GentleTom

Everything in this hotel was great! Seaview rooms are a little noisy, but it wasn’t a problem for us

We really loved our stay at Gentle Tom Hotel. We were in Türkiye for three weeks to do our Nikah and be married and our experiences at the hotel really helped make for positives memories. It is a very clean hotel and has fantastic staff. They assisted us with airport shuttle set up and made checking in and out easy. They always provided friendly greetings as you came in and out of the hotel daily. There is a simple but delicious breakfast everyday on the upper floor of the hotel, a room walled in glass providing amazing views of Istanbul and the Bospherous. There is daily housekeeping - and the woman who provides this services (as well as breakfast) is amazing. She works so hard and always has a smile on her face. She made us feel so welcome. The room was a good size with ample closet space for two people, has a safe and mini fridge, premium TV channels like Netflix, free wifi (with which we had zero issues), is super close to shopping and restaurants on Istiklal street, and only a short walk to Taksim square and the Metro. Even a walk to Galata Tower was manageable. We want to give a shout out of thanks to front desk clerk, Umat Kanat for graciously carrying all our heavy luggage out to the shuttle the morning of our departure. He was always so friendly and helpful. I must make note that because the hotel is super close to Istiklal street means that there is quite a bit of noise, especially on Saturdays. If you are a light sleeper or are looking for a quiet getaway than this hotel is probably not the best bet. Fortunately it was not an issue for us, thus the 5 star review.

I stayed at this hotel for four nights and was very disappointed. The room I booked promised a balcony that overlooked St Anthony's church. It had a balcony but overlooked a restaurant. The church was many metres away out of sight. The rooms itself was tired and needed a refresh. The breakfast was terrible: the lady serving the food was not happy to see me at 7 am. The plates of food were meagre and unappetising. In the end, I went out to get a simit and skipped breakfast thereafter. The location is great, literally 100 meters from Istiklal and that is all this hotel has going for it. Service at reception was neutral, no one really bothered about greeting guests or helping with luggage.