Trail Travel

It is a lovely cave hotel at the topmost part of Cappodacia. Our room was beautifully appointed and surprisingly very comfortable. Cool in the heat and warm at night. Plenty of lights as there are no windows. The only negative was the deep steps, as its an ancient site, the steps were difficult for us as older people to handle going up and down to get to our room.

Wonderful location, ease of access via walking to the historical areas of Istanbul. Breakfast spread so much variety and delicious

It was a very hot day, we asked if we can forego this activity instead our guide took us to the village of Ayvali and Mustafapha which are very, very special and well worth our time. We visited a traditional Turkish restaurant, had a lovely lunch and met the owner who knew sign language. It was fun to converse with him and with his Deaf aunt via videophone. We also got to watch a small village election for a mayor. The changing of the flags for each party, etc It was fascinating to watch for a while. We also asked for a few hours on our own. We went browsing among the shops near our hotel. We got to watch a master Tuff carver create beautiful formations like we see in the landscape. We enjoyed chatting with some shop owners, learned about Zultanite stones, wow. And just sit in a cafe, and enjoy the views.

Wow, just wow! Imagine people having to live underground for days!! I do have a phobia of small spaces so I am proud of myself for forging ahead and visit. It was worth it! Learned so much and how ingenious people back then were in creating a living space for their animals, themselves, making wine, kitchen and even a church. How they close those spaces with those heavy circular rocks!! I am very impressed. I am also impressed with myself for being able to navigate through those narrow tunnels!!

The set up is so romantic. Enjoyed the red Turkish wine, so smooth and delicious and the snacks really complements it. This trip was for our 45th wedding anniversary so it made it all the more special. Love the views too. Then we noticed the sky darken, true enough it started to rain suddenly, we all ran into our van. It was so funny. We never got to see the sun set but it emulates our wedding. it rained heavily the morning of our outdoor wedding. We went ahead and then it stopped raining and the sun came out when it was time for our wedding. Wow, we see it as a sign of good luck. So, when it rained on our wedding anniversary romantic sunset event, we see it as a good omen that good days are ahead. Smile.

Love visiting and seeing the landscape and the formations for the first time- I was in awe!! I could not believe my eyes and had to keep looking to see new formations, shapes, and the impossible concept of a heavy rock balanced on a precarious top. It is otherworldly! I was also fascinated to see a police station inside one of the formations! So cool!!

Love everything about this wonderful magical experience! Nothing can compare to this. Seeing how its done to being inside the hot air balloon to seeing the wondrous sights of the landscape and all the other balloons! So very special. Our pilot likes to navigate among the pillars, that was a bit scary but fun too.

We have never seen anything like this so it was so fascinating to watch the dancing. I am truly impressed that they were able to twirl continuously and in sync with each other with closed eyes!! I did try and oh boy, was I dizzy and off balance, especially when trying to close my eyes too. It takes years of training and skill!! We enjoy learning about different traditions, culture, clothing, food and customs etc. this one fits the bill. We enjoyed learning about the history of this place too and visiting the room with the beautiful lamps, so magical.

We loved trying our hand at creating pottery at the wheel. The guide at the pottery shop explained the process and also the famous ring wine of the Hittites. We loved learning about the history of this art and seeing all the beautiful ceramics. We immensely enjoyed the time spent there. We visited Love Valley and walked a bit, took some pictures then had delicious pistachio coffee for the first time. We sat and enjoyed the view from the cafe. I enjoy seeing the colored ceramic jars decorating the trees instead of "love locks" these are "jars of love and wishes" makes great and fascinating travel pictures.

It was interesting at first but then seeing more sacred art in different caves became a bit tiring also, it's all uphill on a very hot day. We opted to stop sooner and did not see the rest. I realize we are not Christians and do not feel much affinity toward the paintings. But for Christians and those who love sacred art, seeing these in unusual places, the caves and the fact that these exist for your viewing is spectacular.

Loved visiting the spice and the Grand Bazaar. I liked that our guide took us to the spice market the first day as its smaller and to acquaint us to “bazaars” then the Grand Bazaar which can be a bit overwhelming with its size but we only chose a few “streets” as we had specific things we wanted to buy. We also visited the oldest Turkish delight candy store, visited Rustum mosque with its beautiful blue tiles, and went on a boat tour on the Bosphorus to see both the European and Asian sides of Istanbul which fascinated us. It was a wonderful ending to a lovely tour to just sit on the boat, relax and drink tea seeing the sights. Highly recommend to end with that as we were a bit foot weary by then.

It was an interesting and beautiful palace. We learned so much about palace and harem living and dispelled some myths originally thought. We did not visit all the museums but saw most of it as we were tired and a bit hungry by then. We appreciated our guide being flexible. We did watch the palace guards band which was a nice way to see a sort of reenactment as it was in the olden days.

