Veliefendi Racecourse Tours

We stayed here for 3 nights and unfortunately had a largely terrible experience. While the spa, indoor swimming pool, and breakfast were good, almost everything else fell far short of acceptable standards, let alone 5 star claims. ​Our room smelled terrible, like a dead rat. When we reported it, staff simply brought room spray, which masked the odor for a few minutes before it came right back. To make matters worse, the AC didn't work and was locked centrally at 28°C with no way for us to turn it down. The toilet and shower were also dirty upon arrival. ​Service was equally disappointing. We left the hotel everyday from 10am and were back at night, yet housekeeping still managed to skip leaving the complimentary 2 water bottles daily. When we called reception to ask about it, we were told the kitchen was closed and that water bottles would cost 150 each, despite them already failing to service the room properly. ​To top it all off, on our last morning at breakfast, a woman approached our table who is supposed to be a guest supervisor. When we politely explained the water situation, she never apologized and only kept arguing with us, claiming they couldn't enter the room, which makes no sense since housekeeping had been in to clean. Terrible service and terrible conditions; we would not recommend staying here.

The hotel is located right across the street from the cruise terminal. Also the Hop on Hop off bus called the "BusForus" in Istanbul was a 2 minute walk diagonally across the street. I booked one night in a less expensive room and the next night in a more upgraded room because of availability. When I got there I was given the two nights in the better room for the same price, which was very nice of the hotel to offer without my mentioning the inconvenience it would have been. The room with terrace was large and with a very large terrace overlooking the port and city. The breakfast buffet offers a much larger selection of choices than most other hotels that I have stayed at and has a great view of the port and city. I highly recommend the Port Bosphore Hotel.