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Arena in Press

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Hotel Magazine 2004

The idea to enter to the tourism sector becomes clear in Ms. Gul's mind now. She decides to let his grandfather's house live again although the strong oppositions of the rest of the family and she starts to work on it. First she has competent people to make a plan for the house inherited from her grandfather. As soon as the plan gets the approval, she makes the house inherited from grandfather Ahmet, a place which is furnished as comfortable as luxury hotels by spending too much money. Since one face of the hotel looks at the ancient hippodrome, she names this hotel 'Arena', a name that identifies the hippodrome. She considers that her grandfather would be proud of her if he lived. She enlarges a handsome photograph of her grandfather and hangs on entrance and to the opposite side she hangs the prayer rug which has knitted by her grandmother as the curtains which adorn the windows of the hotel now.

Turizm Dosyasi November 99

Life Magazine March 99

City plus magazine

MEETING ARENA
The two-storied wooden house was reconstructed as three-storied by abiding the classis style. The Arena Hotel has 31 rooms including four suits and has a capacity of 57 beds. Every detail were thought and designed very carefully. It also has a customer elevator which seems to be too luxury for a three-storied hotel. When we asked the reason why, Adnan Erdemir, the civil engineer who planned the project of the building and seemed to be competent in tourism sector, said, "Everybody is not young. When you became older and the stairs became difficult to climb then you'll find the answer easily". By the way, there are two other elevators in the hotel for service. Every detail of the rooms were thought in all directions by Ms. Gul. The best materials were used for the hotel. The harmony of the belongings with each other and with the historical atmosphere of the building is very impressive. When you walk around the rooms you feel the impression that Gul Kucukerman has wide knowledge about interior architecture as an insurer. Since all rooms have air-condition, it is impossible to meet any bad surprises related to the temperature both in the summer and the winter. Warm water is always available. A very big generator prevents the electricity interruptions.

We looked at the most impressive place of the Arena. Although each room includes a gleaming bathroom, there also exists a Turkish Bath at the ground floor. Well, isn't it a great chance to sweat and rubbed with a coarse glove in a Turkish Bath? Every detail of the Turkish bath seemed to be properly arranged. Floor heating, sink, clogs, apron. Even, there is a "hydraulic" system that was constructed with a tackle system as in the ancient times which substitutes for today's automatically closed doors. You will see another surprise when you leave the Turkish Bath. The two steps ahead "vitamin bar" offers good opportunities for both to get cool and rest.

BON APPETITE
You may think that the above do not concern you Ms. Gul told us that people from the far parts of Istanbul came and stayed in the hotel and spent their weekends in Sultanahmet during Ramadan but we thought that this is a little bit luxury. However, in fact, you have a real reason to come to the Arena Hotel. That's the restaurant. We especially recommend you to eat fish at the restaurant that is located in the base floor and organized with care. All of the appetizers are prepared with care. They consider taste as well as visual pleasure. The skillful hands show perfect examples of embellishment. We recommend you to order a fish soup immediately. You'll thank us. The freshest fishes of Kumkapi and of course, a perfect salad, will follow it. You may order any kind of wines and raki or anything as you desire. You also have a barbecue chance in the beautiful garden for summer. They also have the best examples of the Turkish Cuisine for people who don't eat fish. We especially recommend you the meals prepared with olive oil. Of course, finally the sweets and coffee. Everything is fine up to here but there is still more to come. The average payment for this delicious meal is about only USD 15. That means a perfect night is waiting for you just for TL 7-7.5 millions.
Let us inform you with the room charges. Singles are USD 120, couples are USD 150 and triples are USD 180. You may welcome a friend, somebody for meeting or yourself to rediscover Istanbul in a comfortable, clean and elaborate hotel at the most attractive part of the historical peninsula, standing with the residue wall of the hippodrome one side and Mehmet Pasa Mosque on the other, from which you may embrace the magnificent Marmara Sea and the islands when you lie down the windows.We invite you.

