“Roughly translated, the name of this hotel means ‘The Place of Happiness’ in Turkish, and we’re sure that guests will be more than happy with this comfortable mid-sized hotel. In a painstakingly restored Ottoman wooden house, the interior features exquisitely painted ceilings and custom-designed wooden furniture throughout.

Rooms, which have four-star amenities, are extremely comfortable, sporting a gold and russet-red colour scheme that gives a sense of luxury. Those with views cost a little bit extra. There’s a roof terrace with Sea of Marmara and Blue Mosque views, as well as a comfortable breakfast café.”

Just a few minutes walk from the heart of Sultanahmet and its many attactions (Topkapı Palace ,carpet shops,museums) this reconstructed Ottoman mansion offers 17 guests rooms decorated Turkish-style with kilims and painted ceilings.Owner/manager Deniz Duyar heads a knowledgeable staff.

The included breakfast of Turkish simit bread,yogurt,cold cuts,cheese and fruit is served in the rooftop Terrace Cafe ,which boasts an idyllinc view of the Blue Mosque.

“Dersaadet means “place of happiness” in Ottoman Turkish and this small hotel lives up to its name.

The rooms have an elegant, even plush, feel, with colorful rugs on the floor, solid wood furniture, and ceilings hand painted with swirling Ottoman ornamental motifs. The top two floors of the hotel have rooms with a view, while a cozy terrace, where classical music plays in the background, looks out on the sea. Deniz Duyar, the hotel’s young owner and manager, earned his MBA in New York and runs the place with a high level of professionalism.”

The Dersaadet (one of the many former names for Istanbul) has become one of the most popular boutique hotels south of the Golden Horn for independent travellers.

The hotel’s quaint wooden exterior and 19th-century French-influenced Ottoman decor recreate the charms of the Ottoman golden years.

The 17 rooms, across four floors, are all comfortable, and some have good views over the Sea of Marmara. The best room is the Sultan’s Suite, which has a low wooden ceiling, big windows and jacuzzi. Sea view rooms have a ş15 surcharge.

There is a pleasant rooftop breakfast terrace, with both indoor and outdoor tables, overlooking the Bosphorus. It is a superb spot for enjoying an afternoon coffee to the sound of classical music, only interrupted by the call to prayer at Sultanahmet Mosque and the squeak of canaries. This is a no-smoking hotel.

The Hotel Niles is run by the same family.

…in Turkish, Dersaadet means “place of felicity and beauty”- an appropriate designation for this handsome jewel of a place fashioned in the style of a 19th Century Ottoman House.

The gleaming parquet floors and the deep wooden details lend a grace to the simplicity of the rooms, most of which have a view of the Marmara Sea and Asian side, and every single room in the house has a graciousness about it…

The Dersaadet Oteli is a recreated Ottoman mansion inn on a quiet neighborhood street less than five minutes’ walk from the Blue Mosque and Hippodrome in Sultanahmet, Istanbul.

Lots of dark wood and bright smiles at this carefully created and maintained 17-room inn.

The Duyar family, third-generation hoteliers, commissioned a notable Istanbul designer, Aytekin Topçu, to create a harmonious, unified interior design for the entire inn.

Virtually all of the hotel’s furnishings were custom-made to Mr Topçu’s requirements. Your eye catches this visual harmony throughout the hotel in glimpses of common motifs in guest rooms and public spaces: the dark wood mouldings on doors, windows and headboards; the creamy marble of the staircases, the marble vanities in many of the bathrooms, and the handmade Turkish carpet runners in the hallways.