Grand Hilarium Hotel

Never trust the photos they have online, you are not getting what’s on the photos, everything in the room smells like cigarette smoke, there is a teapot in the room but no cups, I asked for cups and water they said; you khav to fay exestra. And the worse thing is that the room have some sort of bugs it bites me really badly my legs and shoulders are very itchy the now I spend 2 nights there. Do not trust

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Bad bad bad

This is the worst hotel you can stay in. Staff were rude and totally unfriendly, the breakfast is non-existent, one day there were no plates and cups and the waiters just shrugged their shoulders, the indoor pool was freezing, the staff in the pool area complained of children making noise as there were massages taking place in other rooms, whilst the staff were laughing and on the phones talking loudly. there was smoke permeating through the rooms, the baclony, as advertised didn't exist. the disabled chair at the entrance was not working so we had to carry our disabled daughter up and down the stairs, the lifts were not level with the main floors when getting in/out, the bathrooms were mouldy, the rooms were very dark, stay away from this s*~t hotel.

Location is good, near metro station, and some great attractions..but not sure how it has 4 stars..even there is a kettle in the room, no cup, glasses, coffe or anything..breakfast is ok, but far from famous turkish offeres in hotels. It deffinitely needs renovations. The good tghing is very cozy bed and really clean sheets.

Nothing at this hotel is fine. The price may seem attractive but even for that price deserves something more decent. To begin with the most important thing, hygiene is as good as non existent, which is shocking for Istanbul. Rust in the bathroom and mold in the shower me cabin, dust and stains everywhere, and the cleaning lady didn’t even bother to turn the sheets upside down. We had a kettle that had never been cleaned, asked reception to replace it, and the service lady knocked and bumped into the room without waiting for me to answer. No wonder she did - the door could not be closed properly!!! Breakfast was not better. Poor choice, terrible quality ingredients (this is probably the only place in Istanbul where food tastes like… well.. nothing!), everything boiled to save oil and spices. They didn’t even have milk and didn’t bring any, regardless of how many times we asked for it. Orange juice was not available, bread choice was baguette or simit, and when we wanted scrambled eggs, they asked us to pay for them. No description or names of dishes available, no allergens information so whatever. In this hotel, nobody speaks English or any language other than Turkish. They will say they do, and they seem to understand what you say but can’t answer. Spent my breakfasts typing on Google translate to understand what I am eating. If you want a tip or you need something-better find a way to show it instead. Last but not least, don’t get fooled by their ‚wellness area‘. Any time I wanted to go they told me it was closed , no explanation at all. For all I know it may not even exist. The only good thing is location. You are very close to Kapali (15m) and main sightseeing destinations (30m) to Aya Sofia and the Blue Mosque and Taksim. Choice is yours, but for me they are no longer on Istanbul map.

Presented as a 4 star hotel my husband and I have choosen it for our 4 night stay in Ocober ( for my birthday). Even thouhg we did not spend much time in the room I just could not leave it without comment. It is not 4 star hotel , more likely 2 star. Everything is outdated. Location is more or less ok but too noisy. Breakfast was very poor, limited choice. Definately an advice not to book this hotel.

There is nothing ‘grand’ (or indeed ‘hilarious’) about the Grand Hilarium Hotel in Istanbul’s old city. Think no frills, and then lower your expectations even further. Myself and my travelling companion booked two single rooms here from 9th to 12th May. It is rated as 4-star, but should probably be 2-3 star at most. Following a friendly and efficient check-in, we were shown to our rooms. They were small, dark, basic, very outdated and in need of upgrading. The heating didn’t work in either of our rooms (only cold air was produced regardless of setting) and I suspect was centrally controlled despite the apparent ‘in-room’ dials. The room was so chilly I needed two duvets to keep warm at night. While tea and coffee-making facilities were promised, there was only a kettle in the room, but no cups, and no actual tea or coffee. Neither was there the advertised mini-bar, only a small fridge. The safe was faulty and couldn’t be operated so I had to just risk leaving my passport and cash in an open safe and hope for the best. There was a bath in my ensuite but no plug to keep the water in. Enquiries to hotel staff about getting a plug were fruitless. In fact, I was told that plugs in the bath would be a flood risk! The man who came to investigate suggested that I stuff the plughole with toilet paper to keep the water in. I did this the next morning, and did manage to have a bath although it was impossible to ignore the pieces of escaped loo paper drifting past me. There is no bar or restaurant in this hotel despite the fact that the website says the hotel has both. There was a bar ‘area’ that was not open, and a room that seemed to be only used at breakfast. Breakfast is unusual, with some local dishes, which is fair enough. However, there is a lot of plasticky meat and cheese, no toast, no fruit, no yogurt, and only orange squash (not even real juice from concentrate). The highlight was coffee from a dispensing machine. And a selection of breads that were fresh. The Grand Hilarium's website encourages guests to book a spa treatment in their onsite spa. Both myself and my companion did this – we booked a one-hour massage each for our last day by calling into the spa the day before and arranging this and giving our details and room numbers to the masseuse. When we turned up at the allocated time the next day (clutching our written confirmations) the place was in darkness, locked, and nobody there. We went to reception and asked for an assistance and they claimed it was nothing to do with them. They didn’t want to know, offered no apology, and blamed the people who staffed the spa. So disappointing, as we had planned our last day around this. The upside of this hotel is that there are lots of nice places to eat and drink near it, including directly opposite. That's abut the best I can say.

I was in this hotel 4 night.i was only at night there.it is very noisy and i could not sleep good..air conditioning not work good..the room not clean and janitors dont work good to clean and charging the room each day.this hotel not good place to stay but near the tramand shoping.