Pleasantly surprised!

Property was perfectly situated to see the main sights of Istanbul. Rooms were spacious with beautiful decor. Rooms serviced every day to a high standard. View from 6th floor (where breakfast was served) was incredible. Breakfast substantial & staff pleasant and helpful. Great place to stay.

The location was really good

Very walkable! Old Town convenient

Not sure what the vip amenities were. But we liked this hotel. It was very convenient to all the sights. Staff was very kind. Rooftop area where they served breakfast was fantastic. Food was delicious and plentiful.

Friendly and personable staff. Rooftop cafe has a great selection for breakfast as well as beautiful views of the blue mosque, hagia sofia and surrounding area especially at night. Convenient location to all tourist attractions.

Very nice place to stay.

Excellent

Overpriced hotel in a good location. Basic and small rooms. Pictures looked better than the actual property. You can hear all your neighbors. Comfortable beds and a/c worked well. Breakfast terrace with amazing view but only average food. Great service from every employee.

Great property for a stay in Istanbul. Central to shopping, sight seeing and dining options. Would definately stay again.

Breathtaking View from rooftop!

Our stay was great, we stayed 4 nights in Rast hotel. I love the breathtaking view from rooftop. Breakfast was amazing, lots of choices. Close to all amenities.

Great location, clean and friendly staff, loved the breakfast buffet!

Very central to major points of interest, 50 m to tram 15 lira a trip great place to visit if you don’t mind crowds

Fantastic location. Nice staff. Rooms are OK, and we were always made to feel welcome. Hundreds of dining choices within 500 metres of hotel

From the moment we got to the hotel we were greeted by very friendly staff. Great hospitality and took care of all our needs. Special mention for the staff at breakfast Gokhan and Sevci always had a smile. Great location to explore a beautiful cultured city

Needing some maintenance

We stayed in a triple room which was fairly close to the photos except for the following: the grout in the shower walls had mold and there were cracks around the drain. On the beds there was no top sheet rather only a thin blanket. So in all the room felt like it needed maintenance. Apart from this the breakfast area on the roof had an amazing view of the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia plus the breakfast had a good variety.

I loved the terrace the view was amazing!!

We left after 2 days of a 6 day booking

The room we booked was extremely tiny. Two people with luggage could barely fit in it. The hotel had no availability to upgrade and refused to refund the balance. We were very unhappy.

Attentive staff. Perfect location for walking to all of the historic sites. Price was reasonable.

The staff at the front desk, restaurant area and housekeeping was very friendly, helpful and made us feel at home. I strongly recommend this hotel because it's also in an excellent location to walk and take public transportation. The view at the restaurant is amazing!

Highly recommend

We stayed at Rast for a long weekend to do some sight seeing and soak up the culture of Istanbul. The hotel was in a great location just round the corner from the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia. Despite being in the perfect tourist location it was quiet so we had no problem sleeping. The reception staff were really helpful -providing maps and advice about where to go and they even phoned a restaurant for us to say we were running late. The breakfast was lovely -with many options (meze, cooked breakfast and continental). The views from the restaurant on the 6th floor were amazing-it looks right over the mosques and the city! We ended up sitting there for ages just taking them in. The staff were all helpful and smiley.

Globe.trekker

Liv is th best! She stayed in contact via email. No problems with check in and out. Will stay there again! Hotel is by the water, trains and restaurants which is the center of Zurich!

