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A brief guide on where to stay in Bursa, Turkey. On my several trips to the city, I’ve stayed at some very different types of hotels.
Ipekyolu Boutique Hotel
The best hotel I’ve stayed at in Bursa (not anymore – see update below) has been the Ipekyolu Boutique Hotel (İpekyolu Butik Hotel). It’s situated in the Eskişehir Han (Eskişehir Hanı), a caravanserai built by Davud Pasha in 1517. The building suffered damage from fires in 1530 and 1765, and burned down during the Kalenderoğlu riots in 1608. It has lost its original appearance but is still an important historical building.
Ipekyolu has 16 spacious rooms on the second floor, while the ground floor contains shops facing the street. There’s a large courtyard in the center. The owners are extremely friendly and helpful although their English is very limited. (Note: the hotel has changed ownership since my first stay.)
We stayed in a suite, which is a bit larger than a normal room because it has a bay window. The bed was comfortable and the room was quiet at night. During the day, there’s lots of noise from the shops on the street below. There was a large step up to enter the bathroom, which features antique fixtures.
In the morning, we enjoyed a delicious complimentary Turkish breakfast. Normally, in warmer weather, breakfast is served in the courtyard, but it was too cold and we had to sit indoors. Overall, it was a pleasant stay and the hotel is just a short walk from the historic city center. There’s a bus stop and tram stop a few steps away as well.
UPDATE on Ipekyolu Boutique Hotel
I returned to Bursa a few years later and chose to stay at Ipekyolu Boutique Hotel again, but this time I had a very different experience. We arrived after 1am thanks to a flight delay getting into Istanbul. I had booked three suites for me and my guests. At check-in, the attendant took us to three rooms that weren’t even in the same building and weren’t listed on booking.com.
They were simple rooms with a kitchenette and two beds. The floors were filthy, there was still garbage in the trash cans, the toilet didn’t flush in one room, and the A/C didn’t work in another. They didn’t even bother to put sheets on the bed. Obviously I was livid and got into a huge argument with the attendant. He tried to calm me down by telling me these rooms were much better than what I had booked and the hotel was completely full, which was a lie because the keys were hung up at reception all night. I contacted booking.com who did absolutely nothing to help. And clearly having stayed at the hotel before I knew these rooms weren’t even close to the quality of the suites. Finally, at 3am I gave up and went to sleep.
In the morning, I spoke to a much friendlier older man who assured us we would have the correct rooms after returning from our day out. He stood by his promise and we were able to sleep in the rooms I had booked. Unfortunately, this negative experience has completely changed my thoughts on Ipekyolu Boutique Hotel and I can no longer recommend staying there.
Central Hotel
On my first trip to Bursa in November 2010, I stayed at the Central Hotel (Central Otel). It’s a little out of the way as far as sightseeing goes, but it was overall a great place to stay, very comfortable, and clean. It’s about a 20 minute walk to the historic city center from the hotel down Fevzi Çakmak Avenue. The nearest metro station is Osmangazi.
Kent Hotel
On my second trip in January 2013, I stayed at the Kent Hotel (Kent Otel). It has a fantastic location right across the street from the Grand Mosque. The room was clean, service was great, and there was a decent breakfast on the top floor with amazing views.
