Avicenna

Disaster from start to finish. Genuinely one of the worst and most disrespectful hotel experiences we have ever had. We arrived at around midnight after travelling from London to Istanbul, only to be told by the receptionist that he could not find our booking and that we had apparently cancelled it ourselves. We calmly explained that we had not cancelled anything, but instead of helping, he became rude, hostile and aggressive. When my wife tried to explain, he shouted over her and repeatedly called her a “crazy woman.” We contacted Lastminute.com while standing at reception and were sent confirmation and an invoice clearly showing that our reservation was STILL ACTIVE. Even after showing this proof, the receptionist continued arguing, shouting and insisting we were wrong. By around 3am, we just paid for a room ourselves so we at least had somewhere to sleep for the night. The following morning, the hotel manager admitted that she had cancelled our reservation and it was not our fault at all. So after being shouted at and called crazy for hours, it turned out we had been right the entire time. Thankfully, we were refunded for the room we had paid for. Unfortunately, the poor treatment continued. Near the end of our stay, my son and his partner came to our room for a few minutes to collect some shopping. Reception and security became confrontational and aggressively refused to let my son enter the room I had paid for. Despite explaining that he was my son and only collecting belongings, they actually made us open our suitcases in the middle of the hotel lobby in front of everyone to retrieve the items. To top it off, my son’s partner politely asked if the air conditioning could be turned on because it was extremely hot. A staff member bluntly replied, “Nope, it doesn’t work.” Minutes later, another employee simply walked over and turned the exact same air conditioning on. Apparently, a miracle repair happened while we weren’t looking! The attitude of the staff was absolutely disgraceful, rude, aggressive, dismissive and completely unprofessional. I have never experienced customer service quite like this. Stay far away from this place.

This hotel is located in a lovely area, with a wide selection of restaraunts as well as touristic attractions. The hotel itself is outstanding in terms of cleanliness, and it is generally quiet and peaceful. The rooms are in good condition and are cleaned regularly. The breakfast was delicious and there was a wide range of dishes to choose from. The breakfast team especially were incredibly helpful and easy to speak to. Lastly, I am haply to say that this hotel was certainly money well spent, especially for what it has to offer. I would recommend this hotel to any tourist travelling to Istanbul, whether on their own,or with a group/family.

Arif was very friendly to serve us at the breakfast!

I am writing this review to share my experience prior to my stay. Due to an injury, I was unable to travel. I informed the hotel via email four days before my check-in date and requested a date change. I also asked to cancel a taxi service I had booked through them. Instead of assisting, the hotel and Lastminute.com passed me back and forth. The hotel waited until my actual day of travel (17 June) to tell me I had to deal with Lastminute.com directly. Meanwhile, Lastminute.com claimed the hotel held the decision-making power. Ultimately, I could not recover the accommodation costs due to my policy terms. However, despite giving two days' notice to cancel the taxi, the hotel has completely ignored my requests for a refund on that specific cost. The communication was incredibly poor. I reached out via emails, calls, and texts, but received no real help. It felt like both companies intentionally stalled until my travel date passed so they wouldn't have to act. This lacked transparency and genuine support. Travelers should be very cautious regarding their policies when booking through this hotel and Lastminute.com.

I would strongly advise others to avoid this hotel. My family and I arrived at Avicenna Hotel during a recent trip to Istanbul and were extremely disappointed by the condition of the accommodation. The hotel was nothing like the description or photographs online. The rooms were far smaller than expected and appeared poorly maintained throughout. The carpets were heavily stained and dirty, the decor was worn and deteriorating, and the bathroom was extremely small, unsanitary, and contained visible mould. There was also a persistent damp smell in the room. As someone who suffers from asthma, the mould and poor air quality triggered coughing, breathlessness, and chest discomfort. The hotel was also very noisy. There were gaps around the door allowing light into the room, and we could hear guests and activity throughout the hotel all night. To make matters worse, the door locks did not function properly, which raised serious concerns about privacy and security. Due to concerns about cleanliness, health, and safety, we had to urgently find alternative accommodation and did not sleep or get any rest that night. We checked out the following morning and chose not to continue our stay. Based on our experience, this hotel fell well below acceptable standards of cleanliness, maintenance, comfort, and security. Unfortunately, we cannot recommend this hotel.