Initially we booked this hotel for 3 nights (rooms 404 and 405), from Sept 11 - 14, however we extended the stay for an additional night (for the night of the Sept 14 to leave on Sept 15), as we realized we wanted to see many sites in Istanbul. Unfortunately, we had a medical emergency in Romania, where a 93 years old mother got sick and needed our attention. Hence, we had to leave urgently on the morning of Sept 14. Since we did not use the additional night booked via Expedia, we asked for a refund. When we left we also asked the concierge to place a note in the file that we had an unforeseen medical emergency. We called Expedia and they were willing to help and contact the Hotel manager (Ahmed). Unfortunately, the hotel manager was unreachable for at least 2 weeks and when, finally, Expedia was able to talk to him, he REFUSED the refund, with a ridiculous reason that they were not told 24 hours in advance. I want to make it clear that we had an unforeseen medical emergency and these are NEVER planned. Also: we drove to Istanbul and our car was parked in front of the hotel (20 Euro per night), so they requested to have the spare key at the front desk. When we left, after we paid for the 'parking', they did NOT give us the spare key back. Being in a hurry to leave, we did not even think of asking for that. Long story short: it was sent to us in about 10 days after we left. The hotel rooms and especially the bathrooms need some serious renovations. Not a 4 star hotel.

Everything was brilliant the hotel and its views were fantastic. The staff were polite and always helpful. The hotel fealt very personal and comfortable as it was never crowded.

Return Hotel

I really enjoyed my stay here. The room was a decent size, with a balcony and very clean. The location is great with walking to a grand bazaar and the big attractions & mosques. The hotel even provided access to book a shuttle to hotel/airport, which was convenient. Breakfast was great, lots to choose from and the view from 6 floor is great at sunrise. Floor 5 can be nosey with the chairs in morning breakfast.

I enjoyed the stay at Rast Hotel a lot , the location is awesome , in the heart of Sultanahmet but in the quite street , the stuff were very friendly, helpful and nice , Sevgi and Gökhan host a nice breakfast with the absolutely incredible view on Blue mosque and AyaSofia .The rooftop is panoramic so U can also see Suleymanie . From my room balcony i also had the opportunity to see Ayasofya, can’t be more happier with choosing this hotel

Excellent location with the most beautiful views of old Istanbul. We love staying here!

Very nice hotel. Very friendly and helpful staff. Great breakfasts on the rooftop restaurant which has a great view of the Mosques. Perfect location for the Mosques and the Palace. Highly recommendable.

Best place for visiting historic Istanbul

If you are in Istanbul for visiting the historic sites, there is no better location than the Rast Hotel. Within 10 minute walk of Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace and the Grand Bazaar. Very close to the T1 tram line that can take you to Galata Tower. And the terrace breakfast is really good, especially to enjoy it with spectacular views. But the best part of the hotel is the hard working and attentive staff and particularly Mr. Bayram at reception. We would highly recommend this hotel.

Service

The Rast is in the perfect location in Sultanahmet to see all the sites! The hotel is comfortable and the staff is fantastic! The view from the upstairs terrace is second to none! We loved our stay here and highly recommend this hotel.

Really excellent service top to bottom

Great location, lovely staff, room was spacious and clean. Nothing to dislike about this Hotel. A special thanks to the reception staff, Esa and Ugur, who were always there to answer questions and provide guidance and also to the breakfast team, Seygi and Gokhan, who provided an excellent service.

Hotel is in a great location, terrace was terrific, good breakfast, nice decor, everything working. Walls were a bit thin so it was noisy at times. Not sure the terrace room was worth it, we were under the restaurant which was extra noisy and guests could access the terrace upstairs.

Very accomodating staff, professional, welcoming and respectful.

Room I slightly smaller than I expected it to be. A bit noisy during the day. Hotel is clean, close to major attractions, staff members are awesome.

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Sultanahmet’teki en mükemmel otel!

Beklediğimizden güzel bir deneyim yaşatan Rast Hotel’e çok teşekkürler! Odamızın manzarası olsun, temizlik olsun, personelin güler yüzü ve yardımseverliği olsun, İstanbul’daki günlerimizi çok daha iyi geçirmemizi sağladı. Özellikle resepsiyondan Bayram Bey ve restorandan Sevgi Hanım, işlerini severek yaptıkları o kadar belli ki! Amerikalı ailemiz ve yeni evli bir çift olan biz çok mutlu ayrıldık. Herkese tavsiye ediyorum!

