Stay Report: Mercure Istanbul Sirkeci (Istanbul, Turkey - February 2023)

 Stay Report: Mercure Istanbul Sirkeci
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We were traveling on Turkish Airlines and were stopping over in Istanbul.  We had booked the program through the airlines’ “Istanbul Stopover” but the hotel the airline provided was right next to the airport and we were looking for a hotel within Sultanahmet so I looked for a hotel on my own.  In my search, I found a couple of hotels both within the Sultanahmet area as well as across the bridge in Galata.  I read reviews on all the hotels and decided on the Mercure Istanbul Sirkeci as it was a close walking distance to the tram stop, 2-stops away from the Hagia Sophia, as well as walking distance to many shops and restaurants.                                                                                                                                                                                          I have stayed at other Accor hotel properties (Novotel and ibis) but never at Mercure so I was not sure what to expect.  Accor hotels usually have average rooms, good wifi, average breakfast, and sometimes a good location and this is what the reviews said and this is what I found during my stay.  Some of the good aspects are the location as the hotel is central or within walking distance to many aspects including the tram stop, the wifi is free and fast, and hotel was responsive and communicative prior to arrival.  Some of the aspects which were alright or could use work were the size and quality of the rooms and the communication of the staff during the stay.

 
Through the hotel we had arranged transportation to and from the airport, and this can be done at an additional cost, but it was very convenient and the hotel was responsive throughout the entire process.  The hotel is located in the middle of Sirkeci, which is a neighborhood near Sultanahmet and is 2 tram stops away from Hagia Sophia and walking distance to many shops and restaurants.  In fact, the car parks on the side of the hotel as the main entrance is in a pedestrian walk-way with restaurants and a barber in front.  You enter the hotel in the lobby with the staircase in the middle, some seating to the right, and to the left are additional seating, the check-in desk, as well as the hotel’s restaurant.  The size, structure, and decoration of the hotel made it feel more like a boutique hotel rather than a chain and that is something I appreciated.  As we were checking in, another staff member was helping to bring in our suitcase and the hotel was able to hold luggage throughout the stay.  After check-in, we received our key and took the elevator to our room.  There are two elevators to get up – one is a smaller elevator located next to the check-in desk and the other is a bigger elevator located in the middle of the staircase – the circular staircase wraps around the elevator.  Both elevators are tiny – the one next to the check-in desk can barely fit 2 people – and I never saw anyone use the elevator in the middle of the staircase; in fact we were directed to the smaller elevator so not even sure if the bigger elevator works. 

Our room was located at the end of the hall on the 2^nd floor; given the tight space, each floor only had about 16 rooms with about 8 on each side.  Our room was part of what Accor calls the ‘family room’ in that there are two separate rooms with two separate entrances but there is a main door that leads to the hallway that can be closed so that both rooms can act as one or it can be opened so that both rooms can be utilized individually.  In the room, along the right side of the room was a full-length mirror, a long desk which you could sit and work or use as storage, and a section which contained the fridge, mini-bar and coffee details below and a place to store your luggage above.  At the end of the right-hand wall, between the desk and the window, was the closet which contained hangers and a place to hang your clothes, a safe, a luggage rack, as well as amenities such as shoe polish and disposable slippers.  Along the left of the room were two twin beds with a nightstand in the middle, a chair and a table alongside the window.  Next to both beds were charging ports and a plug and above the beds was a ledge which we used to store the phones and other devices that were charging on the ports.  The desk also contained plugs and charging ports so it was very convenient and easy to charge your electronics in the room. The beds itself were decent and contained a nice duvet which provided a nice sleep.  Overall, the room was a decent size and provided enough amenities and storage space to comfortably stay.  The same cannot be said for the bathroom.
 
As I said, I have stayed at Accor hotels before and now that rooms and bathrooms can be tiny but did 

not expect this in Istanbul.  The bathroom contained a small sink with a toilet right behind it and a stand-up shower right behind that.  The space was so tiny that 1) only one person could fit at the same time, 2) you could barely sit and use the toilet without your knees hitting either the shower or the sink, and you could only open the shower door from inside because opening outwardly you hit the toilet.  The shower was nice and contained both a hand-held and rain shower, but because of how tight everything was, you needed to be careful about when you turned on the shower otherwise the water would go everywhere.  Toiletries included refillable bottles of shampoo and body wash in the shower and refillable bottle of soap next to the sink.  The hotel also provided a dental kit, a comb, and other such amenities in the bathroom.  The toiletries and additional amenities were nice and the bathroom had the basic facilities, just the small and confined space of the bathroom was the issue.
 
The Mercure is a full-service hotel so additional services available at the hotel included a hotel restaurant, a gym, laundry service, as well as transportation.  As I mentioned earlier, the transportation service was an extra charge and was easily prebooked.  The gym was complimentary but given my short-stay I did not get a chance to experience it.  The restaurant did include breakfast and while this is not complimentary, it can be added on either through booking or when you check-in.  I have had breakfast at other Accor properties and they are generally similar in that they are decent but not overly expansive with a plethora of options.  The breakfast at the hotel was good in that there was a variety of cheeses, breads, and hot and cold dishes as well as some extras included egg station, coffee maker, and a variety of juices.  It was a nice breakfast and one that left you feeling full, not stuffed, but full and ready to explore the city.
 
