The Marmara Guest House is on a dead end street that is one block off of one of the main streets in the Sultanhamet (Old Town) neighborhood of Istanbul. It is a wonderul location, in the midst of everything but very quiet.
The staff is very competent and helpful. The desk next to the front door is attended 24/7, lots of security plus always someone available to make recommendations about sightseeing, eating, transportation, etc. And the recommendations were always "spot on"!
Every morning there is a HUGE selection of breakfast foods, pastries, crepes, Turkish breakfast dishes, protein, carbs, fruits, etc. You won't need to eat again for hours.
The breakfast room has four tables and a view of the Golden Horn and Bosphorus. Somehow Elif has been able to attract very interesting guests so there was almost always an opportunity to compare travel histories and recommendations with interesting people.
There is also a top roof deck adjacent to and slightly above the breakfast room (which is open for coffee til 11PM). But, alas, during my 5 day stay it was too cold and rainy to sit outside. Another guest and I did brave the weather for about 20 min. I'll come back someday and try it when it is sunny and warm.
I loved my room. Since it is a dead end street, there was no street noise, even though I was on the 1st floor.
Istanbul is fantastic. I left my too busy husband at home and went solo. I had a terrific time. The people were kind and outgoing. (The carpet dealers were way TOO outgoing! ) It was a wonderful experience after too much negativity about Muslim countries in the USA to see how much I enjoyed being there and meeting the Turkish people. I am sorry there weren't more Americans because it does hurt their tourist economy. But what a really terrific opportunity for international tourists to go!
Marmara was fully booked, though, so I felt very lucky to score a room. Clean, pleasant and completely modern bathroom facilities.
Thanks to the Marmara staff for a wonderful stay!