When my partner and I first went to Turkey last November 2017, it was our plan to stay at the Mercure Taksim. From what we've read, the hotel was centrally located and it offered nice accommodations at a reasonable price. We ended up canceling our reservations though due to the rift between the US and Turkey and no American was being allowed entry into the country then. We did go to Turkey, but, we couldn't go beyond the confines of Ataturk Airport. To think, we had two eight hour layovers here.

Fast forward to June 2018, we chose the same hotel for our summer stay in Istanbul and we were not disappointed. The room rates had gone up considerably but the property was upscale and modern. We found out that the hotel was not exactly in Taksim but close enough. We did walk from the drop off point of the Hava/Havatas Bus Shuttle we took in Ataturk to get to the city center. After around 10 minutes, we reached the hotel. The lobby was not big but the dining room where we had our daily breakfasts was very spacious. Our room was big with a view of the street in front of the hotel.

Talk about breakfasts, Mercure's was outstanding. What a spread! I'll never forget the honeycomb they provided. It was my first time to eat such a treat and boy was it sweet! Literally. I ate it with the ice cream cones they provided. We left the hotel really full and ready to explore the city we had so wanted to see for a very long time.

Finally, we were in Istanbul!