid friendly
- Air conditioning
- Airport shuttle
How this list was put together
10 Istanbul hotels qualify for this list. We ranked them on guest rating, then on class, and took the top five.
Two things decide these lists. The first is my own time in the city: every hotel on this page is one I have stayed in, walked into and looked at, or gone back to check. That is where the shortlist starts, and it is why some well reviewed places are not on it.
The second is the numbers, and those are what set the order. The rating and review count come from the big travel sites, pooled through Google, so a score here reflects Expedia, Booking, Hotels.com and the rest together rather than any one of them. I also read the review breakdown by topic, which is where the figures on service, breakfast and location come from. Hotels with fewer than forty reviews are left out altogether, because a rating that thin is not a rating. No more than two come from one neighbourhood.
What I do not do is move anyone up the order. The ranking is the guest score, highest first, and nobody pays to be on the list.
Distances are straight lines from published coordinates, so the real walk is a little longer. Amenities are as recorded by Google Hotels and can change without notice. Rates are an indicative nightly figure for a midweek autumn stay, not a quote. Check the booking page before you commit.
Talia Ben-Ari Turkey, the Gulf and Egypt
Editing runs in intense blocks with real gaps between, and she fills the gaps by going somewhere with no plan. No itinerary, no bookings past the first night.
Trip Grapevine earns a commission on bookings made through the links on this page. It costs you nothing, and it does not change the order of the list, which is set by the measurements above.