Nova Plaza Crystal Hotel & Spa

I originally planned to stay at this hotel for seven nights, but fortunately, I hadn’t prepaid for all of them. After three nights, I was able to move to another hotel, and I have to say, it was a huge relief.

The room I was given had a window facing an interior building cavity, covered by a roof, which meant there was no natural daylight at all. Instead, there were ventilation shafts that produced constant noise. The safe in the room wasn’t working, and there was no hot water initially- though, to their credit, the technical staff quickly resolved both issues within the first two days of my stay.

However, the worst part was the poor ventilation. The room felt stuffy, and the bathroom had a persistent sewage smell from the pipes. If I forgot to close the bathroom door, the unpleasant odor would spread throughout the entire room.

There was zero soundproofing. Every noise from the hallway was clearly audible, as if the door wasn’t even there. As for housekeeping, I can’t comment on their service directly because I left the “Do Not Disturb” sign on my door for my entire stay - after reading reviews that cleaning was minimal unless a tip was provided.

The breakfast was just okay. It was possible to order fried eggs, omelets, and pancakes, which was a plus. However, the quality of the cheese and ham was mediocre. Bread quality varied - some days it was decent, other days it was quite poor. The selection of fruits and vegetables was limited, and overall, the food quality left much to be desired.

One of my biggest annoyances was the concierge staff. They would follow guests to their rooms upon check-in, standing in the doorway and waiting for a tip, which felt quite pushy and unprofessional.

After three nights, I moved to another hotel just 200 meters away, paying only about €4 more per night. The difference in quality was striking - far superior in every aspect.

I believe Hotel Nova Crystal doesn’t prioritize quality because it benefits from a steady flow of customers due to agreements with nearby medical clinics. As a result, they take advantage of the situation, offering subpar service at inflated prices.

That said, I do want to acknowledge the technical team for their prompt response in fixing the safe and hot water issues. While these problems shouldn’t have been there in the first place, at least they were resolved quickly once reported.

This review is not driven by emotions or exaggeration - it’s a factual assessment of my stay. Perhaps the hotel offers higher-standard rooms, but my experience is based on a standard room, and unfortunately, it was disappointing.

Double room with one double bed and two singles all. Pushed together to create a giant mess. Had to walk sideways to get past all the deds rather uncomfortable. Friendly staff eager for tips. Lots of broken items in room with even a mains distribution box unlocked next to bed. Breakfast had plenty to choose from but very watered down. All artificial juices. And room service.
Last day they did not have butter as they said they ran out.

I stayed for a week , I was in Forth floor room was extremely small and whole hallway cigaret smell , after room service never refill the coffee /teabag or sugar !was only for one day , we needed to go to reception and ask for refill! Mini fridge was empty .as a four star hotel I expected to be better ,
The swimming pool time was really limited and also all the time we asked if it was during opening time pool was under maintenance and closed!
Staff were friendly

This hotel advertises itself as a 4 star hotel. It absolutely is not. It’s at best 2.5 stars. Where do I even begin?

The wifi is extremely spotty. If you connect more than one device, it’ll either stop working or straight up just disconnect. You also have to be standing near the hallway of your room or the hotel lobby to get a proper signal. Otherwise, just loading basic text is a struggle.

The walls are extremely thin. When people are in the hallway having a conversation, it’s as if they’re practically in the room with you. Don’t get me started on the quality of the patrons here. Loud conversations post midnight with no respect for other peoples privacy or sleep.

Theres no air conditioning, meaning you will have to crack open a window if you don’t want to melt from the heat. To make matters worse, the hotel is in a very busy and congested location. You will hear all sorts of loud noises at night, from a seemingly never ending supply of trucks backing up to tourists rolling their bags to just car horns and loud music, to a street food vendor making tribal noises with his tongs. I genuinely did not enjoy a single night of proper sleep staying here. Atrocious.

The phone doest work. So if you ever need to get in touch with concierge you will have to keep taking the elevator or stairs and visiting them in the lobby.

They advertise they have room service but they actually dont. When I asked concierge why the kitchen isnt open, he simply stated that he doesnt know and if I have a problem with that I can complain to management. Brilliant.

The elevator is extremely tight and will very easily get crowded. The door opens for one second before it’ll start closing abruptly on you. I found myself wrestling with the elevator door numerous times during my stay there.

The tv in the room has channels that don’t even load, making it completely useless. The tv also has a bright logo that is always on. This essentially turns it into a bright piercing white flashlight at night that cant be turned off and its only purpose is to further compound your miserable stay here.

