Istiklal Avenue Tours

Overall the stay was 5* however I was let down at the very end by the a couple of the staff. I’ll go into detail of everything the hotel offers but could improve, but first I will explain what broke my review down from a 5* to a 3*. At the end of my stay, I asked for a cab to be called, I said I could use uber but I would trust your taxi people more. They said they will call it and will be here soon, I said ok. The man then said it’s his friend, it will be 15 minutes, I was hesitant as I wanted to be quick, but he said please have tea coffee snacks. I said ok, 25 minutes later this taxi arrived. I’m already a bit annoyed as I lost time 20m that I could have saved by calling a taxi myself. All apps I checked show 800-1000 Turkish lira. When the taxi arrived, the hotel worker said I will give you a fixed price 2000tl, ok? I immediately told him to unpack my bags, to which he then said ‘ok ok how much do you want to pay, if you call a taxi no one will come here anyways, I said yes they will, I will pay 1100tl, he said fine. But it completely ruined my entire stay that the own hotel worker is trying to scam me?!! I am a tourist, but I am Turkish, they even try to scam their own brothers! imagine if I was American or Arab. I did something nice and waited 25mins so their friend can make the money, I was rewarded with scamming, how nice of them. Regarding hotel 8.5/10: Room was great no complaints but it would be nice to have bath robes. Breakfast is nice, 7.5/10, not many options.

Great hotel with excellent customer service and a perfect location—just a 2-minute walk to the Blue Mosque. Highly recommended for families and friends.

We were a group of 9 people divided over 5 rooms. This was an amazing experience made even better by the staff at the hotel. They made us feel at home. They were helpful, friendly, warm, and very welcoming. This is not our first time at Richmond Istanbul and it definitely won't be our last. Thank you for the management of the hotel.