Very bad hotel please dont send your costumer this hotel

Great location

Very nice serivice and cleaning hotel

U Book a Superior Double but U'll get a "standard"

Imagine that you have booked a large room (Superior Double Room with a King-Bed), and you get a small ( what they call it "standard") room. That was what happened to me! When I told the front desk that you made a mistake and I have paid already for a large room, their answer was "Sorry we don't have any other available rooms for today". What?! What is the meaning of "booking" a room if they are supposed to tell you that your "booked" room is not available for today! I asked them how many different (classes of) rooms do they have. They replied "two kinds: either they are standard or suite". When I told them that there are a few other classes of rooms including the "Superior Double" advertised on-line, they insisted that 'no, we only have "standard" (the small one that they gave me) and suite'. That really pissed me off. After a long conversation, they agreed to change my room to a bigger one on the next day but without any compensation for the first night of my stay. Interestingly, they admitted that they have another class of rooms (the one that they gave me for the rest of my stay) which happened to be larger than their "standard" ones and smaller than their suite ones, while they insisted that there is no such a room there! The bottom-line is that definitely I won't book any room from these guys if I go to Turkey next time.

Terrible experience

One of the worst experience I had in a hotel, the room was too small for just me ( what if we were 2 people), the hot water broke off 2 times during my stay. Sometimes a very bad smell comes from the bathroom. The only good thing was the location of the breakfast ( face Sultanahmet and Hagia Sofia ).

Amazing view of the city! Very spacious! I really enjoyed the balcony and the room was so nice! I would definitely recommend this hotel. I traveled in from Atlanta and Ubered to the hotel. The staff was great and even offered me a USB port to charge my phone. I’m definitely going to rebook this place on my next trip to Istanbul

I booked a room at this hotel I went there at 12 PM they said the room is not ready yet I left my luggage at the hotel and I went for a walk and l get back at 1:30 then they told me Sorry we don’t have room available for you after I booked the room online that’s terrible experience never happened to me before I wish the management of the hotel that work better with their client thank you

Awesome stay with very good staff.

I gave an ok for staff. The guy I met was super good. I asked for a wake up call at 4:30- never got it, i was promised a coffee before i leave, a different reception person was sleeping downstairs; i was making noise and it didnt wake him up. Not a deal breaker I would stay again; however the wake up call is pretty important! LOL i woke up on time.

Great location!

Wonderful stay. Staff went out of their way to make stay welcoming. Great location, next to tram and walking distance to tourist sites. Food options nearby. Able to leave luggage for the day after check out and come back to it later.

Good location. Friendly staff. Nice view from rooftop.

Modest breakfast, few staff speak english, no laundry or ironing services

Great Views, Good service

stayed one night, staff at reception was very helpful and efficient. room was clean and spacious with a little balcony, which we didn't expect. although the room didn't have ceiling lights it has bed side lamps which was slightly odd. never the less great panoramic views of the blue mosque and hagia sofia from the roof top terrace/ cafe

My wife and I spent twelve nights at the Rast Hotel during the first two weeks of July. The hotel is spotlessly clean. It’s about a half mile or less from the major attractions, two tram stations, and a small grocery where we were able to buy wine. The buffet breakfast is located on the sixth floor terrace with an amazing view of both the Blue Mosque and the Aya Sophia. You feel like you can almost touch them. The breakfast includes eggs, many cheeses, fruits, vegetables, and many other Turkish dishes. The staff is knowledgeable, friendly and helpful. Most speak English quite well and seem happy to assist you in any way. Only negative; the wifi could be better but certainly not a deal breaker.

Great location. Very nice terrace on the 6th floor for breakfast.

Location was prime, space was minimal. Yet that was a worthy trade off

Amazing, very close to main attractions, local bus and airport buses. Loved our stay

Excelent location, great service, very nice view and delicious buffet breakfast. We will back!

The reception is bright and opponent but the rooms and bathroom for our family room were dated. The room itself was clean but very small with only one cupboard for storage, for a family room, I’d expect more. Staff were attentive and the breakfast terrace is by far the best space in the hotel. Breakfast was ok, hit and miss but a wide selection. The best thing about the hotel was that the Blue Mosque, AyaSofia And Topkapi Palace were all walking distance.

