- Room
The rooms are equipped with beautiful hand-painted closets and with surprisingly hard beds, which is rather rare in hotels. I liked the beds, my back unfortunately reacted not so well (but that is what it does in soft hotel beds too). There is a well working air conditioning, a mini bar with reasonably fair prices, a safe, as well as complimentary water, instant coffee and tea. The floor is designed with a sort of laminate. If I have anything to criticize about the rooms, it is the size - we are talking about maybe 15 to 18 m², which by all means is a bit narrow for two people. The bathroom is only equipped with a shower, not with a bath, and the shower has a rain shower, (which i never took, because it's only a better trickle) and a real ' intensive' shower. Two points that bothered me about the shower: the ground level shower area is only half separated from the rest of the bathroom with a glass pane, which leads to 'floods' during the shower. The foot mat therefore practically serves as a sponge, to stop the water from running into the rest of the bathroom. Otherwise the bathroom has a never completely closing sliding glass door, which is only partially sight impermeable with stickers. They don't seem to think too highly of intimacy or privacy Now you just tell your partner, 'I am now in the bathroom.' But what if you forgot the 'do not disturb' sign and are sitting on the toilet? The entering maid can then see you through the door of the bathroom. What else has to be noted: there are indeed in almost all hotels these signs in the bathroom that hypocritically point to caring for the troubled environment and that towels are only replaced if they are on the floor. In the 'Armada' they are taken seriously: I got a blood stain (after a shave) covered towel offered again for so long until I really threw it on the ground. In terms of cleanliness there is, as stated above, nothing to complain about the rooms including the bathrooms.
- Gastronomy
We booked our room - as mentioned - with breakfast included, which is served as a buffet in the rooftop restaurant. You have the choice to sit in the restaurant, which has generous panoramic windows, or directly on the (with sun sails equipped) roof terrace. And I have to say: yes, a breakfast with a view over the Bosporus is no bad start into the day. The buffet is typical of the country, with lots of cheese, pickled and fresh tomatoes, olives, omelettes and sausages, small pastries, and tiny bread rolls, as well as bread, a 'sweet' part with honey, marmalade, sesame creme and cereals, in addition there is coffee, tea, milk and water, fruit salad, melons and apricots. Orange juice you can prepare yourself freshly with a hand-operated press. If there is anything to criticize, then at best, that the buffet is not particularly varied and one has already had everything after a few days. The rooftop restaurant is amazingly - usually hotel restaurant often are not good for that much - also very suitable for a dinner. The prices are not low, but fair, the food is very tasty, the atmosphere better than in every other restaurant, that we visited in Istanbul.
- Service
Even though the Middle Eastern hospitality is widely praised, competence and friendliness are not the strong side of Istanbul, especially not of the staff. In the restaurants around, you will often find disinterested thoughtlessness (instead of the ordered white wine, red wine is brought or a dish that had never been ordered) and crudity (the mentioned waiter with a preference for large wine bottles practically snatched the napkin out form under my hand after eating; from another, as I only wanted a small portion of doner, I had to get asked if I was still a baby). In fast-food restaurants one should not look too closely how the food is made, as hygiene is not necessarily put an emphasis (one cook folds the Durum and throws (!) it to the next, so that it goes into the oven again, the ice cream man takes an unwrapped package of ice from the chest behind him, grabs it with his dirty hands and cuts off a slice for his mobile shop). Turkish guests are often preferred: while the stupid tourist from Germany gets only a loincloth gets at the Hammam, his Turkish counterpart walks in cheerfully whistling with three towels. I mention all this because such weaknesses, unfortunately, are sometimes found in the 'Armada istanbul', too, though greatly in weakened form. The biggest advantage of the personnel there, is that they leave you alone if you want to be left alone. Importunities do not exist. The cleaning of the room is immaculate and done in reasonable time. The communication with the staff at the reception is possible without a problem. Only the restaurant staff is in my opinion a little off. Firstly, it bothers me when I see, how during breakfast Turkish guests are served freshly squeezed orange juice to their table, while everyone else must struggle with the juicer (with crank handle). In the evening when ordering the Meze, the waiter did not understand his own menu and also brought the wrong wine. For me the most disturbing thing was however that the waiters of the roof restaurant had no feeling for when something had to be cleared or not. Unfortunately it happens often that the just emptied plate is practically snatched from your hand. Then, of course, also the spoon which was meant for the still remaining yogurt. Glasses that are not empty yet are also gladly cleared. During dinner, the waiters tend to come to the table like they are inspecting it, so that one feels a little controlled. But it should clearly be pointed out that these are 'picked out' weaknesses are. Measured against the rest of Istanbul we experienced, the staff at the 'Armada' is overall good.
