1207 Boutique Hotel, Kaleiçi – We Splashed Out In Antalya

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This is how it came to pass that we ended up staying in the rather elegant 1207 Boutique Hotel in the old town of Kaleiçi.

This year’s trip to Antalya for the Runtalya event was a bit different. You know us; we’re happy in a small pension. ,s long as there’s a clean bed and a shower, we’re good to go.

The less spent on accommodation, the more we have for playing out.

1207 Boutique Hotel, Kaleiçi

I’ve only ever run the 10k race for Runtalya but Barry’s done the half marathon a couple of times, too.

This time, however, Barry had trained for the full marathon!

Surely, we thought, after a 26.2 mile run to Lara Beach and back, a (hopefully) giant comfortable bed and guaranteed hot shower were a tad deserved.

Nay, needed.

So, we looked online at Kaleiçi hotels – our area of choice – and 1207 Boutique Hotel looked like it should fit the bill.

Booked!

We decided to go to Antalya on the Saturday rather than the usual Friday so we could justify the extra lira we were paying.

And, just like when we stayed at the posh Hotel Nena in Istanbul, we booked the cheapest room available.

1207 Boutique Hotel Double Room

After three and a half hours on the bus to Antalya from Fethiye and a couple of hours at Terra City shopping centre to pick up our running packs, we arrived at 1207 Boutique Hotel and were shown to our room.

We’ve got this drill off to a tee, now. No bags allowed to be offloaded and dumped until photographs are taken!

Because what we also have off to a tee is managing to make our temporary accommodation resemble a bomb site once said bags are ‘unpacked.’

Anyway, cheapest room or not, we did indeed have a large – and rather high – double bed.

The bed would also prove to be wonderfully comfortable for each of our three nights.

The cheapest double room isn’t huge – that’s why it’s the cheapest – but a sofa, wardrobe, bedside cabinets, TV, occasional table and fridge gave us everything we needed.

The oil paintings, chandeliers and restored wooden ceiling were our added bonuses.

Bathroom

So, the post-marathon comfortable bed was in place. What about the post-marathon ablutions? Did our bathroom fit the bill?

Ahh, happy days.

When we opened the door we were greeted with a marble-walled spacious room that wasn’t much smaller than our bedroom!

Large walk-in shower and lots of shelf space for unloading all our toiletries. The usual mini hotel shampoo, shower gel etc were provided but we left those untouched – any attempt to reduce our use of plastic – and we used our own.

There were other little luxuries, too, but they’re wasted on us. Travel with what you need and all that…

But a bathroom that looks great isn’t necessarily always great! Late afternoon arrival means early evening shower.

Post-marathon shower would be afternoon, too. On our Runtalya trips, hot water is necessary at various times of day; not just in the morning!

So, big points here for our 1207 Boutique Hotel bathroom.

Whatever time of day we needed that shower, the steaming hot water was gushing out within seconds and the water pressure was great, too!

The type of shower you’re in no rush to exit from.

Lounging Around

A lot of the runners who take part in Runtalya prefer to stay in the city’s larger hotels – there’s a lot of them in Antalya.

The summer season is yet to begin so there are lots of bargains to be had – and there just happen to be two huge hotels very close to the start/finish line.

But we’re just not ‘big hotel’ people and we love to be in the heart of the old city.

Whether you stay in a boutique hotel or a cheaper pension in the old city, lots of these places were past Ottoman konak dwellings that have been restored and converted, using the layout available to them. 1207 Boutique Hotel is three separate, adjoining konaks in an L-shape.

Right outside our room was this lounge area which overlooks the breakfast terrace below.

Over the four days, three nights we were there, it was a lovely bright place to sit and read or catch up with online news.

One occasion, when we were whiling away some time before we headed out to meet a friend, the chef brought some homemade lokma up to us.

It was the hotel’s third birthday and also an anniversary for the city of Antalya.

Don’t mind us if we get a bit carried away, enjoying our antique lounge whilst nibbling on super sweet lokma.

Breakfast Time

The L-shape of the three separate buildings has created a natural, central courtyard at 1207 Boutique Hotel and this is where we enjoyed breakfast each morning.

Outside, there are numerous tables, a breakfast bar and display cabinets around the walls.

The weather wasn’t great on the weekend we were there, hence no cushions on the chairs.

But we did manage to sit outside on one of the days (cushions provided, of course) while breakfast was brought to our table.

And our çay glass and coffee cup constantly replenished.

Indoor Breakfast

On one day when it was just too wet to sit outside, we went to the indoor dining area.

This is where, at busier times, the 1207 Boutique Hotel breakfast buffet is laid out, all along a cabinet running one side of the room.

This was empty when we were there. Well, we were the only guests on one of the mornings and on another morning there was one other family.

That didn’t mean we didn’t have to have another table brought to adjoin ours just so our breakfast offerings could fit before us.

Breakfast was a Turkish breakfast with a couple of additions each day. Two fried eggs each on one day (to Barry’s delight), two large cheese börek, the following day.

They were to my delight because, if you remember our Eskişehir börek stories, Barry gets a good dose of heartburn from a deep fried pastry.

Double helpings for me!

Friendly Staff

We’ve seen comments in reviews about the fantastic Turkish breakfast at 1207 Boutique Hotel.

Our breakfast was perfect for us – various cheeses, jams, honey, apricot compote, cucumber, tomatoes, eggs, dried fruits and nuts etc – with plentiful top ups of çay and coffee.

But we can’t comment on the abundant display that adorns the serving area at busier periods – the photos we’ve seen look good, though.

We will say, however, the staff were very attentive and naturally friendly. Nothing overly formal; nothing overly familiar.

Around The Corner

When you arrive at 1207 Boutique Hotel, you might be greeted with the view in the photo above rather than the top photo.

As we said, the hotel was once three separate dwellings set in an L-shape. This is the rest of the hotel, stretching around the corner.

Although all the buildings are similar in Kaleiçi, each has its own character and variation on layout.

That’s what we love about staying in Kaleiçi. Nothing is uniform and even within the same pension or hotel, the size and shape of your room could be completely different to others in the building.

Of course, we also love to stay in this part of the city because this is where most of our favourite Antalya bars and eateries are situated, too.

Disclosure: If you book the 1207 Boutique Hotel, or any other hotel, via the Booking.com links in this article, we will receive a small commission.

This is at no extra cost to you and it helps us to keep the blog online. Thanks!

1207 Boutique Hotel, Kaleiçi – Useful Information

• Kaleiçi is famous for being a bit of a maze. 1207 Boutique Hotel is very forgiving as it is close to the next gated entrance after the ancient Hadrian’s Gate.
• 1207 Boutique Hotel is on Kocatepe Sokak (see map below).
• Rooms are various layouts and sizes. Single, double, junior suites and suites are available.
• All rooms and communal areas are decorated traditionally with an Ottoman theme.
• 1207 Boutique Hotel is open all year.

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