This is my second time stay there. Is convenience to kove arround the Old City and near to tram station. Good view frm restaurant at roof top during breakfast that you can view the sunrise between Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofea.

Nice Hotel, near everything Staff very helpful, clean rooms

This was my second time in this hotel, all the people that work there are so very helpful with information and anything you need. The breakfast buffet is great and with a variety of fresh food every morning. It is an old building but very comfortable and clean. The big plus for me is the location, just a few steps to many restaurants, Blue Mosque, Hiya Sofia, Grand Bazar, etc., etc., super great location.

Good stay, very convenient! I recommend it ...

Nice hotel, lobby, staff, and the massage chairs in the lobby was a plus after a lot of walking in the rain! Terrace breakfast view so nice! Good food. So many good things, and 2-3 negatives: the room was too hot, so had to open the door/window to sleep, and the beds could be a little softer, in my opinion -- some may like the firm beds, but a soft mattress is SO restful and comfortable! The city was tearing up the tram road all night long the first night (not the hotel's fault) -- but so loud! Overall, the hotel is nice, and it was a good stay. I'd recommend the hotel to others.

Not as expected

The location is nice and the view is awesome. The breakfast is lovely. but the comfort was not that great and I am talking about a suite in the fifth floor. The decoration of the room was very minimalist no carpet, even when we asked for one for our kid to play in it. No covers fit for the cold weather and sometimes even if the room is warm you will need one. The TV in case you want to watch got nothing in really in foreign languages, but that a details if you don't have kids to watch cartoons :) Anyway good hotel but not deserving the high rating it has.

The room was just too hot even without heating and when we open the balcony door it was too noisy as it was facing the tramway and they were fixing it all night. The breakfast wasnt great there wasnt much too choose from.. This was my second stay in rast hotel and compared to the first time im very disappointed.

hotel walking distance, very convienient and staff very helpful

location

Location is good and the best thing is the hotel rooftop view is magnificent. The view on Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace and Aya Sophia is very beautiful from this Rast Hotel rooftop.

Nice hotel and easy access to many places

Friendly staff. Buraq was really helpful during our stay. Like where hotel was situated.

Peeling wall paper, non functioning shower, flimsy toilet seat. For a two night stay being moved. Room opposite a neighboring hotels monster airconditioner. Broken window. Staff appeared a bit incompetent. Furniture in rooms delapitated ......that's all folks. No intent to spend more time on this. No intent to spend more time on this Peeling wall paper, non functioning shower, flimsy toilet seat. For a two night stay being moved. Room opposite a neighboring hotels monster airconditioner. Broken window. Staff appeared a bit incompetent. Furniture in rooms delapitated ......that's all folks. No intent to spend more time on this. No intent to spend more time on this

Nice location

Location perfect but not too well cleaning and very very old everything

Great location; superb view from breakfast terrace

Hotel room was average. Location was great: walking distance to major attractions. Absolutely stunning view from hotel's terrace.

Extremely clean

It was an amazing experience. 100 meters from the Vatican, restaurants, coffee shops & souvenir shops close to the hotel, linens and towels were impressive

Best location

Best location in instanbul

Great location and price

Nice hotel in the centre of all the attractions.

Really nice hotel, staff are very friendly and professional. The hotel is located on a nice quiet street just off the Sultanahemet main street. The hotel is just 5 minutes from the blue mosque and the tram stop. And just a 15-20 minute walk to the grand bazaar. The room we stayed in (room 304) was very small (as our booking had stated a large king size room). The hotel staff did try to move us to bigger room but the hotel was fully booked. The cleaning lady on our floor was really friendly and our room was always very clean with fresh towels. The breakfast buffet at the hotel is really good and has a wide selection of both hot and cold breakfast and the view is excellent from the breakfast area.

Best location, breakfast, & view in the Sulanhmet

You can't beat Ihsan greeting you at the front desk. He will help you will all information Turkish-restaurants, day trips, and knows all. The breakfast is super large for such a small hotel. The staff goes out of their way to help. Not a resort but the 180 degree view of the Mamara, old town, and Asia is one of a kind.

