Villa Pasha Hotel

Villa Pasha was on a backpacker street behind the Blue Mosque, lots of bars and restaurants, lots of cheap hostels. So I wasn't sure what to expect. But Villa Pasha was surprisingly nice. The room was clean and someone had done it up in a basic fashion but with some care. The linens were clean, the comforter was really nice. Everything smelled clean and fresh. The bathroom was particularly nice. The cubicle was small but it had 3 functions. You could use the handheld shower, the rainforest shower (which comes straight down from the ceiling) or there were also 12 jets installed at varying heights that would spit water straight out at you. It was awesome. Hot water, relatively fast wifi (for Istanbul), big flat screen TV and just a 5-minute walk from the Blue Mosque and Aya Sofya. Mehmet at the front desk was also very helpful. Free breakfast was good, too - unlimited fresh bread, 2 types of cheese, olives, honey, butter and jam.