Communication and staff support at a hotel is key.  The hotel was very communicative regarding 

booking my transportation prior to my arrival, and were willing to hold luggage during my stay; however, I did have some other communication issues with the staff during the stay.  I had a late flight out of Istanbul so during booking, ahead of arrival, during check-in, and throughout each day I had requested a late check-out, later than what is normally allowed.  I mentioned if there is a charge associated with this, let me know and I would pay it to allow access to the room – every day I was told to wait until my check-out date and when that day came, I was told that the late, late check-out request would not be honored and only the extended late check-out that everyone was getting would be honored.  It was poor communication and poor service and this is something that needs to be worked out.

Overall, it was a nice stay at the Mercure Istanbul Sirkeci.  The location is the best thing about the hotel as you are a 30-second walk to tram stops, shops, restaurants, and banks.  With the tram, you can go to the Hagia Sophia in 2 stops or across the bridge in 2 stops so the location is convenient. The negatives about the hotel are the small bathroom size and lack of information from the hotel staff.  Other than that, a centrally-located stay in Istanbul.

Stay Report: Paradisus Cancun by Melia (Cancun, Mexico - January 2023

Stay Report: Paradisus Cancun by Melia - Cancun, Mexico
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I was traveling to Cancun to celebrate a friend’s birthday so we were looking for an all-inclusive hotel that would have good service, good access to the beach and the pool, and overall provide a nice time during our short stay.  We had originally wanted to stay at a different hotel but that was sold out so decided to try the Paradisus Cancun by Melia.  I have stayed at Melia properties both in New York as well as an all-inclusive in Punta Cana and both properties were decent – the all-inclusive was a large property with average food, decent rooms and sub-par service.  This was the expectation I had going into Paradisus, and because of both this expectation as well as we were going for a celebration, I decided to try out the Reserve by Paradisus which is supposed to provide an upgraded service.

I booked the room through the Melia app as through the app there was a discount in addition to the discounted rates given to MeliaRewards members.  Booking the hotel and selecting the room type was very easy to do through the app so that was very convenient.  Once I booked the room, I contacted the hotel regarding accommodations for the celebrations as well as for transportation.  In other all-inclusive which I have stayed out, transportation has been included but in both Cancun and Punta Cana it was not included.   The hotel recommended a service to use, and I generally go through those recommendations as if there is a delay or something happens, I can contact the hotel with any issue.  During the communication with the hotel, I was also asked to fill out pre-arrival information including special requests.  I filled out the form, connected to the transportation and booked that, and was all set to enjoy my experience in Cancun.

The issue started from when I landed as there was no transportation at the designated spot.  I called thetransportation company and they said ‘oh they are on their way’ – it took another 10 minutes for a guy to show-up, one who couldn’t have been least bothered about the lack of service nor information, and then it took another 1 hour for the bus to arrive; it was the worst arrival experience and when I later complained the hotel – the same hotel that recommended the Otium Transport and the one that has a desk in their hotel – they said it’s a separate organization so nothing they can do.  The service was so bad that I had booked a roundtrip but I cancelled my return and just booked a taxi.

The lack of service continued during the check-in process.  The Paradisus is a large property comprised of many pyramids across a wide land size.  You enter the property through the main pyramid which has a small check-in and check-out section to the left-hand side.  We went in there to check-in and were instructed that because we were reserve, we would check-in at a different pyramid and thus were walked to the Reserve pyramid.  The attendant who walked us through was nice but could not answer any questions and kept repeating “your Reserve agent will answer all the questions”.  The pyramids are designed in a similar fashion with an open layout in the middle, stores, restaurants, or hotel facilities on the ground floor in the middle and guest rooms on the top floors surrounding the open atrium.  The Reserve pyramid is also designed this way with the check-in desks as well as a lounge on the ground floor and guest rooms on the top floor.  The check-in attendant was busy helping someone else when we arrived so they asked us to wait in lounge.  On the ground floor in the open atrium, the Reserve has a lounge which serves complimentary drinks, coffee, tea, as well as heavy snacks.  The lounge was open in morning until mid-evening so you could stop here for breakfast, a late snack, a lite lunch, drinks and snacks or a lite dinner.  There were many tables surrounding the lounge and sitting in the open atrium was very nice and peaceful.  After a little while, the hotel attendant came in and said they were ready to check us in. 

The check-in attendant had zero customer service, was quite rude towards the end, and only wanted to go through their speech and not answer any questions or provide any additional information.  It was not a welcoming nor pleasant process and at the end, we were told that in fact our rooms were not ready and that we would have to wait in the lounge until our concierge came to get us.  I was not aware of this prior but booking with the Reserve comes with a Concierge who is supposed to help and provide tailored assistance through your stay – to this day I am still not sure what their purpose is besides making reservations as many of the questions or requests we made were responded with “you need to contact this person”.

