People often ask me if booking a hotel online is safe. And if so, whether I can provide links to hotel booking sites that are trustworthy and/or offer hotel rooms at the lowest prices available. Since I’m merely running a blog about Istanbul (and not a travel agency), this has always been a tough question to answer, up until recently!

Is Booking A Hotel Room Online Safe?

Recently my good friend Darren from Travel-Rants wrote a post on lack of credit card security when booking hotels online. In short, booking online via an established third-party hotel booking website is secure, if you follow the following internet safety basics:

1. stick to the bigger, well-known hotel booking websites
2. before entering personal and/or credit card information, make sure the webpage is on a secure (https://…) server
3. check if the bottom of your browser shows a padlock

Luckily, the majority of the established hotel booking websites has implemented these security measures. The only thing you can never be sure of is human carelessness after all your details have been wired to the hotel of your choice. Hotel staff writing down your credit card numbers on a piece of paper or in a spreadsheet may always occur, regardless weather you booked online or in person after arrival. Unless you carry/pay cash, but then of course other security concerns surface.

Best Price Guaranteed

So yes, in my experience booking online via well-known hotel websites is not only safe, it can also result in a fair hotel price discount. The question remains of course, what third-party hotel booking website to use.

Already back in August last year, to serve my readers better, I conducted a little research on this topic. I reviewed a handful of the most-known hotel booking websites, and decided to promote Booking.com for the following reasons:

• they have a very user-friendly and clear website
• hotels I had already previously recommended to friends are in their 220 Istanbul hotel list
• they provide detailed and accurate information about every hotel
• they offer extensive customer reviews with pros and cons about every hotel
• booking a hotel is easy and hassle-free
• you can view the website in the language and currency of your choice

Moreover, since 2009 Booking.com also added a Best Price Guarantee. You can find the full details here, but in short they promise the following:

“Booking.com wants you to pay the lowest price possible for your hotel. Should you find your hotel room, with the same booking conditions, at a lower rate on the internet after you have booked, we’ll match it. Just contact us within 24 hours of booking, with details of the website.”

This new Booking.com Best Price Guarantee policy just confirmed that I already back in August 2008 chose the right hotel booking website to advice to my readers!

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Below you’ll find an overview of hotels I can recommend in the historical part of Istanbul. I grouped the hotels according to the amount of stars they are rewarded. Keep in mind that the amount of stars refer to the quality and service they offer.

• Five Star Hotels in the Historical Part of Istanbul
• Four Star Hotels in the Historical Part of Istanbul
• Two and Three Star Hotels in the Historical Part of Istanbul

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Below you’ll find an overview of hotels I can recommend in the modern part of Istanbul. I grouped the hotels according to the amount of stars they are rewarded. Keep in mind that the amount of stars refer to the quality and service they offer.

• Five Star Hotels in the Modern Part of Istanbul
• Four Star Hotels in the Modern Part of Istanbul
• Two and Three Star Hotels in the Modern Part of Istanbul

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Below you will find an overview of 4-star hotels in the modern part of Istanbul. By clicking on a hotel name, you can obtain detailed information about the hotel, provided by Booking.com or the hotel’s own website.
The overview by no means lists all four star hotels in this area. The hotel list is based on personal experiences cross-checked with customer reviews provided by Booking.com. Most of the hotels have either been visited by myself or by one or more of my acquaintances. They appear in alphabetical order.