- Sport & Entertainment
The 'Armada ' offers its guests WiFi in the room. Should this (which unfortunately occurs) ever not function, the 'neighboring 'Best Western' is close enough to use its (free) WiFi. For breakfast, the English 'Turkish Daily News' is offered. I painfully missed a swimming pool, because nothing is more beautiful than a refreshing dip after a exhausting day in the town. However I knew that before; we had decided for the 'Armada' in spite of the absence of a pool. The rooms are equipped with a TV, next to some German-speaking programs (ZDF, RTL, Arte) there is several Turkish movie channels, which show American movies with Turkish subtitles.
- Hotel
It is not easy to evaluate a hotel fair if you were extremely disappointed by the city in which it stands. In case that a bit of 'spite' should sneak in in the following discussion, I will clarify in advance: the 'Armada Istanbul', is despite some smaller (subsequently described) points of criticism, an absolutely recommendable 4-star hotel with, in my opinion, very fair prices (in July, so in the middle of the holiday season, we paid around 90 euros per night for a room with Bosporus view). But now to the details: the three-story building with generous roof terrace is from the 16th century and the former quarter of the ottoman army. It has recently completely been restored and is in terms of cleanliness, maintenance, and also regarding the amenities of the bath (mountings etc. ) no reason to complain. We booked our room with breakfast, which is served in the rooftop restaurant and terrace. Whether they also offer half or even full board, i can unfortunately not say, I doubt it though, since this, in metropolises, is rather unusual in my opinion. I also found that the guest structure was very pleasant. The 'Armada' is not a pure tourist hotel, but is also frequented by Turks, for breakfast we met guests of all age groups and nationalities. Altogether the 'Armada' has around one hundred rooms, therefore it is large enough to offer a degree of anonymity, but no 'giant hotel'.
- Location
Those who come for the first time to Istanbul will not want to stay clear of the Sultan Ahmed Mosque and the Hagia Sophia. If you want to stay near the water too (which is highly recommended, because you're grateful for every fresh breeze, especially in summer), you will be very happy to choose the 'Armada', which lies in Sultan Ahmet, only an estimated one hundred meters from the Bosporus; although on these one hundred meters you pass on the one hand the (the view on the water partially obscuring) old city wall, and secondly, a busy main road. The core of the center with the Sultan Ahmed Mosque and Hagia Sophia is about ten to fifteen minutes walk, however it is a little 'uphill'. Right next to the hotel you find some smaller shops, which especially offer drinks. A plus is the only a few meters away located stop Cankurtaran from which you can easily go for example to the district Saray Burnu, which is near the Topkapi Palace, which is also the starting point for excursions to Beyoglu and Asia. Finally, the proximity to the Bosporus also invites to evening walks on the (not too idyllic) promenade. Not so idyllic it is, among other reasons, because the locals happy drive with their cars up to the promenade to the railing to admire the sea, but they do this in the afternoon to cool the car usually with the engine running. Who as a tourist then walk along there swallows all the exhaust gases. A negative point regarding the location is that in the immediate vicinity of the hotel there is not only a garage looking similar to a service station, but also some slum-like land with old sheds, some abandoned buildings and dilapidated corrugated sheet roofs, which one looks down on from the rooftop restaurant. From the airport the hotel is, as long as you do not take a taxi, rather complicated to reach. We went by metro and tram and walked from the station Sultanahmet, which is not ideal with luggage, because the suitcase does not roll well on the often uneven ground and sidewalks are often impassable because of very narrow or by obstacles such as protruding iron bars and one has to constantly