Side Hotel and Pension

Side Hotel and Pension is a decent and attractive middle-range accommodation place. Side is situated in a very good location, between the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia (just opposite the Seven Hills Hotel), but on a quieter part of the area where you are removed from witnessing the driving habits of Istanbul car owners.
Considering the options (the hotel and pension parts, various types of rooms) Side can even be considered a gem. It is owned by a family and the owners, as well as the staff are quite charming and elegant.
As for style, Side offers much more than a usual hostel or a budget-hotel. It is an old mansion transformed into a tourist accommodation and the exterior is quite quaint as well as the decoration of the interior. For budget travellers who are in need of something more than an average place, Side is worth a shot.

A hotel and a pension in one building, Side offers rooms for various budgets. The pension side is very nice – definitely better than your average hostel – and other than the lack of en-suite it’s easily as good as a hotel room. Only half of the hotel rooms have air-conditioning and none of the pension rooms but you can get fans on request. Actually, as it’s an old house with tiled flooring and shuttered windows it shouldn’t get that hot, but it’s worth checking your room beforehand if you’re staying in mid-summer. Side is a family-run place and is friendly and welcoming. It also has a nice rooftop terrace where they serve breakfast.

The best thing about this hotel was the location – it was within minutes of the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Basilica Cistern and other Old City draws. The rooftop terrace is a nice place to have breakfast, but there is not elevator in the hotel, and it’s four floors up! Walking the hallways, my impression of the hotel was dark and gloomy. The first room they showed me was small, with no air conditioner, but they told me they had a bigger room with air conditioning available for the same price – it was bigger, but the space was taken up with an extra bed! The room was clean and basic, but the view was only of the wall next door, and no minibar. I’ll pass on this one next time I’m in Istanbul.

Very close to the Blue Mosque, Topkapi, etc. Rooftop breakfasts were great and the staff had great ideas for what else to see and do, helped with lining up bus tickets, airport transfers etc. The room itself was nice as well.

The Side in Istanbul was in a great location! It was only a block away from the Blue Mosque. When I checked into the hotel late at night, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to see any sites. But, the Side is located in a great spot which is really close to many restaurants, shops and tourist attractions. It was definitely worth it!