Istiklal Hostel Istanbul

The type of hostel you used to find back in the day, a bit cramped and run down, but personally, I like this vibe. Those looking for the kind of new fancy hostels with roomy common area, beds with curtains and large showers should look elsewhere. OK dorm, very friendly staff, nice rooftop with views on the city. Security is basic: anybody can come from the street and steal your bag, but there are lockers. Get ready for hardcore stairs. Breakfast included, no towels, no credit card, good shower, good breakfast, excellent location.

I booked a room with double bed in advance. However when we reached, it didn't look like hostel/hotel at all. So, when I saw room, it was small in size and bed was just little big than single bed, but it was not double bed and not even enough for 2 people. We got disappointed because it wasn't even close to what was shown in pictures, those pictures are either fake or from some other hostel. Manager said, this is what we have , if you want to stay; okay. Otherwise you can go find another hotel. Because it was late night and we were tired , we decided to stay in shared room, but that room was tiny too with 6 beds and didn't have enough space, we were not happy. But we didn't want to spend whole night searching for new place. So, we stayed. Also I paid 10% in advance for a room, but because we stayed in shared room. Manager cancelled the booking for double bed room, and said money will be returned in Bank account. And for shared room we have to pay full payment in cash. However I haven't received the cancellation payment yet. Moreover, it wasn't possible to sleep peacefully at night, as walls were thin, literally we could hear voice from street, next rooms , beds were not clean enough etc. At midnight they turned off light completely, means no WiFi, No light in Room and not even toilet, which was strange! Everytime I had to go to toilet , I'd take my phone with me, I also had to pass through reception when person was sleeping on small sofa. Toilet smell bed and wasn't clean enough. Beds were broken and not clean, also not enough space between beds. The only STAR I gave because they were offering the service of PCR test in hotel for €15. Because we had flight in 2 days, we asked for PCR test and doctor(or nurse) came to hotel in morning to conduct test and we got report in night from manager on our WhatsApp. I would say staff is good, but honestly this place is not Livable. They need to fix broken things, renovate the whole space, also clean and maintain and be honest with online pictures and booking.