Unfriendly Service for Five Star Cost
I recently stayed at the Ceylan Intercontinental Hotel in Istanbul area, and I must say they truly have no clue what it means to be a five star hotel.
Although they have all the accomodations and the facade of a five star hotel, you get better attitude at a Motel.
We had a group of over 35 people stay at the hotel, and at the end of the stay, we all agreed on 4 things:
1. Not one person smiled ONCE during our stay. Extremely unfriendly staff (with the exception of the bar tender. nice guy).
2. Transferring their problems to the customer. A few of our guests had issues with their credit card upon check-in. Instead of trying to help out the customers, they basically told them to figure it out on their own, while charging them 7 Euros / minute for the call. At the end the issue was with the way they are booking the transaction. This was explained to them, and yet they still repeated this issue with others in our team.
3. Nickle and Dime you to death
Everything is an add-on. Internet access, 25 EUR / Day. Coffee $10, etc...
4. Ridiculous Prices
I wish i had taken a menu for laughs. just some items I recall:
- Beer: ~15 EUR
- Coffee: ~5 EUR (12 YTL)
- Mix Drink: ~30 YTL ($25 USD)
At the end, the thing that bothered all of us the most, was the real unfriendly environment. This started from the Reception, Waiters, etc...
On the positive side, the rooms are clean and the comforters very nice. Also, the hotel has beautifl view of the bosphores (not sure if this is the case for all rooms).
As for location, this is debatable I guess. The hotel is located close to Taksim square. Which seems to be a transportaion hub. So getting to the more touristy areas (Sultan Ahmed)is not a problem at all. But it does require taking the Tram.
In summary, for me, five stars is all about the service, not the facade. And this hotel has the cover of a five star hotel, with the attitude of a one star motel.
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