Armada Istanbul Old City Hotel

This is old-fashioned hotel in the Ottoman style. The core advantages of this hotel are 1) location (1 min to the sea where you can walk along the promenade, 3 min from the Holy Sofia), 2) extremely nice terrace with fantastic views, where you can drink a cup of coffee or tea, 3) nice traditional Turkish breakfast (with opportunity to choose European meals). For me a big pleasure as well was to spend time in the lobby in the Ottoman style with alive turtles and canaries.

The rooms are very small. For me it was not a problem, because I was alone. But if you are traveling with a family, take this into consideration.

Before booking, I wanted to have a sense of the authentic 20th century Istanbul vibe. That was my expectation and that's exactly what I got. The hotel has somewhat an antique feel to it which honestly was the highlight for me. It will cherishingly stay with me forever I suppose. Apart from that at the price point, pretty much everything else was also reasonable. The rooftop is really nice, as well as the sea view. As I said, you will leave with a memory mark :)

Just a couple of things. The location is a little tricky. The walk to Sultanahmet square is slightly steep. Lastly, just like everywhere else in Istanbul you'll get a mix of warm & cold people, same i felt at the hotel. A few people were super welcoming & helpful, extremely decent... whereas I did encounter a couple of cold individuals too. But that's that.

Location and cleanliness. Staff at reception were lovely.

The breakfast staff and how they clear off the buffet 15 min before end time. Plus they dont refill the options for those that have breakfast late. Literally 1 min before close youre not even given access to a last tea unless you insist. The staff at breakfast should get some training in hospitality. I have had dinner there and even then their service was not impressive.

The roof top breakfast place have amazing view of Mosque and sea view. The hotel help us stored baggages after check out without charged.

The hotel nearly tram station is 1km away in ascent road . The public Bus does not go to tourism places .

Really good breakfast, excellent location and cute setting!

The location is prime- close to all the touristic landmarks in Istanbul. It is also right by the sea, so you can enjoy great views and walks. Access to public transport is feasible from this location too. The hotel itself is very well maintained. The staff are welcoming. The breakfast was the highlight of my stay- very traditional!

Although the breakfast was amazing, I would have liked to see a little variety in the main courses throughout my stay. Additionally, the walk to Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque can be a little tiring because the hotel is a little downhill and you have to walk up to get to said landmarks. There are ways around it however, and the walk itself is fairly short.

The location was great. A view of the sea, close to all the tourist attractions. Really fast Wifi. Breakfast had a wide selection of foods.

On one night there was a party or gathering directly beneath our room with a band playing drums and chanting after 10.30pm. We complained as it kept our toddler awake and the hotel did supply us with another room but we thought it strange to hire out a room for a party directly beneath us. We had lunch in the restaurant but it seemed expensive to pay over 400 Lira for a bowl of spaghetti with hardly any meat. To put it in perspective we had an excellent 2-course lunch for the two of us and our toddler, with tea and Turkish coffee at the Beltur cafe in Gulhane Park for 550 Lira.

Hotel location is very good: from one side there is a Marmara sea, you just need s few minutes walk to the promenade. From other side, there is a bazaar with its magic. There are many nice cafe and restaurants nearby. Rooms were ok, a bit too small but it's an old part of the Istanbul, so it's understandable. Once we had a wet, very wet bedsheets and a blanket after the daily cleaning, so we had to dry it. Breakfast is a buffet style, not a big variety of food but the view is amazing. There are tortiles and birds in the hotel, so kids were excited. Staff is nice and friendly!

The fridge in our room didn't work. There is no ventillation in bathrooms. Also our rooms were on the 1st floor, the view was to the inner part, not a sea side, and it was noisy during the night.

the location is perfect and people were very friendly.

breakfast doesn’t have much variety.

Great location - close to the sea and a boat tour point. 15-minute walk away from the main city attractions - Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Grand Bazaar. Also close to several restaurants. Excellent staff - kept the rooms spotless clean and also helped with a prompt booking for the airport cab.

Our room was smaller than expected. Breakfast could have more vegetarian options. Lunch and dinner was quite expensive.