THE LAİLA HOTEL

Absolutely filthy. Stayed one night and left to another hotel. Rooms were smelly, damp, mouldy and generally made me feel disgusting just being there. I slept in my clothes on top of the bed with my own clothes covering the disgusting smelly single pillow. Honestly, couldn’t get out of there fast enough. My son felt sick, nothing physical, it just made him feel that way being there.

When we arrived, there was nobody there. The door marked ‘reception’ was locked and we finally had to knock on another guest’s door to find out how we get our keys! We finally found it, hidden in another building on another street. No mention of this when booking and no signage. The guy on the desk spent 5 mins chatting to a friend on his phone and didn’t even acknowledge me. He then reluctantly checked me in.

If it wasn’t for the stinking pillows, dirty mattress, sheets that don’t fit, black mould, no soap, tv that didn’t work, horrendous staff, dirty bathroom and there being just a kettle with no cups or anything else, it would be lovely. But it’s not.

THIS PLACE IS THE ARMPIT OF ISTANBUL. DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES BOOK TO STAY HERE. You have been warned.

BIG CONCERNS! We have never stayed in a hotel where there is such little effort on upkeep and cleaning. Photos included.
1) Upon arrival, discovered that although the hotel has an elevator stated online, we were put in a different building without an elevator. When I pointed this out, the manager got aggressive.
2) Discovered the shower bracket was broken with the lower piece missing and the shower head was lying on the floor. We asked for repair but it took them 2 days. When we reminded them to repair on the 2nd day, the manager, without checking, assured us it was fixed, but it wasn't. We got upset and then he said we are welcome to move out and no refund will be given. Very unprofessional behaviour.
3) There is mould all over the shower cubicle. The old and mouldy silicon bits still stuck to the wall from the missing shower shelf proves that the mould had been given time to grow uncleaned.
4) The water pipe behind the sink leaked constantly such that the bathroom floor was always wet.
5) Was this a smoking room? We discovered the smoke detector was covered with duct tape (against fire code?). The bathroom window vent and door sill were also taped over to prevent airflow.
6) Large pieces of wallpaper were ripped and hanging off the wall.
7)The cleaning lady came in to sweep the floor briefly but didn't bother to clean the bathroom.
8)They used bedsheets that, besides being stained, were too small for the mattress and they slipped all over.
9) Towels were in different conditions, from yellowed to tattered.
Location-wise, although near to the Sultanahmet Square, the hotel is at the bottom of a steep climb to get there.

Although they informed me that they would clean my room, they never did. My view from the window was literally a wall. No AC, no fridge. Shady people in the corridor. The positives were a working TV, able to hang clothes outside the window, and cats visiting . Helpful staff regarding services and transport.