• Gallery Residence – This hotel, offering modern accommodation consisting exclusively of 21 suites, is for once not located in Taksim. You’ll find the Gallery Residence Hotel in Nişantaşı, one of Istanbul’s most fashionable and prestigious districts. With the proximity of a metro station, Taksim is within a 2 minute reach.
• Istanbul Suite Home – Every apartment of this 13 room hotel offers 85 m² residing space, including a living room and equipped kitchen. There is also a common terrace with great views and free of charge health facilities. Please note that it is located in a steep area, so access on foot could prove a challenge for some.
• Marmara Pera – This hotel with its 200 rather modest rooms is mostly famous for its location (within walking distance from the business, leisure and shopping areas) and magnificent views.
• Midtown Hotel – The Midtown Hotel has 73 deluxe room (9 with a view of Bosphorus) and 7 corner suites prepared with a minimalist approach. The hotel is ideally situated in a car-free area of Taksim, the heart of modern Istanbul and famed for its restaurants, shops and nightlife.
• Richmond – It’s the only hotel on Istiklal Caddesi, the famous car-free shopping avenue. The downside is that you briefly need to walk with your luggage. The glorious architecture combines the memories of the past with contemporary amenities. Their new Leb-i-Derya restaurant offers great Bosphorus views.
• SV Boutique – Just like the Taksim Gönen hotel, this modern boutique hotel, with its 34 spotlessly clean rooms, is located in a car-free area, on foot only 2 min. away from Taksim square. In 2006 I put all my friends there during my wedding festivities.
• Taksim Gönen – Located in a generally car-free area, on foot only 2 min. away from Taksim square, this recently built hotel offers 152 clean rooms and lots of facilities, including a small pool on the roof. Please note that the pool doesn’t open before June and the English skills of the staff are limited.

Note to accommodation owners: If you want to be added to the listings on Istanbul Trails, please contact us via the Contact or Advertise page. Keep in mind though that hotels will never be listed without personally having visited your accommodation, enabling me to write a truthful review.

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Below you will find an overview of 4-star hotels in the historical part of Istanbul. By clicking on a hotel name, you can obtain detailed information about the hotel, provided by Booking.com or the hotel’s own website.
The overview by no means lists all four star hotels in this area. The hotel list is based on personal experiences cross-checked with customer reviews provided by Booking.com. Most of the hotels have either been visited by me or by one or more of my acquaintances. They appear in alphabetical order.

• Best Western Premier Regency Suites & Spa – This 5-storey hotel located in the heart of Sultanahmet and offering only 16 rooms, is in my opinion the best hotel of the Best Western chain in this area. It has a contemporary style and provides spacious accommodation, spa and health facilities. Their terrace and some of the rooms have scenic views over the Bosporus and Blue Mosque.
• Best Western The President – This seven storey modern hotel (204 rooms) is located a bit further away from the heart of old Istanbul, but still within walking distance and in the proximity of the tramway. The hotel is known for its pleasant atmosphere and authentic English pub.
• Boutique Apex – If you want to avoid the bigger (chain) hotels and receive a more personal treatment, this recently (2008) opened hotel with only 12 rooms will certainly suit your needs. The hotel’s superb location is of course also a big advantage.
• Faros Istanbul – A brand new (spring 2006) modern boutique hotel with 23 rooms and nice views. The area has a traditional atmosphere including open markets and bazaars. As with most hotels, ask for a room away from the noisy street side.
• Garden House Istanbul – Housed in a 19th century Ottoman mansion with a wooden exterior, the friendly Garden House hotel offers 20 rather spacious and clean rooms, 9 of which with a modern design. It is located in Sultanahmet, within walking distance of all the main attractions in the historical part of Istanbul.
• Nena – This five stories high, red-faced boutique hotel offers 29 rooms and is located only 100 meters away from the Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Basilica Cistern and the Hippodrome. Needless to say their terrace restaurant offers both excellent food and views.
• Orient Express – Named after the nostalgic train Orient Express, its 54 small but cozy rooms are all decorated in an authentic way. The hotel features a panoramic terrace restaurant, an indoor swimming pool and train wagon bar. Ask for rooms in the back, since the street tends to be noisy.
• Ottoman Imperial – This clean great little hotel with its pleasant staff and 54 rooms sits on a truly premium location in town, on an elevated position, surrounded by all the major landmarks of the Sultanahmet and Topkapi districts.
• Sapphire – This new comfortable hotel with 60 rooms is located close to the Gülhane Park. Although it is not far away from all major landmarks in the old part of town, be prepared to walk a bit upwards when heading for those sightseeing spots.
• Zeynep Sultan Boutique – Zeynep Sultan is a small (24 rooms), friendly and immaculately clean boutique style hotel located right in the heart of the city, proof of which is the small street with its cobblestones.

Note to accommodation owners: If you want to be added to the listings on Istanbul Trails, please contact us via the Contact or Advertise page. Keep in mind though that hotels will never be listed without personally having visited your accommodation, enabling me to write a truthful review.

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