The canary yellow Hotel Yasmak Sultan with its dazzling red and white striped awnings is hard to miss. The rooms are neat and clean although fairly uninspiring, but they do offer a good range of facilities. Its location on a quiet back street near the Egyptian Spice Bazaar makes it a ten-minute walk to the Hippodrome, the Grand Bazaar and the Galata Bridge. A fitness centre, sauna and hamam can be found in the basement.

Many historical sites and museums are in walking distance to Hotel Ipek Palace. So are the shopping areas like the Grand Bazaar or the Spice Market. In the morning you'll have your breakfast on the terrace while enjoying the view of the Bosphorus. In the evening, you will enjoy the city lights when you dine on the terrace. If you travel with your family, ask for twin adjoining rooms and extra beds, they have very spacious rooms.

The Side Hotel & Pension is popular with backpackers and low-budget travelers, mostly due to its extremely friendly, helpful management and well-kept rooms. The hotel itself is clean and tidy with en suite bathrooms in each room, boasting very modern plumbing unlike many of its counterparts. The pension side is a little more basic, offering shared bathrooms. Each room is fairly different, so it's wise to inspect a few of them before you choose. Breakfast is served on the rooftop terrace and free tea is served in the reception area where there is also a tiny book exchange for guests.

Named for the late Roman/early Byzantine cistern in the basement, this four star hotel is situated in the Old City. Just a five-minute walk from the covered bazaar, a ten-minute walk from the Blue Mosque and fifteen minutes from Topkapi Palace. If you stay three nights, one dinner is on the house. Alternatively, stay one week and get one extra night's accommodation for free.

A two-minute walk from Taksim Square, the central Vardar Hotel occupies a dusky rose-coloured 19th century building on Istanbul's sleaziest strip, where Siraselviler Caddesi narrows to canyon-like proportions and fills up at night with the backwash from metal bars and pimp joints. Inside however, the hotel is a typical middling three star. The rooms have lovely high ceilings, although the feeling of airiness is somewhat sabotaged by a too-dark color scheme.

A warm and comfortable environment, ethnic Istanbul atmosphere and views of the famous Blue Mosque, gardens and the sea - what more could you ask for as a tourist? The rooms are clean and elegantly done up in hues of wood brown, red and yellows. You can visit important Byzantine and Ottoman monuments that are easily accessible from here. The room prices vary according to the time of the year. There are no doubts that your stay at this hotel will be a memorable one.