Grande Magazine

A Fabulous Hotel with a Woman's Touch

ARENA HOTEL
Nestled in the heart of sultanahmet ,the Arena Hotel is one of several quaint hotels that have acquired a special status.The Hotel was originally the residence of the Küçükserim family an was the place.where Gül Küçükserim was born and raised.After undergoing extensive renovation,the residence became converted into its present status.it is the fruition of a dream that Küçükserim had nearly 20 years ago.She took her first step towards this cision in 1994 realizing in 1998,when the Area Hotel first opened for business.Today,the Area Hotel is one of the most exquisite hotels in Istanbul.

As soon as one enters the Hotel,it can be said that it has received a woman's touch.Everu single detail of the decor has been chose with the finest taste.One gets the feeling that he /she is in his own home:From the welcoming rooms,the convivial personnel,the sumptuous meals - each one even more delicious than the other...From a visit to the flower bedecked garden for 5 o'clock tea or a trip to to the Turkish Bath to unwind after a hard day...

Küçükserim gives us an account of how she was able to transform the residence of her birth an childhood into one of the many hotels opened in Sultanahmet - a district that was to assume the distinction of being a major center of tourism:

Once I got the idea for the project,I began inverstigoting how I could bring it to fruition.It look me a long time before I was able to get it off the ground.We strunggled for two years on the Committe for the Persevation of Monuments to be able to do so.W e had to really work hard since the building goes way back to the 1800s,which means that it has been assigned the status of a second class historical "work of art."After getting the approval,we worked for another two uears on the construction of the Hotel and then another two years to decorate it.Finally,we were able to open it for business on April 1 ,1998

Gül Küçükserim got involved in all stages of the project,ranging from it's excavation to the desing the project ,from the minute deails of it's preliminary foundations,it's full-swing contruction,from it's decor to it's manegement operations,In doing so,she was seccessfull in creating an extraordinary hotel.Küçükserim admits that because she was an outsider to the tourism sector,she was a bit apprehensive about whether or not the Arena Hotel would receive a positive response from those already working there.

I did everything according to my own sense of culture,my personal taste -and with an enihusiasm reflecting my amateur spirit.At the beginnig, I used to get heart palpitations each time I showed a travel agent around the Hotel.Later,after having gotten positive comments,I realized that I had done the right thing and began to enjoy showing them around.

Gül Haným describes below some of the facts that went into the construction and decoration phases of the Hotel:

During the construction phase, the outer wall of the old building had been retained.Then we got a bulding permit from the Eminönü Municipality for the garden. But the coomitte for the perservation of Monuments said thad because the façades of the building were beautiful,the needed to be preserved,too.Sufficing with a garden of 50 square-meters,we succeeded in preserving the façades as well.The originalfor the Preservation of Monuments to build another floor.The stairwells that faced the outer façade of the building were constructed using a curtain wall system.This was representative of 20th century architectural desing.Even the thickness of the outer wall was retained as as the interior décor of the Hotel is concerned , I made use of everal objects that have been in the family for generations.I tried not only to remain faithfull to the original desing of the building but also wanted to reflect it in the objects used to adorn its interior.

Take , for example,the curtains used in the Hotel.They were hand made bye Gül Haným's grandmother and were used when the place was a private residence.The lace used is also the lace crocheted bye her grandmother.The tableaux hung in the Hotel are of old Sultanahmet and were painted by Necdet Çatak over two years period.Every corner of this former residence in Sultanahmet exudes a unique and delightful feeling of times gone by.We highly recommend that you take the first opportunity to visit this exquisite hotel.You'll never regret the experience....

Hotel June 2002

Hotel Magazine
June 2002

Hotel Magazine
December 2000

SAN FRANCISCO CRHONICLE
February 2002

Hotel Magazine
2003

Arena Hotel, which hosts its guests at the Küçükayasofya Parish of Sultanahmet, is a typical specimen of 19. century Ottoman stone houses. Gül Küçükserim, who was born there, would never again break away from this family relic.

