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Armada City Hotel is tastefully decorated and tucked away on the edges of Sultanahmet. The hotel had a lovely scent throughout, which was a nice touch. Expansive lobby with a lounging area on the side, which our family of 11 overtook in the evenings after a long day of walking in hilly Istanbul streets. The rooms are on the smaller side, and the housekeepers did a fantastic job daily. The restaurant on the third floor has an amazing view of the Bosphorus. I often found myself on the window-side table watching the faraway boats sail away, glistening in the early morning sun. Occasional seagull aiming for your breakfast will wake you up from your reverie, however. There's an open terrace bar/cafe on the other side with a lovely view of the Blue Mosque, especially when it's lit at night. We stayed here for 5 nights and here are a few things we noted:
1. As many other reviewers have mentioned, breakfast can be quite boring if you're here for longer than 2 days. While there is an attempt to provide variety, it was the same everyday. I really hope the hotel executives will listen to these honest reviews and implement changes.
2. Similary, as others have noted, the hotel staff weren't the friendliest. Our first night we had dinner at the restaurant around 9 pm and although the restaurant was open till 11/11:30pm, the waiters were in a hurry to overturn the room for breakfast the next morning, hence they kept removing our plates without asking when we hadn't finished our meal yet. The security guard was perhaps the least friendly of all, ironically. Here's a person we saw at the door multiple times daily during our 5 nights stay, yet we did not see a single nod, smile or any form of welcoming gesture, which we thought was very strange. At the front desk, Nadida provided wrong information, which was frustrating to say the least. Our group departure was early (7am), so we asked for a takeway breakfast. She said it was 3 euro each, but since it was just ham sandwich and other bits, we declined and opted to have the regular complimentary breakfast at the lobby. She mentioned that it would be cheese, bread and tea/coffee. That was fine with us, however, she said that would still be 3 euro per person as well. I knew that wasn't true so instead of dealing with her dismissive and rude tone, I spoke with Ismail/Ibrahim later that day to arrange the complimentary lobby breakfast without a charge. Nadida definitely needs training in interpersonal skills to interact with international guests!
Not all was doom and gloom at Armada. Ismail in the front desk was helpful and so was Noor. Noor was welcoming and provided good recommendations for the city tours/activities. Perhaps the star among Armada staff is Fruat, the bellboy. He went out of his way to help us interpret to our taxi driver, provided great recommendations for shopping, and would receive us welcomingly every time we saw him. Frankly, attributes that one would expect from all staff members at a hotel of this stature. I really hope the hotel recognises Fruat's wonderful contributions in elevating the guests' experience at Armada.
3. There are a lot restaurants nearby the hotel to choose from. The Blue Mosque, Hagia Sofia, Basilica Cistern, Sultanahmet train are all within walking distance from the hotel.
4. Minifridge, safe, hairdryer, kettle, tea/coffee are provided in the room. Shower gel (that functions as a shampoo apparently) is provided but I think I saw a note that said shampoo can be requested if needed. Enough storage space in the room. TV is a bit small but we didn't use it much. Iron can be requested from the reception. Wifi was good. Walls are thinly insulated so you might hear your neighbours. Thing to note about the bed- a double(queen) bed is actually two single beds joined together.
Overall good. Improvements in abovementioned points will elevate the hotel from good to exemplary. Teşekkür
