Porta Romanos Hotel

We booked a spacious family room in this amazing hotel in Feb,2024 for 6 nights. We travelled from Stansted AP, London by Turkish airlines which was excellent by all means. The hotel is 50Km away from Sabiha Gocken Intl' Airport. We took a bus(120 Lera/person) from airport to Taksim(not Taksim Square). From Taksim to hotel it is just 8Km. We preferred Taxi because we were tired and it was midnight. Taxi took 300Lera and that was minimum fare we were finally offered. From Taksim bus stop we reached Turgut Ozal Millet(before Topkapi) where hotel is located. The location of hotel is superb. The private pathway to hotel is so cool especially at night fully illuminated. The lobby and entrance are beautiful, the view at night is mesmersing. The staff at reception gave us a warm welcome and infact the staff tried to contact us via whatsapp to confirm our arrival time but we had no Turkish sim/Roaming/eSim. (The Global eSim is the best and low price internet provider, £10 = 10GB data for 30 days. We used too much internet in 6 days but still 8 GB left unused) The professional friendly staff at reception provided information and guided us more than we required. Room and bathroom were all good as expected. If we felt anything to be corrected, adjusted or required, it was prompltly dealt with. There is elevator which is a big fascility. The breakfast hall with a beautiful view is on first floor. We had breakfast included in our package which turned out to be very useful, economical and healthy. There was variety of dishes to select to enjoy breakfast and all kinds of tea and coffee were available. Hot roller toaster was also there to freshly toast the breads and loafs. The best thing is that the tram stops are at walking distance from hotel. We met a kind person who gave us Instanbul Tram Card, guided us how to top up the card. One card is enough for whole family, just tap one by one for each person and then you go through eGate at the end.

The staff was nice and accommodating. Location was quiet a little off the beaten path, but right on the tram line which was perfect.

I would strongly recommend that when booking your stay, that you book it with breakfast included in the price. The buffet breakfast is very good and since you are going to be doing a great deal of walking everyday in Istanbul (and I really mean a great deal of walking, around 13,000 to 15000 steps everyday if you have a tracker), it is imperative that you get a good, solid breakfast under your belt first, and then proceed with the rest of the itinerary for the day. Regarding the location of Hotel Porta Romanos I can only say that it is the perfect location in terms of accessibility to the main T1 Metro Line which is line on which almost all of the attractions that you have planned to see are located. It is located in a very quiet and peaceful area of Istanbul called "Pazartekke, " which is not in the crowded commercial areas like "Grand Bazaar or Yusuf Pasha, or Sultanahmet but due to the T1 Metro Line all these touristy places are just a few minute train ride away. Another important point to keep in mind is that the topography of Istanbul is FULL OF UPHILL AND DOWNHILL roads. So while searching on the inter The T1 Metro starts at one end from a station called Bagcilar (pronounced in Turkish as BagCHILAR) which is a few stations before the Metro station near Hotel Porta Romanos which is called "Pazartekke." The T1 Line at the other end terminates for the most part at a station called Kabatas (though a few trains may also terminate at a station called "Eminonou" so you need to check the indicator on the train before boarding at Pazartekke).

The most friendly staff. This is not a luxury hotel but the service is amazing. The rooms are cleaned daily. The reception is welcoming and helpful.

I was traveling with kids for two weeks so the hotel was a perfect choice for me and they didn't disappoint from clean, spacious room and excellent room service to hotel reception and their assistance in accruing Istanboul Kart, arranging for Airport Taxi and PCR test. The hotel was smoke free which is essential for me and they didn't disappoint with that. The breakfast was good with something new everyday from hot meals, soup to jams, cheese and cold meat. I would have loved to have some traditional Turkish breakfast Mezzas but it was ok. The hotel is close to the bus station and tram station which has made my commuting so comfortable and didn't have to rely on taxis for most of my trips. I never say no to some tea and Mr. Sabit was a perfect match for me, always showing his hospitality by offering tea and small talks while giving any assistance during my stay. Mr. Ramazan was specially helpful and gave us a worry free vacation and helping us with any city inquiry or service. Special thanks to Mr. Mahmoud for his assistance as well.