ペラダイズ

We arrived on a day when the main street into Taksim Square was closed for a political demonstration, leaving us to wheel our suitcases up a considerably steep hill. The hotel was none-too-easy to find in the labyrinth of streets, and none-too-impressive from the outside -- when we finally did find it ... However, the whole experience changed when we stepped through the door into a modern, well-designed space. The reception had a cozy, "retro" feel, with lots of books and old LPs lying around, as if people actually lived there. The kids loved our third-floor room, which had a sleeping loft and a window alcove -- totally cool. Housecats prowled the breakfast room. The people super-nice. We needed a pharmacy in the morning, so the night clerk when he got off duty walked us up to it, then waited outside in case we needed help. Later he gave us directions through the city to a place we wanted to visit. This was not a luxury experience, but neither did it feel downscale. For me, it was a perfect balance of comfort and authenticity. We would definitely stay there again.