As all tourist accommodation in Turkey is regulated either by the Ministry of Tourism or by the local authorities, and as room prices are usually posted in th reception area and in the rooms themselves, you can generally count on getting exaclty what you pay for. However, it is important to know in advance what you are getting.
For this reason, except in the luxury hotels you should always ask to see the rooms, regardless of how the lobby is appointed. the manager or desk clerk will invariably be willing to show you a room, and in some cases will even be eager. In addition to checking for general cleanliness, make a point of checking the hot water and the lights. Also try to gauge the overall noise level in the rooms; in most Turkish hotels the quieter (and cheaper!) rooms are at the back, away from the street.
It is important, too, to ascertain whether the how water ins constant or avaible only at certain times and in certain
circumstances. Simply asking if a place has hot water will not help. The answer will always be Yes, but this could mean “Yes, in principle” or “Yes, in the mornings and evenings” or “Yeas, if the furnace is working” or “Yeas, if the sun has been shining.” And even when you have determined what the hot water situation is, there is no guarantee that it won’t change. Expect in the fancier hotels, it is not at all uncomon for the hot water – and the cold water too, for that matter – to disappear without warning for several hours. Which is why, once you are in your room, if you are planning a bath or a shower later and there is plenty of hot water now, it’s not a bad idea to wash now rather than later. You can always wash again later if there is hot water, but if there isn’t it won’t be catastrophic.
By the way, before complaining to the management about the lack of hot water, be sure to try both taps. Frequently, whatever the markings indicate, the hot and cold taps are reversed.
Electricity, too, has been known to go off suddenly for no reason. don’t worry. In a few minutes or hours it will suddenly come back on for the same reason.
Surprisinlgy, perhaps, given the gereal excellence of Turkish cooking, hotel restaurants tend to be disappoinging. Obviously if breakfast is included in the tariff it makes sense to eat in the hotel, or if you are in a one-hotel town in the east it’s probable that the one hotel will serve the best food. But by and large hotel meals in Turkey are expensive and boring.
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