Your hotel looks a good choice, and handy for the major things you might want to visit. I flew Manchester to Istanbul with Turkish Airlines last March, and the price was the most reasonable I found at that time. They fly from Heathrow.

Easyjet from Luton Airport suits your needs for the flights.

hey!cant help you with info about istanbul cos ive not been BUT i have looked into going before lol!i looked for flights just couple weeks ago and found travelocity and opodo to be reasonable, sometimes thy can be ok,but not always!easyjet cn be good too, just remember its istanbul sabiha goken they fly into tho!i think youre prob best tryn to get flight into istanbul ataturk airport (main one) as opposed to istanbul sabiha goken, but on saying that depending on where you would stay,what part maybe it woulndt make any diff?esp if you organise transfer!i think if you can see what flights will suit you first then you can google accomodation and find what suits, thats what i was gonna do anyway!unfortunately my hubby said no to me meeting him and holidaying with him in istanbul lol :-( im dying to go, it looks beautiful and interesting, though just be careful and cautious, mehmet said its not always safe,but where is these days huh!!!anyway hope you gte good deal, take care and enjoy!xxx

Hi

I can't comment on the hotel you've found, but when I was in Istanbul I stayed at the Zeynep Sultan Hotel in Sultanahmet - really lovely small hotel literally 3 minutes walk from the Blue Mosque, 10 minutes walk from Topkapi Palace, a few minutes to the nearest tram stop, 15 mins to the Grand Bazaar. It was perfect. Website: http://www.zeynepsultanhotel.com. If I ever manage to get back to Istanbul I'd stay there again.

I booked my flight with British Airways who fly daily to Ataturk airport which is half an hour away by road.

Have a wonderful time, it's the most amazing city! Make sure you do your homework before you go though, I had a week there and it was by no means long enough, there's just so much to see!

Thanks for your help so far. Will check out that hotel for sure.

Was also wondering how long a visa would take for non-British passport holders? Is this a straight forward process when visiting the consulate?

We went to Istanbul for the Whit weekend last year and found the best flight only prices were with Turkish Airlines flying from Stansted - worked out much cheaper than Heathrow or Easyjet from Luton.

Hello ump001,

Visas are available at the airport on arrival as a stamp in your passport.

Don't waste your time/money going to the consulate.

Below is a link showing 2008 visa costs.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g293969-i367-k1705000-VISAS_2008_Everything_you_want_to_know-Turkey.html

Hope that this helps.

Hi, party of four of us recently had four days/three nights staying at Romance Hotel Istanbul. Booked rooms with Alpharooms,flights with Easyjet and transfers with Shuttle Direct.Hotel was really good,location in the old city walking distance to many of the sights.Tram stop almost outside.Hotel is part of Yasmin Group who have two sister hotels in the area one of which has a rooftop resturant with superb views of Istanbul.Flights hotel and transfer came to £133 each for our stay in January,weather was cold but bright sunshine so very pleasant for a city break. Enjoy!

We too stayed at the Romance. Great location, our room was a little on the small side, but fine for a short break and an easy walk to the Blue Mosque.

When in Istanbul we always stay at the Hotel Hali which is in Sultanahmet and within a few minutes walking distance from all the major sight-seeing places. It's small but clean and has a fantastic roof terrace breakfast room with fantastic views of the blue mosque, hagi sophia and the bospherous. Ataturk airport is only 15 minutes drive away.

We last stayed there in August and I think it was 60euros for a double room, 35euros for a single.

If travelling from the UK have a look at Tulip Holidays website for breaks in Istanbul. This is who we used for our first every trip to the city.