Perfect location and Awesome Prices

Very good. It has everything that a 3 star hotel should have or even more. It's right by the main street, maybe 3 minutes walking to Blue Mosque and other tourist attractions. Easy to get to from the airport if you take public transportation.

Excelente

This is the second time and definitely is the best hotels in locations, services, and staff.

Not Clean But good staff

If you need I can post a video. The room was old and the bath is very small. I would say do not book . This place needs an update.

Nice hotel close to everything.

Hotel front lobby and food court are very clean. Great breakfast!!

Perfect location, great view from the restaurant.

The location is at the heart of Sultanahment, which means short walking distance to the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sofia, Grand Bazaar, Topkapi Palace and Cemberlitas Bath. The tram station is also very close, to get to other parts of the city and to the airport. Plenty of restaurants nearby. Friendly staff, clean and comfortable rooms.

Very nice and excellent location with many nearby attractions and authentic food restuarents . In addition to an excellent Bosphurus view from the roof top restuarent. Near egyption market and Grand Bazaar and many nearby shops

Fantastic location ,very good staff ,great views

Good hotel to stay close to all old city attractions

Fantastic location

Located within 10 minutes walk of all iconic sights, could not have picked a better spot. Friendly, attentive staff. Really good breakfasts, seconds walk to many restaurants, ATM machines, shops, booking agencies.

Good location

Hotel is well located, near many tourist points. Friendly staff.

Great staff and location

We arrived after being ripped off by a taxi driver so Mr. Happy's kindness was really important. He couldn't have been nicer. He immediately offered us breakfast and had our room ready to check in by 10AM which was unexpected. The location is perfect for touring especially to the Blue Mosque, a few minutes walk. There are restaurants near and an ATM on the corner. Mr. Happy would have arranged a guide at a very reasonable price and arranged for our taxi to the airport as well. The Rast gives you a feeling of Istanbul, gold and exotic feeling (for us anyway). The breakfast was very good and offered plenty of choices. The view was the best part. It was white glove clean and had everything we required. The room we had with 2 twins (306) had a small balcony so you could open the doors and it was still sound proof when shut.

Great Istanbul Experience

Great buffet breakfast with a very nice view of the Bosphorus Strait. Great location, close to all the must see sights, restaurants and stores and walking distance to the Grand Bazaar. The desk staff were very helpful, great service. Wifi was kind of spotty, the furnishing and carpeting needed to be upgraded but overall, nice hotel.

Nice Botique Hotel

We stayed two nights. Our room was clean and comfortable. The staff very helpful. The only drawback was that our room had a wall that had wallpaper that was very gouged up. Not very nice looking. But otherwise, it was a nice room and it was quiet! Breakfast buffet is fantastic. You can also bring your own bottle of wine to the terrace in the evening and they'll have the glasses so you can sit and look out over the city at night. Pretty nice.

A very pleasant stay indeed!

We had an excellent stay at Rast hotel. The staff was very very pleasant and helpful. The food, the view, the neighborhood, everything was wonderful! Mr. Happy was exceptionally helpful and wonderful! If I ever visit Istanbul again, I'll stay at the place again! A happy customer.

Close to the Mezquita Azul

The rooms is very old, could be improve

Asia and Europe meet here

The view from rooftop restaurant is breathtaking and a short walk to Blue Mosque was memorable. Dinner cruise through Bosphorus Straight I will never forget

Nothing except a nice view of the Blue Mosque

Rast hotel has gone downhill faster than the Greek economy. Staff is unattentive to the point they forget to call a taxi after being told and waiting in the lobby with a crying child in their face for 20 minutes. What they call a suite is worse than a hostel dorm. Rooms are dirty and I had to flush the toilet (freshly used) when allowed a check in at 3 pm. Horrendous attitude (like they just bought Greece) The air conditioning was another icing on the cake. On calling them that it's NOT working, we were told 'this is how it is, sorry'. It was quite warm that night and we had to keep the window open to survive the suffocation. This was supposedly a 'suite'. Cheap Victorian decor in the lobby doesn't make for a great hotel. Am intrigued by the false good reviews it has got so far.

