Hotel Baykal

Lumpy bed, terrible pillows, derelict building and grounds. Crapped bathroom, shower was useless. No internet. You get what you pay for. We didn't expect much but this was bad. No heating or air cond and the owner will cook you an okayish meal. He also wants you to cancel any online booking and pay him in cash. We paid for 2 nights but it was so bad we left after 1 night.

I decided to stay at this hotel despite the mixed reviews mainly because hotel choices were so limited and because it was conveniently located to Hattusa, but I must say, this was a low point in our trip. Ahmet is not only the receptionist, but also housekeeping, and the cook which seems too much for a single person to do. The room was functional but not at all comfortable for several reasons. The room was lighted with dull fluorescent bulbs which gave it a sort of institutional feel. The bathroom was not clean and the mat on the floor was wet. The shower spigot was mineralized so that the spray was weak and sporadic. The bed was covered in a flat sheet so we ended up finding ourselves sleeping directly on the mattress in the middle of the night. But worst of all, the heat was off so we had to wear our coats, hats and shoes in the room just to be tolerably comfortable. After being out all day in the cold, it was frustrating not being able to get warm at the hotel. And then the food was the worst we had in our one month trip in Turkey. We ate dinner there on both nights and I was quite surprised at how much we were charged for a flavorless meal when we had eaten some excellent food at half the cost in other cities.