Hotel 10 Karakoy (Istanbul, Turkey)

It's difficult to fault the rooms. They are very well appointed with some nice little touches, such as top notch complimentary toiletries from Malin + Goetz.

There are many tourist sites that are an easy walk from the hotel but what a boon the nearby tramway system is! Head north, just one stop and you're in Tophane which has lots of art galleries. Head in the other direction and after a few stops, you're in the Sultanahmet (Hippodrome) district, home to many historic sites.

Reception members of staff in particular are super efficient and extremely helpful. Service is consistently good, day and night. Everyone is fine in the restaurant ... although if you wander in without booking, this can throw them into a bit of a spin.

Rooms are OK but some are a bit on the small side; a situation that gets even worse if they've put an extra bed in. The air conditioning is a useful asset but, particularly in some of the larger rooms (*room sizes do vary) it's difficult to see how they cope with the heating required during the chilly months.

The ‘Do Not Disturb' sign is a waste of time and clearly not understood by the cleaning staff who are likely to enter the room without warning  and at extremely inconvenient times.

If your room faces on to the street and you are a light sleeper, better insist on a transfer. The noise will keep you awake otherwise. There's another source of noise from the club next to the hotel.