Hotel Magazine
2003

Gül Küçükserim has restored this family mansion with the purpose of offering tastes of the past to both native and foreign guests, with the Turkish hospitality in the comfort of a home. Küçükserim, who has been personally involved at each stage of the restoration and construction process where the original facade was preserved; and at each stage of the decoration work, was born in this ancient mansion. "I used to live here in my early childhood. I attended the Sultanahmet primary school. In those days, we used to live in this house with the elders of the family. My grandmother and grandfather, my mother and father, and my sisters and brothers all together. Later, the family moved to Teþvikiye. The mansion has remained in the hands of tenants for long years, and was ruined." Küçükserim, who would never be content if the mansion perished, has taken the initiative at the time when the first hotels like the Green House were opened in the district. "It was not possible for our family to start living here again. The only way for us was to set up some sort of facilities like this. I was fancying the possibilities of building a hotel, and in the end I took the initiative. It took two years to get the required permits from the Memorials Supreme Board. The building was built of piled stones. The original facade was preserved. The committee from the Yýldýz University who examined the building however decided, due to the ruined cross beams, for the pulling down of the building; and reconstruction by preserving the original facade. The construction work based on the project issued by the Memorials Supreme Board, was completed in about two years. It is not an easy task to carry out construction works in this district which is under preservation order. Construction works can only be carried out under the superintendence of the Archaeology Museum. You are not allowed to bring in work machines. Excavations are made manually. Thank God, we encountered no problems in that process. And throughout those two years, I wore nothing else but construction workers boots."

Interior decoration was also completed in a period of two years. Furniture remaining from the past was also used in the interior decoration of the hotel which has given service as a boutique hotel since 1998, the year of its inauguration. Ms Gül tells us that she used to jump on the armchairs we are just sitting on. The prayer rug just next to her, embroidered by Chinese stitch on silk satin, was made in the hands of her grandmother in about three years time, under the dusky light of a gas lamp. On the wall opposite the resting corner, one can see the photograph of her grandfather who has been the first owner of the house. Ms Gül remembers her grandfather before he passed away, pointing out to the photograph and saying, "I would give away all my wealth for any magic which would transfer me into that state". In another frame at the resting niche, one can see the embroidered caftan which her grand grandmother had worn over her silk baggy trousers at her wedding. "Just over here, we have an ancient chest of drawers. You will see inside the drawer, a stamp written in Ottoman Turkish and Greek. This is a chest of drawers made by a Greek craftsman in the era of the Ottoman Empire. We also made use of the net curtains made by my grandmother long years ago. The curtains in the living room are also hand made fine works. My grandmother has even embroidered the strawberries on the lace with her own hands." One can see the original paintings of Necdet Çatak in all rooms and halls of the mansion which was restored to a hotel. Küçükserim has requested special works from the painter, which are characteristic of this district. The paintings were completed in about two years time. Paintings of the European side of Ýstanbul catch particular attention. The floors of all rooms with the modern accommodations of a four star hotel are covered with hand made carpets. Gül Küçükserim meticulously works for the service quality which is continuously increasing; and attends every detail. Although she is not a member of the tourism sector, she lets the guests experience the atmosphere of a Turkish home, while being a success in ensuring maximum modern accommodation.

" After taking great pains in the construction process, I could not leave this place afterwards. And every person I know of encouraged me not to leave. So, I started to operate the hotel personally. This of course, has been a great pleasure for me."

Hotel Magazine
2003

The Hotel has even a Turkish bath which can be heated upon request and offered to the service of the guests! Tiles above the marble basins are from a special collection of Gorbon Iþýl production. You are served fresh fruit juice at the cooling room, before entering the bath. And it is up to you to experience the pleasure of such an atmosphere.

Bedrooms are decorated in semi-classical style. Bed and couch functions in suites have been designed as one unit, one inside the other.

One can see the original paintings of Necdet Çatak in all the rooms and halls of the mansion. Paintings of the European side of Ýstanbul catch particular attention.


