Nelly Guesthouse

Nelly is a wonderful and kind person who welcomes travelers like family. The building itself is older, but the room, kitchen, bath setup is very nice and cozy. 10” walk to Istiklal, which is very busy tourist area. Inexpensive compared to a hotel.

The son of the host was very friendly! The room was quite big and was only five minutes away from the Main Street. They have a sweet cat and fulfil every wish you have. We could wash our clothes for 300 Lira.

The hostel is next to a pretty steep hill and is located in the 4th floor. If you are older or unathletic it could be an issue. We had two water failures but they didn’t last longer than 1 hour, and it’s normal for Istanbul.

- The cat is a sweetheart. I miss it already 🥲 - I love that the room and the bathroom have an unlimited supply of heating and hot shower water ! Other Istanbul hotels I stayed at were stingy when it came to proper heating and the hot shower water finished quickly ! At Nelly's, all you have to do is to turn on the heating and enjoy the coziness on a cold Istanbul night. Perfect for harsh Istanbul winters.

- The toilet flushing did not work the first time. Nelly and her assistant were very quick to fix it, and I thank them for it. However, it stopped working again towards the end of my stay. I ended up using the trash bin bucket to flush 🤣. So not a huge deal, but worth mentioning :) - The hot water did not reach the sink for some reason. So washing my hands was a cold experience 🤣. Thankfully the shower was hot!

The space was large and comfortable, with nice furniture in general. The space was beautifully clean. The host is very friendly and helpful, with good English language.

The area is extremely noisy at night (even with all the windows closed). The cars are screeching while struggling to drive up a very steep street, and hooting along the way to warn people and other vehicles to get out of the way (because if they would slow down, they would lose traction and roll backwards again). There are lots of kids playing in the streets at night, and yelling and making a noise until very late. It is quiet in the mornings though, which is a nice break from the noise. Although the beds were clean and neat, the bed linen was rough and scratchy, and the pillows could be improved. While the aircon is large and effective, it is in the lounge, which means that the bedroom can be very hot and uncomfortable at night in summer. The location is relatively close to public transport and many street food shops, but it is dirty and run-down and I would not feel safe walking alone.