PRICE:
Frommer's Recommended

If the idea of sleeping atop a 5th-century B.C. Roman cistern mere steps from the Grand Bazaar gets you going in the morning, then consider yourself at home here. The Antik is constructed over ruins connected to Theodosius' Forum; the neighborhood today still maintains the authentically quiet and untouristed streets of a working quarter. The entire hotel underwent a complete renovation in 2007, and each floor of this four-story hotel is designed around a pleasing color scheme of grape, lemon, cranberry, or olive. Ask for a high floor, because the spectacular basement cistern comes to life as a bar and restaurant at nights. The cistern, whose crumbling remains were restored but never thoroughly identified, was most likely associated with the Forum Tauri, Theodosius' grand forum that lies beneath nearby Beyazit Square. The actual "walk in" rate for a double when I visited was around 80€ ($112/£57).

Copyright: Excerpted from Frommer's Istanbul, 1st Edition, (c) 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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