The Concierge led us to our room which was a standard room with 2 beds – we had originally booked a ‘lagoon view’ but the definition of this was a room facing the busy street with a lagoon way behind it – it was not calming nor soothing so we requested to upgrade to an ocean view.  This upgrade came at a costs, even though the booking had included discounted upgrades and spa credits.  The upgraded room had a large balcony facing the resort and ocean view and it was much better in terms of noise and view.  Both rooms were laid out in the similar fashion and, ironically, both had issues with the room.   As you entered the room, on the left were the closets which contained a safe, places to hang your clothes, slippers, robe, as well as other items.  On the right was the bathroom which contained a sink in the middle and a separate toilet area to the right and a shower to the left – there is supposed to be a sliding door on the bathroom to ensure privacy. 

In the first room the bathroom door was off its hinges so wasn’t working properly and in the secondroom there was no bathroom at all.  When we requested a door to be installed but were told that this room did not come with a bathroom door (what??) and instead a mini-shower curtain was resembled the mini-curtains seen in Japanese restaurants that only covered half of the doorway.

The bathroom contained refillable bottles with toiletries including hand wash and lotion near the sink and shampoo, body wash, and conditioner in the shower – the shower contained both a handheld and rain shower and while the water pressure was good, the water went everywhere.  The oddest thing about the bathroom was that the shower faced the room and instead of a wall it was a glass partition with a thin sheet covering it – this meant that the person inside the room could see directly into the shower.  I have seen this design in other properties and I am not sure whether this was a design aspect to let light it, but it provides no privacy and is very uncomfortable – we asked that the curtain be doubled to ensure some privacy between the room and the bathroom.  Despite this design flaw, the bathroom was a decent size and had enough amenities and toiletries.

The room itself was also a decent size and contained the following – along the left side was a bench to either site or to store luggage and next to this was a long desk on top and below were drawers as well as a cabinet which contained water, soft drinks, water, and some food items.  Since this is an all-inclusive, most of the contents in the mini-bar were complimentary and should be refilled each day and refilled based on the preference of the client – ours were refilled only upon request and even though it took a couple of calls.  Above the desk was a TV mounted on the wall and finally along the left side was a table with two chairs.  On the right side of the room were the two double beds with a nightstand in the middle – the beds were comfortable and provided a decent night sleep.  There were outlets on the desk and on the nightstand but not next to the beds.  The room size was comfortable for 2 people plus their stuff to comfortable walk around and not be crowded.  The best part about the room was the balcony, which was very large in size, contained two lounge chairs plus a table, and looked out onto both the resort as well as the ocean.  My friend who wanted to layout and hear the ocean got up early and spent the rest of their mornings on the balcony since it was large, peaceful and convenient.

The Paradisus is an all-inclusive which means everything is included and no additional payments or fees are needed – expect for add-ons.  Add-ons included spa services, certain restaurants had additional items which were not included in the all-inclusive, as well as tours and activities needed to be paid for.  There were plenty of restaurants that were included in the all-inclusive including Italian, Latin, Mediterranean, buffets, as well as fast food.   In addition to food, beverages including alcoholic beverages were included in the all-inclusive.  Both my friend and I have dietary restrictions and neither of us had an issue finding something to eat – in fact, this was something we were concerned about but in the end there was a plethora of choices for us.  Most of the information for the restaurants and other activities are included in the app – so you have to download the app to access most of the information; we were not aware of this until the second day so it would’ve been helpful to know this information when we arrived.  Also through the app you can request housekeeping, additional items for the mini-bar, etc so it is extremely important to download the app since this is mainly the way to communicate with staff.

The Paradisus was also a large property so there were plenty of spaces, chairs, and beds available next to the pool and beach.  The Reserve pool is a separate area where it is adults-only and it is supposed to be more exclusive – it was quieter than the regular pool but towards the end of our stay which coincided with the weekend, there were plenty of kids who joined the pool as the staff did not regulate who would come in.  For the Reserve pool, there are beds surrounding the pool which need to be reserved a day in advance and once reserved it is yours for the entire day until you give it up – so you can wander away but if you leave something of yours there or let the staff know that you will be coming back, then they will not give it to anyone.  While this is nice on one side, it does limit the amount of guests who have access to the limited beds.  Also, we were not informed upon arrival that the beds needed to be reserved a day in advance, we only found this out on our second day – again, information that would’ve been helpful in advance.  The large property provided plenty of opportunity and space to enjoy both the pool and beach, as well as walk along the beach and stay within the property boundaries. 

Other amenities on the property include complimentary wi-fi, which was a decent speed and allowed for email and Whatsapp but was slower for YouTube and streaming.   There is also a gym on property but it is a bit further away so we did not access it.  Overall, the Paradisus was a mixed bag.  The positives are the large resort space, the plethora of choices for restaurants, the Reserve lounge, and since the resort was so large it provided quiet areas so the noise wasn’t concentrated into one area.  The negatives are the lack of customer service, the somewhat outdated rooms, lack of a map or clear instructions/details as to what is available and when, as well as communication with the hotel regarding airport access.  Final note, I went for a couple of days and it was at the beginning of the week and left right as the weekend was getting started – there was definitely a different crowd, different vibe, and increase in noise level from when we arrived to when we departed.