Taksim Istiklal Suites

My husband and I booked this hotel for a week stay in Istanbul. From the moment we walked in we knew something was wrong. The room we were given was right in front of the reception. The chairs were torn and had stains on them. The bedsheets and pillows were stained and torn as well. The drawer knobs were missing. The A/C wasn’t working and the remote was missing. The toilet was leaking. The window was facing another building and there were stairs, which literally someone can come down and come into our room. We got the manager and showed him the pictures on booking and the room that we were supposed to stay in. He offered us an upgrade to another room with extra fees. We refused! We just wanted to get out of this disgusting place. We asked for a refund. He told us to cancel our booking first and then he would refund us because booking wouldn’t allow him. Then he refused to refund us after the cancelation. We had to call booking, but we ended up not getting anything. We of course left because there was no way we were going to spend our vacation in this nasty place. We are writing this review to make sure no one falls into this scam!

Taksim Istiklal is nothing like the pictures on the website. The rooms are dirty, Bed smelled musty and cigarette smoke odor is all over, the bathrooms have mold growing all over, door to the bathroom was broken. Elevators don't go all the way upto the 6th floor. Owner's son was pretty rude and owner would not answer my phone. There was no room service or any restaurant. Most awful hotel I have stayed in.