Riverroad Posted June 27, 2011 #1 Share Posted June 27, 2011 Has anyone stayed in this hotel in Istanbul? All usually recommended "boutique" hotels are booked for our 1-day pre-cruise in September. Not in Four Seasons category. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruin Steve Posted June 28, 2011 #2 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Has anyone stayed in this hotel in Istanbul? All usually recommended "boutique" hotels are booked for our 1-day pre-cruise in September. Not in Four Seasons category. I haven't stayed there...We've stayed at the Conrad and at the Sari Konak... I did look it up on TripAdvisor.com and it appears to get some very good reviews there... I do know the street...It's right in the heart of the Sultanahmet, so it's convenient to most of the "sights"...The street is fairly busy and has a lot of restaurants...We liked this one: It's across the street from your hotel on the same block...It's the "slogan" that drew us in...We enjoyed the meal from our outdoor table... Good luck... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riverroad Posted June 28, 2011 Author #3 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Thanks, Steve. We stayed at the Conrad in 1999. According to Trip Advisor reviews, seems to have gone down a bit since then. Sari Konak is booked for our date. If you think the location is good, maybe we'll try the Best Western. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruin Steve Posted June 28, 2011 #4 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Thanks, Steve. We stayed at the Conrad in 1999. According to Trip Advisor reviews, seems to have gone down a bit since then. Sari Konak is booked for our date. If you think the location is good, maybe we'll try the Best Western. My wife STILL loves the Conrad... The location of the Best Western is really in "the heart of the action" in Istanbul...You're between the Four Seasons and the Sari Konak... literally in the shadow of the Hagia Sophia, the Topkapi Palace and the Blue Mosque... There are a lot of little restaurants all along the street in front of the hotel... We walked all over the city from here... If there was a problem with the Conrad, it is that it is rather remote... From this place, you will stumble out of your door, right into the "action"...It's a whole different feel... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riverroad Posted June 29, 2011 Author #5 Share Posted June 29, 2011 Steve, Thanks again for your advice. Did you do a review of your cruise in '09? I'd love to get the names of the guides you used and your experiences in the various ports. If you could direct me to that information I'd be grateful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruin Steve Posted June 29, 2011 #6 Share Posted June 29, 2011 Steve, Thanks again for your advice. Did you do a review of your cruise in '09?I'd love to get the names of the guides you used and your experiences in the various ports. If you could direct me to that information I'd be grateful. You can find my review in this thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1023933 See posts #1 and #17 Of course, our itinerary is different from yours... My notes on your itinerary: Sep 19 Istanbul, Turkey Sep 20 Istanbul, Turkey 3:00 p.m. We've done tours here with a couple of different guides/tour providers...In 2006, we used Ekol Travel and were very happy with the guide and service...In 2009, we did a one day tour with another couple with Nejat Incedogan...I was not very impressed and, for a few reasons, would not recommend him. Sep 21 Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey 12:00 p.m. 8:00 p.m. We used Ekol Travel here both visits...In 2006, we did a tour with just the teo of us to Miletus, Didyma and Ephesus and it was absolutely perfect. In 2009, with a shorter day, we limited our 4-person tour to Ephesus and the Terrace Houses...again, a perfect tour experience. Sep 22 Rhodes, Greece 8:00 a.m. 3:00 p.m. In 2006, we did an Oceania Shore Excursion to Lindos...really not worth the cost or time...We should have spent the whole day in Rhodes itself...a veryu impressive town...and the ship docks right by the main gates of town. Sep 23 Limassol, Cyprus 9:00 a.m. 6:00 p.m. Our Shore Excursion of Paphos and Kourion was "okay"...but not sure what else there is to do here. We had trouble finding a reputable reliable guide here, so we settled on the Shorex... Sep 24 Haifa, Israel 6:00 a.m. 8:00 p.m. Here and in Ashdod, we used Joel Berman ...there is an error in my review...it is actually http://www.jtours.co.il/ Joel put together a great tour for us to Caesarea and Megido--two absolute musts for archaeology buffs. Sep 25 Jerusalem (Ashdod), Israel 6:00 a.m. Sep 26 Jerusalem (Ashdod), Israel 8:00 p.m. With two days in Ashdod, I would recommend using one to tour Jerusalem, the other to Masada and the Dead Sea. Unfortunately for us, we only had one day stop this cruise...luckily for us, we'd been to Masada before--pretty incredible...and there is so much to see in Jerusalem it is amazing...DO NOT do an Oceania shorex here...groups of 30 or 40 don't move well through the city...with six of us on our tour and out private guide, we got to see quite a lot... Sep 27 Cruising the Mediterranean Sea Sep 28 Aghios Nikolaos (Crete), Greece 8:00 a.m. 6:00 p.m. Our day was a bit shorter...We did a Shorex to the Palace at Knossos--which seems to be the main attraction on Crete...We didn't bother looking for a private guide since we had a short day... Sep 29 Patmos, Greece 8:00 a.m. 5:00 p.m. Sep 30 Volos, Greece 8:00 a.m. 4:00 p.m. Somehow, I haven't been to either of these... Oct 01 Athens (Piraeus), Greece 6:00 a.m. Are you staying in Athens? We did a tour here one cruise with a taxi tour guy...might have been this one: http://www.greecetravel.com/taxi/ but I cannot find my original notes...Toured the Pelopennese which has some incredible sites...Obviously a lot more to see in Athens itself...I hope you're spending at least 2 or 3 days... Hope this helps... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riverroad Posted June 29, 2011 Author #7 Share Posted June 29, 2011 Steve, This is perfect. I somehow stumbled on your recommendation of Joel Berman in another thread and have already contacted him. Would love to do the tour you did but we've never been to Israel so will focus on the Christian sites from Haifa. We'll most likely do the one-day Jerusalem, one-day Masada for our two days from Ashdod. We are two couples all of whom have been to Athens before so we're leaving for home the day the cruise ends. Seems like the wise thing to do considering the situation in Athens at the moment. Thank you so much for so generously sharing your experience with all of us on CC. I really appreciate it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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