The Hostelz.com Review
The Antique Hostel is one of a plethora of hostels located in the Sultanahmet district of Istanbul - the area where most of the sights are, but be warned, also the area that gets a corresponding number of tourists and carpet salesmen. Fortunately this hostel is located in a quiet street and retains some of its charm, which most of the larger hostels have definitely lost.
The dorm rooms are located below the street level, and are nice and small, the largest sleeping six people. The rooms themselves are very functional, but they are clean and the beds are comfortable even if the bedding seems to be made for beds half the size.
Upstairs there is a very pleasant common room decorated with carpets and kilims, and an internet cafe. A small breakfast is included in the price. At the top of the stairs there is a small terrace with wonderful views over the sea of Marmara, a great spot for writing some postcards.
The atmosphere is cosy and friendly and conducive to meeting fellow travellers, and the owner is very helpful. This is certainly one of the better hostels to stay while exploring Istanbul.
The dorm rooms are located below the street level, and are nice and small, the largest sleeping six people. The rooms themselves are very functional, but they are clean and the beds are comfortable even if the bedding seems to be made for beds half the size.
Upstairs there is a very pleasant common room decorated with carpets and kilims, and an internet cafe. A small breakfast is included in the price. At the top of the stairs there is a small terrace with wonderful views over the sea of Marmara, a great spot for writing some postcards.
The atmosphere is cosy and friendly and conducive to meeting fellow travellers, and the owner is very helpful. This is certainly one of the better hostels to stay while exploring Istanbul.
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
September 2005
Their Description
Antique Hostel - Guest House Details
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Antique Hostel - Guest House Reviews on Other WebsitesHostelz.com Guest Reviews
Good place We loved staying here. The terrace is excellent for food and the views. Very helpful staff. Highly recommend for location as well. — DianneWood , Australian (2011-06-02) Clean, well located, and great staff! I traveled all around Asia and I therefore I stayed in many guesthouses and hostels. I was in a private room with its own toilet and shower.
I really liked Antique Hostel for many reasons. The staff was very helpful even at midnight, and whatever the problem was. The location is perfect as it is in the middle of the old town and at 5-10 minutes walking distance from the main touristy places -- Aya Sofia, the blue mosque. It was clean. The terrace is very nice for breakfast and an evening drink! — Anonymous , Morocco (2011-03-30) If you are on Antique Hostel page, that means that you are looking for something affordable but nice and cozy -- stop looking any further, this is the right place for you. Trust me, I searched all that is in this category, and by far this is the best offer. They have my recommendation, I am very satisfied with my weekend there. — Dragan , Serbia (2011-03-30) Really Great People are nice, the breakfast is actually more than acceptable, the rooms are clean. I planned to stay there for two nights only and finally stayed a all week! Definitely a great place to enjoy Istanbul and the stambouliotes! — Leopold , France (2011-02-05) Good hostel I liked Antique, it is not like hostel -- like a family apartment. Volkan is playing guitar majestically, his Nirvana's "Rape me" mix was excellent. Cosy rooms, balcony with a beautiful view where i was siting and eating supper. I advice you this hostel. — Ramiz , Azerbaijan (2011-01-17) Great Location, friendly staff, good food, satisfying basic hostel I very much enjoyed my stay at the Antique Hostel. Amazing location in Sultanahmet just five minutes from The Blue Mosque, Aya Sophia, and the great Arasta Bazaar, and the Basilica Sistern. Great healthy basic breakfast, very friendly and helpful staff, clean room. Maybe the mattress could have been softer but I am not expecting cushy accommodations at a great economy price. I especially loved walking back out each night to stand in the park looking at the Blue Mosque and the Aya Sophia all lit up and astounding with the gulls circling above, and then to eat breakfast looking out over the Bosphorous and the Sea of Marmara. I will happily go back. — Johnny from Boston , USA (2010-12-28) Fine, if you don't like to sleep PROS: staffed 24/7, Onur and AJ are excellent and helpful. Near to tram line, Blue Mosque, Aya Sofia, Topkapi Palace. Free internet, great views from rooftop. Room and bath were clean and good hot water-great water pressure as well. No bedbugs! Fresh sliced oranges and good rolls for breakfast, although in winter you freeze whilst eating due to the fact that the room is enclosed only in plastic and you feel the wind-and hear it whipping the plastic back and forth! I would not venture to try the eggs or cheese they serve-the cheese is runny and moist and the eggs are not hard-boiled or even poached properly, just runny and gooey. CONS: my room was just off the sitting area and Volkan decided to entertain guests here because the bar/internet/dining area