Viva Hotel Oldcity Viva Hotel

Apparently my review will be the first on this hotel. We traveled as a family, 5 people, lived in 2 rooms. We chose the hotel for 2 months. We were in Istanbul for the first time, we didn’t really know what to focus on (except for payment) when choosing a hotel, then we decided to choose the AREA first, and only then the budget, then historical values, and lastly, markets and shops.
The hotel is small, very decent, there is everything you need for a good overnight stay, breakfast and sanitary procedures, because you will probably spend the rest of the time in the city, well, you didn’t come to Istanbul to sleep! There are 3 elevators, silent, the building is of such a shape, I didn’t even understand which one, in our wing on the floor there was 1 room, in the next wing there were already 3 rooms, the rooms are all different, in general there is an element of isolation, no one sees anyone, does not interfere You partially see neighbors only at breakfast. Breakfast - tasty, satisfying, monotonous (every day the same thing), until lunch was enough. There were 2 types of cheese, sausages, vegetable cutlets (but we didn’t understand what, but delicious), like our Olivier, but not with mayonnaise, but with local sauce, a little sour, fried sausages (delicious), french fries , sweet stew. melon, eggs, 5 types of jam and pastries, different muesli, milk, coffee, tea, chocolates, butter, juice, mineral water, you will not stay hungry. For 9 days, we changed the bedding 3 times, and towels, soap and shampoos every day (for 3 people everything was given in 4 copies. Moreover, an open bar of soap and a bottle was always changed to a new one, and the towels smelled great of a rose. There was one boy at the reception spoke excellent Russian, with everyone else they communicated with gestures and at an average household level of English. In general, Istanbul is not Antalya, there are few Russian-speaking Turks here. But iglshish is everywhere. There is a cafe in the hotel, there are 2 entrances, you can enter from different streets. nearby tram stops, a shop - you can buy water and bread. . . It's simply not possible to become hungry in Istanbul, but not everyone goes to restaurants every day, supermarkets help out, they are in all shopping centers. . . the staff at the hotel is very friendly. very satisfied, I advise, of course there are cons - no street soundproofing and no Russian channel, we watched German and Turkish, and everything else is huge +, excellent location completely crossed out all the minuses. Well, of course, if you are used to luxury, silence, 5 * star buffet and huge rooms, then this is not your option.
Sirkeci district (this is also the name of the old railway station), the location of the hotel is more ideal and you can’t think of anything, 15 minutes walk from the station (I’ll call this place) Eminonu, and this is the Galata Bridge (with fishermen and many fish restaurants), transport interchange - buses, ferries and trams to all parts of Istanbul. And now about the location of the hotel you choose, advice - find out about urban transport, because you can choose a hotel with 5 *, but get into such a wilderness or get with transfers that you won’t be happy with the stars either.

Near our hotel there is a "spice market" (go towards Eminonu), a beautiful mosque (who does not want to run around all the mosques in Istanbul - you can visit this one and you will have an idea what it is. Women are allowed, only everyone needs to take off their shoes there, bags for shoes they give) after walking through the spice market, you can walk to the Grand Bazaar, between these markets you will pass through many shopping arcades, where, as they say, you can buy the devil.
And yet, I read a bunch of reviews on the Istanbul vacation, many were indignant at the early awakening of the muezzins, so I want to say. if there are mosques in the city at every turn, then you won’t find a quiet place here, but there mosques are really everywhere! And the trams are constantly signaling, but there is no other way. crowds are coming, often there is not even a sidewalk, tourists are looking around, here are the drivers and they are constantly honking, it is quiet only at night.
There is a hammam in the neighboring hotel - for everyone, this is not advertising, just information so that you don’t run around the city looking for it, and there is another old hammam across the road, a house next to the station fence. From the windows of the hotel you can see the sea and the Galata tower, on the other side a view of the mosque.
Outcome. According to the location of the hotel, within walking distance of 15-30 minutes what you can visit and see: Galata bridge, fish market, Eminonu (transport), spice market - things-Grand Bazaar, Topkapi Palace (from it in the park - Sofia, a mosque Irina, in my opinion, the Blue Mosque, Sultanahmet Square, Cisterns, several museums (I haven’t visited, I can’t name) and a million cafes, restaurants, bagels, chestnuts.
I recommend !
There are practically no Russians in the hotel, they are rare, so I understand that my review may be the only one for a long time, if you read it long after my visit, during this time furniture and wallpaper may grow old in Viva, or maybe vice versa there will be a reconstruction , but its favorable location is a constant phenomenon.
Thanks for attention !