lift and drop it. On the way back we took the train driving along the Bosporus from Cankurtaran to Yedikule took a cab there that took us for (of course previously negotiated) 10 TL to the airport. That was clearly the more relaxing option. It also carries negative weight that the road in front of the 'Armada' is a fairly narrow cobblestone road (on the other side slightly off is a 'Best Western'), and at least on the first floor, where we had our room, nightly events on the street could be heard exceptionally well (semi-loud conversations, passing cars etc.) Basically it finally has to be noted about the location that one should think in advance if you REALLY want to live in Sultan Ahmet. Since it is the touristic city center, it is also the part in which Istanbul is shown from its least-pretty side, in other words often cheeky-intrusive, sleazy friendly, as long as business potential is spotted, and rude, if the other is not prepared to concede. It is practically impossible in the evening to go to the restaurant-lined streets and to consider calmly where to eat, because at the slightest pause of movement, a 'guest catcher' will immediately rush up to you, who exuberantly tries to sell the alleged benefits of his establishment. On the Divanyolu Caddesi, 'the' touristic focus, it is unfortunately also impossible, to for example remain at the baker's shops to look at the delights in the window, because someone from the shop immediately runs out and wants to drag you inside. I was, both in front of a restaurant or a shop, several times close to telling them: 'You idiot could make a fortune with me, if you would just keep your mouth shut for a bit!' Because I WANTED to enter a restaurant or buy cakes. But on the basis of my own decision, not because I'm being talked into doing so. What I find particularly disturbing: Basically you can escape those nuisances only by infringing common courtesy rules, namely by when one is addressed, continuing without a word and letting the pushy recruiter with her little prepared speech can get nowhere. What also applies in the Old City especially (a little less so it applies throughout Istanbul, which for me therefore is only a 'Rip-City'): Almost everyone who sells something, is trying to make their 'cut' unfairly. One must constantly be on guard to avoid being ripped off. Only two examples: in a thoroughly sophisticated fish restaurant near our hotel, we wanted to order a small bottle of wine for dinner. The waiter said harshly that there were no small bottles (they were in the menu) and disappeared immediately, jus to return unasked with a large bottle and eagerly uncork it. Upon saying that we do not want a large bottle and if small bottles were not available we would each only take a glass, he reacted very irritated and poured the wine into the glass so vehemently that it swashed onto the plate. The next day I wanted to buy biscuits at a bakery that were on large trays in the window. Even from outside, I saw that on a tablet there was a biscuit (really only one) that looked like someone had bitten into it. In the store, I asked the baker to the window and pointed to the tray of which I wanted to buy something. With a firm hand and although he had to lean forward to very much, he grabbed, among others, the 'bitten' biscuit for me. I'm just a dumb tourist and surely put no value to flawless goods. To make a long story short: You should consider whether you really want to live in a hotel in Sultan Ahmet or if a hotel in the much more sympathetic districts Saray Burnu and Beyoglu or even in the Asian part is not preferable. For the Asian part pleads not only that it is much cheaper, but also that the trip across the Bosporus (1.75 TL per person) is simply a dream. Generally speaking: the distances within the four interesting districts Sultan Ahmet, Saray Burnu, Beyoglu, and the bazaar district are not so big that you would necessarily have to stay in Sultan Ahmet. From the ferry pier in Saray Burun to Hagia Sophia on foot it is maybe ten minutes and maybe five minutes to the spice bazaar. The drive from Kadikoy (Asian part) to Saray Burun takes about 15 minutes, ferries go every couple of minutes.