One of the bellboys was extremely rude to me when I first walked in. He yanked my bags from me as if I had no choice. Then he straight up referred to me as crazy for no reason whatsoever. I think he thinks he was being funny in a sarcastic way, trying to make laugh. I did not find that funny. I hadnt even introduced myself at this point. When I gave him a tip he snatched the money from my hand very abruptly and immediately turned his back and left in a hurry. The second time I saw him he walked up to me in the lobby and asked me if I could take some random coin currency from him and give him paper currency instead. On what planet is this sort of behavior acceptable and professional?

The shower stall in the bathroom has a glass pane that only goes halfway with a drain that doesnt even function properly. Be prepared for floods of biblical proportions every time you take a simple shower.

There is a mini fridge but it’s completely empty. Not sure what the purpose of that is.

There is no kitchen or cutlery provided. Only a nasty old kettle to boil water. The kettle had so many crystals and calcium buildup in it, it’s as if I was touring a crystal cavern UN heritage site.

Only pros are that it’s clean and the mezzanine serves a decent breakfast buffet. Its also situated in a busy area so lots of sightseeing and shops nearby. The rest of the staff is also very friendly and pleasant. Thats about it though. I genuinely cant think of any other nice things to say. It offers a bed and a washroom and thats about it. Extremely basic. Id rather build my own hotel than ever stay here.

Terrible. Just terrible. Avoid at all costs and find somewhere else to stay.

You should not stay in this hotel. It’s a trap to make money and staff is extremely rude to ensure they get what they want. Staff at the front desk were very rude and sarcastic to guests. One Abdul who was at the front desk on 4th October Morning specifically was very rude. I’m extremely disappointed with the level of service and attitude of staff. I travel a lot and stayed at many hotels. This is the worst experience ever! This is our second visit to Turkey and unfortunately standards of service overall had significantly gone down. Such a beautiful country is becoming very difficult for tourists to enjoy as a result.

Probably the most disappointing hotel I have ever stayed at. It is beyond my understanding how such amenities and service may be considered 4-star!

I registered in the hotel in mid-September 2024, during a business trip. What should be admitted at this point is that the location is really good, and it was one of the main reasons why the company I am working for picked the venue in the first place.
I was given a room on the fourth floor (second accommodation floor above the lobby and the restaurant). Imagine my surprise when I found out that the room that is barely fitting one double bed, a small desk and an armchair, has no functional window. There was a window, about 35 centimeters in width, that was looking out towards a dark tunnel (no free space, no light at all) with the hotel's extraction fans and air tubes, all creating a constat humming sound that can keep the light sleepers awake through the whole night. If you are wondering, this type of rooms is not listed on the official website of the hotel and there are no photos, and we were never informed of the lack of windows and fresh air. Hotels with no windows should not exist in general, let alone be considered 4*. Correct me if I am wrong, but after Covid and the months we all spent inside our homes, there are many of us feeling uncomfortable within closed-up spaces! At least, guest should be strictly informed about the lack of windows and make their decision based on this (and other factors).

Either way, I went straight down to the reception desk, asking for no other but an upgrade (I would pay for) to another room with a window. I was refused such, because the hotel was fully booked. Obviously, I couldn't rely on a switch for ANY of my four nights there. I kindly asked the administrator to check with their hotels in the area as well, as there are several Plaza hotels (three or so) within a couple of meters of distance. I was refused assistance with this and was advised to check with each hotel myself. What was outrageous in the situation is that I, as a guest, went to the hotel staff with a problem and a request for help, and they showed no effort in finding a solution for me; it was me pushing all the time. I asked to see the Manager. I was refused also and was given a single name of a person I can come see another day.

One of my colleagues and our partner booking agency spent 4 hours looking for an alternative accommodation in the area. All my meetings in the upcoming days were across the park, so there was no option of going further into the city. They couldn't find anything that is not 3 times the price of the current room, as expected for last-minute inquiries.

Long story short, I was forced to stay 4 nights in a room with no windows, which caused me a lot of distress. But it appeared, that this would not be the only problem with my room. In the room, there was a locked adjacent door. On the other side of it was obviously another hotel room. I could hear everything that was happening in the other side of the door - conversations until 1:30 am in the morning and even shower. Also, my door was in front of the elevators, so add the noise from the conversations in front of the elevators, hotel staff clattering with buckets of water along the corridor. So, I could finally fall asleep after 1:30 am and was waking no later than 6:30 am with the alarm clocks of my neighbors and the rat-a-tat of breakfast preparations.

To sum up, these windowless rooms could only serve for a few-hours stay in a 2* hotel. It is beyond my understanding and tolerance, how this room could be rented out otherwise.

A couple of other pros: Great concierge, clean room, decent decor.
A couple of other cons: No hotel staff member wore name tags; 50% of the time I could not use the elevator, because the elevators are not enough to support the guests in the morning (around breakfast time).

Awful stay and no flexibility.