Great Hotel in a fantastic location

Stayed for 3 nights. Hotel offered us a complementary transfer from the airport. Upon arrival we were treated like royalty. We were given complementary tea and while our room was being prepared the receptionist sat down with us and pointed out all the main tourist locations on a map. The breakfast was good and different every day. You can also the Blue Mosque while you are having eating The hotel is located in the heart of Sultanahmet which is located easy walking distance to all the main tourist attractions such as the Grand Bazaar, Blue Mosque and Haghia Sofia. There is a metro stop 5 minutes walk from the hotel. Only criticisms I would have of this hotel are that it was a little noisy given its close proximity to a main street but this subsided around 10pm so it didn't disturb our sleep. The hotel also has only one lift so it can take a while to get down to the lobby during peak periods. Overall though, it is a fantastic hotel and I would recommend staying here.

Great location

We had a wonderful time again. This has been our third time at Rast Hotel and we look forward to coming back again.

In the heart of Istanbul

We love staying at this wonderful hotel. This has been our third time and we look forward to coming back again. Walking distance to 6 of the must see places such as the Grand Bazaar, Spice Market, Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, Basilica Cistern & Topkapi Palace amongst others. The rooftop terrace has the best views of Istanbul which is what you see every morning at breakfast. The variety provided for breakfast is the best we have had anywhere. The staff are amazing and very helpful. I have recommended this hotel to friends and family who've also stayed and loved it. I continue to recommend to anyone I speak with who are planning a holiday in Istanbul.

neat hotel

A nice hotel for the cost, and helpful staff. Would stay here again.

Excellent location in Istanbul!

Like past reviews mentioned, there is no other explanation of the view from the 6th floor terrace other than BREATHTAKING!! Truly great location for exploring Old Town Istanbul. Lots of cafes, restaurants & bars just outside of hotel. Very short walk to Blue Mosque & Hagia Sophia. The rooms were a little dated & cramped, but manageable. Front desk staff was very pleasant and helpful, & massage chairs in the lobby were a great amenity also! I would definitely stay again on next trip to Istanbul

Amazing

Rast hotel was wonderful!! They have the most beautiful views from the restaurant at the top floor. The breakfast was amazing and the staff is great. They were so helpful when I made a booking mistake. I will definitely be back!

California Dreaming at the Rast

I would definitely stay there again. Rast is a hotel of the old 'Ottoman' style. The lobby and roof top terrace are very strong draws. The location is excellent (three blocks from Aye Sophia. The bedding is excellent. This COULD BE a four star hotel, easily. I recommend the small changes following for me to rate this four stars: 1) The lobby chandeliers are magnificent. Please replace burnt-out bulbs and replace with same bulb type and same wattage. 2) Please provide wash cloths in bathroom. 3) Please remove mold from around bathroom tub. 4) Please repair drain plug in bath room. 5) There are no electrical outlets near the computer station/vanity.

Istanbul Delight

The hotel and staff were excellent and would definitely stay there again, however an open bar on their beautiful top level would have been great.

Good but disappointed with hotels.com

Overall stay was Very Pleasant and the Staff at the hotel were very friendly and accomadating. However i am very disappointed with Hotels.com because at the time Of booking this hotel in Istanbul I booked 13 nights at the Akra Park Barut in Antalya fully paid for which included breakfast. At the time of my check in I was told no breakfast is included and I have the confirmation stating it was included in my price. It's now 2 nights gone and no one can assist when I've paid for it. So unfortunately I will not be using hotels.com in the future.

Nice hotel. Location was excellent

We had a fantastic time. We were within walking distance to all main attractions. The breakfast was a nice addition.

pretty amazing.

We had a great time in Istanbul. Our hotel was really close to everything. The hotel breakfast buffet was excellent. Hotel room was pretty good as well.