Hotel Magazine 2003

Bridge extending from past to the future
Arena Hotel

Shall we pay a visit to the home of Lady Gül? Arena Hotel which has the most privileged location among the butique hotels of Sultanahmet is actually the house of Landlord Gül Küçükserim who spent her childhood in it. We cannot help but think how fortunate one can be. The mansion in which she was born, spent the first years of her childhood, run and played in its halls, Listened to the lullabies her mother sang, stories her grandmother told is her business place now. Gül Küçükserim is now entertaining her guests in the mansion which she shared with her parents before. Built in 1870 in block stone and started its adventure as a house, this mansion is on its way as a boutique hotel now with a completely new face. One facade facing the antique hippodrome, and therefore called "Arena" because it complemented hippodrome came into service in 1998. Lets hear the story of transformation of the family heritage mansion into a hotel from Lady Gül herself: "We have moved to Teþvikiye from the mansion we lived in as a whole family. The Mansion was used by tenants for long years and became ruined. I could not bear to let the mansion turn into dust. The only way to maintain it was to set up a facility as such. I considered whether I could turn it into Hotel. When hotels such as "Greenhouse" have opened in the district, I decided to act. I started with spirit and the result is there for all to see". It had taken two years to obtain the necessary permits from Board of Manuments to convert the mansion into a hotel and start renovation works. Whereas the external facade of the block stone building was maintained as it is, extremely worn out walls and arches were rebuilt.

The building which originally was two storied and completed in two years in line with the project approved by the Board of Manuments have been built on three storeys. Interior design works also has taken two years. In Arena Hotel which has a total capacity of 54 beds with 4 Suites and 27 rooms, everything has been designed by taking every fine detail into consideration. Best of every material has been paid for harmony of every article with each other and the historical texture of the building. For decoration the articles belonging to the family of Gül Küçükserim also have been used. Family heritage Brazier is one of the most precious pieces of the Hotel. The Windows are adorned with needlework net curtains once embroidered by Grand mother of Lady Gül. The armchairs are the ones Küçükserim played on when she was a child. On the wall hangs a prayer rug her grandmother had embroidered in three years with chinese needle on silk satin under the dim light of a kerosene lamp.

The leaf mirror in the hall has been produced with knife edge wash over technique in 16th century. On the wall across the sitting corner hangs the picture of Ahmet Ermantaþ who the first owner of the was mansion and grandfather of Lady Gül. The other frame in the sitting recess holds the embroidered caftan the grand grandmother has worn over the silk trousers when she god married.

Presenting its guests with the comfort and privilege of accommodation in Turkish House, Arena Hotel have the original paintings of Necdet Çatak in all rooms and corridors. The floors of all the rooms of the hotel which provides all the creature comforts of a four star hotel are all covered with hand made carpets. All rooms with air conditioning are furnished in a semi-classic style. There is also a Turkish Bath provided for the service of the guests by heating when requested. Not a single detail of the Turkish Bath is skipped. Floor heating, Marble Basin, wooden sandals, Waist Cloth... In the cooling section, fresh fruit juices are offered before entering the bath.

Presenting to its local and foreign guests the tastes of the past by blending it with home comfort and Turkish hospitality. Gül Küçükserim has achieved to provide the contemporary comfort at the highest level. There is one guest elevator and two service elevators in the building one guest elevator and two service elevators in the building. And the restaurant is as famous as the Arena Hotel itself. Located at the ground floor and furnished with great care, the restaurant entertains its guests with the rich flavours from Turkish Cousine. We heard the Fish Menu was very good, We were not surprised for the fish comes from Kumkapý fishmonger stands where the freshest fish are sold. You know, radiating the warmth of home is the characteristics of a Butique Hotel. Perhaps there are very few which can accomplish this as well as Arena Hotel. Because the originally the hotel is a mansion. In fact an old Turkish Mansion. A mansion full of memories, experience. Like a trip in time. Is it possible not to be influenced? Everyone and every place has a story of its own. But, which can be as striking as the story of GÜL Küçükserim and Arena Hotel?


Hotel Magazine 2003