The best thing about Luce di Pera is by far the photos on the website, which unfortunately do not match reality. As visitors we encountered a dirty room with candy wrapping on the floor and blood stains on the bathroom door. The balcony faced an unpleasant yard and a large parking lot, and besides a filled ashtray there was no furniture on the balcony, which made it more or less useless. The breakfast did by no means match the buffet on the photos, but consisted of a few slices of vegetables, dry bread and eggs. Furthermore, it was served in the reception, which was tiny and often packed with what seemed to be friends of staff, who were either smoking or eating fastfood. When you left your keys in the reception, they were generally left unattended on the desk a few steps away from the street, which did not seem safe in a crowded neighbourhood in the middle of Istanbul. The staircase was packed with spare beds, cardboard boxes and supplies, which made walking hazardous and would have made escape in case of fire difficult. The most positive thing about our stay was the staff, who were generally helpful and friendly. Although, their lack of English skills made communication difficult at times, and they definitely had a lot to learn in terms of how to manage and run a hotel on an everyday basis.