Mercure Istanbul Sirkeci

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I decided to spend a few days in istanbul for leisure stay

I had to pickup a place to stay and it was a bit tricky , so i essentially had 2 options

• 1 = find a flat
• 2 = go to hotel

Once i decided for hotel i again had to make a choice between hilton and accor , as I wont stay in marriott's anymore (i enjoyed trying them in 2021 , but it is not worth the prices they ask and investment)

After review i realised no hilton would meet my criterias , and i decided to go with accor and tried to find a hotel with a decent/fair price (will explain that later) and not far away from main attractions

Accor has many nice properties but these are very far away from center and require lot of commuting .

In some cases it make sense as they are close to the old ataturk airport , but in general only high end accor hotels are located in Beyoglu or Sisli and the rest is super far , so it was a no go

I have learned my lesson and had to carefully select the hotel before booking , as most hotels in Turkey and especially istanbul suffer from same syndrome = beautiful building , beautiful reception hall but in the end you just end up dissapointed

This hotel , Mercure Sirkeci , located in a historical building , is pretty new , opened in mid 2019 if iam correct , so right in the middle of covid

Arrived from new airport by taxi , hotel is located near marmaray train station , in a very busy area

Before arrival you should receive a pdf guide for tourists with many details about hotel , location , public transportation

I really like the idea , as it can be pretty useful for unexperienced/unprepared tourists

You can order a shuttle from/to both airports for 50€/56$

Checkin was pretty quick and efficient . I can't remember if they asked me about my HES code and covid certificate

As foreigner non resident , you must also get this code . There is only one way to get a HES code , by sending a sms with some personal data , and it will arrive by sms after 1 minute .

more details here = https://expatguideturkey.com/how-to-get-hes-code-foreigners/

System has been improved since last year , as you also receive the link to QR code and pdf file , not just the HES code

Beware that prices are quoted in euros there and they dont even ask you if you want to be charged in Liras (TRY) or in Euros (EUR)

In my case , my card doesnt allow DCC , so they had no choice but to charge me in local currency , however i need to recheck cause they seems to use their own rates

The hotel , not just the hall , has a unique retro style that i really like

Was offered free drinks (lemonade) and sweets

I went to their pastry cake coffee , called after municipality where taksim is located , to get my free welcome drink

This hotel and his coffee + restaurant are alcohol free

As i couldnt drink something hot i asked for ice tea

To reach your room by lift you need your card

Nice paintings all around the hotel

Booked a superior room (entry level) and received what i paid for , so no upgrades this time

Room is not huge but enough for one person to move freely

When i arrived i was delighted by the welcome gift and letter i received

No mistake , it means there was nothing at all

As expected , i had usual amenities offered in every hotels

Useless in my case as i don't drink tea or coffee , but others might need it . I forgot to take pixs, but there were also sleepers and bathrobes (branded with hotel logo and name)

I liked the decoration of the room, its quite in line with the hotel in general , and besides one small part of the roof in bathroom , the room was clean and well maintained

The hotel , despite being located in a noisy neighbourhood is super quiet (at least in my room located in upper floors)

A view on the Ottoman regie hotel , located in front of mercure and the new mosque (yenii camii) , in the background , few minutes away and close to the egyptian bazaar

For food, you have also possibility to go to the restaurant located in the hotel , its called huqqabaz (owned by qfoodbeverage group)

They have several locations around turkey (mostly in istanbul) and in middle east (iran, jordan , UAE , iraq)

i havent checked their food offer as a normal restaurant , but it seems to be well above average and very fancy

https://huqqabaz.com/menu/

They couldnt choose better location for their bar than this hotel

The breakfast used to be a self service buffet i guess , but its not the case anymore due to covid

It cost 15 euros per person every day

I was a bit far from food , i hope you can see what was offered

You stand behind the glass and an employee take your order

Here is a sample of what i took

I liked the breakfast , not the best neither the worst i had

However i expected something more fancy , the drink choice was pretty limited

i also wished to have more turkish items , other than just börek and sucuk/sujuk

Two amenities who deserved a special "crybaby" chapter

1. TV
2. WIFI

• 1. TV

Two details to mention about the TV

First , It is a bit tricky to reach the HDMI port, located on the back , cause TV cant be moved/rotated , so if you have big hands it can be complicated

A good point is the list of channels availlable in the remote's leather case

Based on this list you can clearly see where most of their customers are from

Second , and the biggest problem i had , almost half of channels were not available (no signal found) , so if you dont speak turkish , your choice will be very limited if this issue occurs

• 2. wifi

Wifi is clearly not working correctly , it keep disconnecting randomly or internet stop working

Also , as you login through a wifi captive portal you have to reconnect after a certain time and it simply impossible to work in such conditions

In summary i recommend this hotel for

1. style
2. location
3. price

Few details that need to be improved/fixed

1. bed sheets and blankets were not changed everyday , they were just put back to the bed
2. improve breakfast offer
3. fix TV channels (or if not remove them from the list)
4. wifi is unreliable

Hope this review will help you make your choice , this hotel is perfect if sightseeing is your main goal , as you are at walking distance from many important places to visit in istanbul = Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace, Sultan Ahmet Blue Mosque, Egyptian Spice Bazaar , Grand Bazaar , Galata Tower , Galata bridge , Istiklal street , Taksim , etc.... and you do not plan to stay in the hotel more than just sleep and rest without much commuting