is upstairs and enclosed only by plastic so in December it was very cold up there. So he was up until 2-3am every night flirting with the girls and laughing right outside my room. He made a show of saying SHH! which only made it more ridiculous-Unfortunately there are several rooms just off the sitting room-so I'm sure I was not the only one being kept awake. As for Volkan, he is way too talkative and thinks alot of himself, loud, boastful and tries very hard to be charming, which might only work for 20 year old girls on holiday for the first time! He is the only staff member I can say was VERY irritating, although he plays guitar and sings reasonably well in the eves at the bar, but even then, he doesn't know when it's time to quit. They seem to turn the heat off at night, despite my having my radiator turned on all the way-it only came on in the early morning, which I found out because they had my bed shoved right up against it (room was very narrow) and my foot got burnt when it rested against it-i was so paranoid of getting burnt again that I moved my bed out from the wall every evening so when morning (and heat) came I would not inadvertently toss and turn, subjecting my feet or legs to the scorching hot metal. Oddly enough, the window and curtains were just above the heater-how the curtains did not catch fire or at least melt is beyond me. There is TV in the rooms but I never watch TV during my travels-so why then was my TV on one day when I returned to my room? Nothing was missing so I did not ask staff. I'm not the 5 star type of person, so I am fairly laid-back and allow alot of things to slide, but for the price, this hostel is not worth it. There are just too many other places to stay in Istanbul equally as well-situated as this one. — Judy , USA (2010-12-28) Perfect location, great staff, great atmosphere, clean room Most are perfect, including acceptable price and super fast wifi internet, but the breakfast is sometimes late and no variations. Even there are no salt and paper on the table. If they improve the way they serve the breakfast, I will definitely put "Excellent." Good luck, Antique Hostel. — Ganda , Indonesia (2010-11-23) Really Good Love, love, love this place. The staff is super friendly. The place is clean, well-kept, and close to all the major sites and attractions of Istanbul. The breakfast is generous with a lovely view of Sea of Marmara. Other than the weird orange juice which I surmise as artificially flavored, everything is just right. The price is reasonable. I got a single private room which I loved staying in. Overall, I would give Antique a perfect score, — Gian , Utaly (2010-02-26) Amazing The hostel is very strategically located to all the places of interest. The staff are very friendly and very helpful and they speaks english so it makes it all easy and full of fun. I certainly give a thumbs up to the hospitality. Planning to come back again and would not hesitate to stay here again. It was a fantastic holiday. — Rozita Khalid , Malaysia (2010-01-01) I have ever stayed at in over 20 years of traveling. This is one of the best hostels I've stayed at -- perfect location, brand new, spotless, and a nice small size so you get to know everyone. There's free breakfast as well and the staff are really friendly and helpful. They even have a tiny new puppy! The view from the rooftop bar is incredible. The only concern is that there's no locks on the dorm doors, but there\'s someone at the reception 24/7, and they know everyone staying there, so it's not a problem. There are large free lockers in the dorm. — Elizabeth , usa (2009-12-18) Excellent I like the hostel very much -- it's not a big party hostel. Location is very pleasant (peaceful but very close to the action!) as is the roof terrace with great sea view -- two levels with bar and open-topped area with cushions. It feels very safe here and the staff are very friendly and helpful. Nice breakfast and laptops always available. Recommended! — Glen Terry , Uk (2009-11-13) Poem for Antique Hostel Lovely hostel, you are my friend. Staying here would never end! Had much fun with young and old staff. They can find whatever you need as all stuff. I loved terrace's amazing sea view. Lovely hostel, you deserve the best review. Beautiful wooden style seems antique. The best hostel in Istanbul is Antique. My name is Jack. I will be back! — Jack Narrow , New Zelland (2008-11-26) Great I have been here a year ago. I see that these guys worked a lot and changed many things here. I see new floors and new design. And they have new thing here, last year what we were asking for. A bar cafe area upstairs. I said that the only thing they need is a bar. So I had to much fun there. Movies at the bar were great. And liked free popcorn. This was the second time here but not the last time — Daniel , Germany (2008-11-23) Would not stay here again We were silly enough to book a further night at the end of our travels, and booked a pickup service from the airport. Our plane was two hours late (as they often are), and nobody had waited (or as it turned out, had checked the arrivals schedule). Antique hostel left us stranded there after two phone calls at 2:30 a.m., and refused to refund our money. Further emails were rude. If you value customer service dont go anywhere near these guys. — Anna , NZ (2008-11-01)