Alright, let me tell you about my little adventure trying to book a stay at the “Martinenz Hotel Istanbul”. Man, it was a whole thing, lemme tell ya!
So, first off, I started with the obvious – Google. Typed in “Martinenz Hotel Istanbul” and BAM! A bunch of results. Started clicking around, you know, the usual suspects: *, Expedia, the hotel’s supposed website (looked kinda sketchy, tbh).
Next, I tried to figure out if this place was even legit. Some of the pictures looked amazing, others… well, let’s just say they looked like they were taken with a potato. So, I dug deeper. Went to TripAdvisor, looked for reviews. Started reading what people were saying. Some folks were raving about the location, others were complaining about the service. It was a mixed bag.
After that, I decided to check out some other booking sites. Maybe I could snag a better deal. So, I went to *, Agoda, even tried some of those smaller, regional booking platforms. Same deal – conflicting information, varying prices, and still not entirely sure if this place was actually as good as it looked in the good pictures.
Then I thought, “Okay, maybe I should just call them directly.” Found a phone number on one of the sites (hopefully the right one!), and gave it a ring. The guy who answered spoke broken English, but we managed to communicate. Turns out, the hotel did exist, and they did have rooms available. But the price he quoted me was way higher than what I was seeing online! Classic bait-and-switch, am I right?
So, I tried to negotiate. Told him what I saw on *, showed him a screenshot. He mumbled something about “different rates” and “special offers” and eventually, he budged a little. But it was still more expensive than I wanted to pay.
Finally, I said screw it, and went back to *. Found a room that seemed decent, read a bunch of reviews that seemed mostly positive (avoided the ones that were obviously fake), and just booked it. Figured if it was a total dump, I could always find another place when I got there. Roll the dice, you know?
The result? Well, I actually ended up staying there! The place was… okay. Not as fancy as the pictures made it out to be, but the location was great, and the staff were friendly enough. Overall, it was an alright experience, but man, booking that place was a journey in itself!
Lessons learned: Always double-check reviews, don’t trust the pictures too much, and be prepared to haggle! Istanbul’s awesome though, totally worth the hassle.