The Blue Mosque is a beautiful building. I kept staring at it. I have so many pictures of this mosque during the daytime and nighttime. Hagia Sophia has an interesting history we learned from our guide, Zekiye, also the Hippodrome, the scupltures in the area and some buildings have an interesting history. We also visited a carpet store and learned how they made rugs. Fascinating too.

I only gave this 4 stars, because it lacked the authenticity and charm of the previous two hotels. Its a nice hotel for modern standards.

Met the owned and had a great conversation. It was like staying at an old friends home. The hotel had a historic feel yet clean and comfortable. Location was the best for the area, set next a iconic tourist attraction famous in the region.

Was a great location. Every day we would walk to our tours. The hotel was very responsive of our needs. Rooms were spacious and bright. Close to small stores for obtaining needed supplies, mostly water.

Ive only seen the prep and presentation like this in the movies, 5 stars. It was the perfect setting and experience to the end of our trip.

Loved the history of the potters family. I enjoyed again the interaction the people.

So much ancient history in this region. Wonderful learning experience.

Ever enjoyable.

I loved it. The chef hosted this in her home and she allowed me in the kitchen I tell you this because my wife won't. Again eat way to much. We really appreciated Schbnem he guide and Mustuf getting enjoy this a well. It felt like family having a Sunday dinner where everyone is involved.

I learned that what i knew about this was completly wrong. Thank God for Schbnem and her knowledge. I feel more informed with a better understanding.

I've been in a hot air balloon before, but what made it great was how they dipped into the valley at tree top level. As I was video taping it reminded me of drone footage, but personal. The ballon operator was great.

I bought a picture over 20 years previous to this trip. Spent 3 hours in this little shop talking with the owner and he explained the whirling Dirvish to me and getting to experience live brought that time speaking with the shopkeeper back to life. Truly enjoyed the experience.

I kept finding the history every unique and flashing to the American southwest Indian trips and how they used the valleys for protection and building their communities. Same security concept, but different way to leverage the land and building materials.

It was amazing that you you could see the continents of Asia and Europe in the straight. The appreciation of the boat trip was delightfull.

Was kind of disappointed in the grand blizzar, felt more like a shopping mall. However; once in a shop, the people made the experience enjoyable and authentic.

The food was everything I remember from my previous trips to other parts of Turky. I love the food!!

Very enlightening. I found the guides information very helpful. It helped me gather details that were lacking from my own research. It also provided ensight to the important this region played in world history.

The stay at Armada Hotel in Istanbul was fantastic. The location was ideal, placing us right in the heart of the activities, and it felt very comfortable and safe. Everything was well-established, making it easy for us to get around without any issues.

The ceramic tradition experience in Avanos was delightful. The opportunity to sit at the pottery wheel and try it ourselves made the experience personal and engaging. Watching the artisans at work was a pleasure, and being involved added a unique touch.

The hot air balloon ride was undoubtedly the highlight of our trip, attracting people globally. It was something Brenda always wanted to try, and it did not disappoint. The experience was unique and thrilling, offering stunning views that we'll cherish forever.

Fun and unique hotel with a variety of different rooms. Ours was definitely not IN a cave as the photo suggests, but maybe others are. Regardless, it was fun and had amazing views and the staff were very attentive.

Definitely the most luxurious hotel on our trip. New, clean modern, nice. I should probably take away one star because I don't think you should wake up in the middle of the night in a 5 star hotel with your room full of cigarette smoke, but hey - it's Turkey!

This is a spa hotel with a giant indoor swimming pool as well as indoor and outdoor thermal baths, which were fun. The only hotel on our trip at which dinner was included (we'd somehow missed this information in our reservation but luckily found out in time). Not as luxurious as some, but nice.

ok - this place is unique. If you really love high end modern luxury hotels this isn't for you, but if you're up for a (fairly comfortable) adventure ... you will enjoy this.

Very nice hotel in a good location. AMAZING breakfast. Very comfortable rooms. Staff were helpful and moved us without complaint away from smoking.

The cave hotels of Cappadocia are a pretty magical experience, as long as you're okay with they're being little to no daylight in your room. The charm and design of Kale Konak is very special. Breakfast was very nice, and the staff is very kind and helpful.

We were here in the off-season, and it seemed to us that the hotel was completing some renovations and/or was not quite ready for the busy season. Little things were off: the pool wasn't ready, the wifi didn't work, our room's safe didn't work, the balcony door had no lock on it. These small items did not ruin our stay, however. Because the hotel was far from at-capacity, they graciously upgraded our room to a larger one with an extraordinary view, and provided rollaway beds for our kids.

Truly a magical mountain hideaway. Rustic design and charm from another era, but with hidden, modern updates to make the stay comfortable. One of the best morning views we've ever had. Very friendly staff and good food.