Thursday, October 1, 2015

Where to stay in Uzungol?

Receiving ever increasing Turkish and foreign visitors thanks to its stunning natural beauty, Uzungol is one of the most important tourism centers in Black Sea Region of Turkey and Trabzon. Located in a deep valley and formed by a natural land slide, Uzungol and its surrounding offers lush green forests, great trekking routes and delicious food.

Uzungol is just 99 kilometer away from Trabzon city center and is 1090 meters high from the sea level. It offers a fantastic getaway from the sweating hot weather of summer with its cool (and cold in the night). It is one of the legs of almost all Black Sea Tours and a must see for people visiting Trabzon.

Its oxygen rich and cool weather is a boon for everyone but nature and fresh air is only a few of all the things Uzungol offers to its visitors. The local food is unique and delicious here. Especially the local trout (named kırmızı benekli alabalık) sourced from Haldızen Stream is cooked in many ways and both butter and grill versions are must try.

Let's now answer where to stay in Uzungol question. The signnificant improvements of the roads and resulting easy access created a tourism boom in Uzungol which is translated into a lot of tourism investment. Now you can find many boutique hotels as well as small motels in Uzungol village and in the surrounding hills. Basically you have two alternatives to choose among in terms of a place to stay in Uzungol : you can stay in the village near the lake which offers easy access to the lake and the facilities in the village but is in the middle of everything including the massive crowd pouring into Uzungol during high season, public holidays and weekends. Or you can choose to stay in an Uzungol hotel a little bit up in the hills. Although these hotels are far from the village, they offer fantastic view of Uzungol and are more secluded and relaxed. If you do not have a car though, you will need to walk to the village.

If somehow you cannot find a place to stay in Uzungol, you can also stay in Trabzon and have a day trip to Uzungol but the real deal is staying here.

Where to stay in Uzungol?
Uzungöl is one of the poster childs of Turkish tourism and the most popular tourism center in Black Sea Region.
Below, we have given some Uzungol hotel recommendations. If you want to take a look at a more complete list of hotels in Uzungol with details such as room rates, you can visit Uzungol hotels page.

Zeren Pansiyon
Uzungöl Mah. Cami Sk.Inonu Caddesi no 7, 61960

Zeren Pansiyon offers large, clean and comfortable facilities as well as a stunning view of Uzungol. The hospitality is very good. It is a little bit far away from the village but it is spared from the crowds of high season and holidays and is a good alternative if you want to stay away from the crowds.

Uzungöl Apart
Yeni Mah. Uzungöl İnceli Kume Evleri No:2 Çaykara, 61960 Uzungöl

Uzungöl Apart offers a great view, stunning nature surrounding the property and great hospitality. If you do not have a car, it will take 20 minutes to walk to the lake but the nature surrounding the path is amazing and this long distance becomes an attraction of the hotel rather than a negative.

Göbleç Otel
Uzungöl Yeni Mah Çaykara, 61960 Uzungöl

Göbleç Otel is just 500 meters from the lake and offers a stay near the lake. The property is a traditional wooden structure and the hotel offers a good breakfast, clean and nice rooms and good service. The rooms have balcony which is a bonus. 500 .

İnan Kardeşler Otel
Gölbaşı Mahallesi Fatih Caddesi Uzungöl Çaykara, 61960

İnan Kardeşler Oteli is just 150 meters from the lake and offers a stunning forest view. The accomodation is wooden structures but they offer TV and heating.

Özkan Otel
Yeni Mahalle Uzungöl - Çaykara, 61940

Özkan Otel is right next to the lake and its location and lake view are its positive sides.

Where to stay in New York?

New York is the most populous and developed city in United States of America (USA) and the most important financial, business, culture, culinary, trade and art center in the world. New York houses the most impressive skyline in the world with the infamous skyscrapers on Manhattan Island.

New York is a very popular tourist destination and New York hotels are expensive. Even hostels in New York charges nightly prices starting from 50 USD and a mid-range hotel in New York would charge 250-350 USD per room per night. And luxury New York hotels like Waldorf Astoria and The Plaza would charge thousands of dollars per suite per night.

Although New York hotels are expensive, you will be spoilt for choices. All the chain hotel groups you know (and probably do not know) have a hotel in New York. Manhattan is the most expensive place to stay in New York and any Manhattan hotel below 200 USD per night would be a tiny cell with a bed, TV and a little more. In New York hotel prices range significantly as well as their quality so check the customer reviews of the hotels online before booking one. Some places like the outer regions of West Side High Way and Queens may offer cheap hotels where main customer group are the customers of the sex workers booking “hourly” for the trade.

New York hotel rooms are usually advertised without taxes added. You would need to pay plus 2 USD + 5.8% hotel tax and 1.5 USD extra. So a New York hotel room advertised as 100 USD per night will cost you around 118 USD per night.

Ok, we may have scared you up to this point but do not worry: It is still possible to find relatively cheap hotels in New York if you follow our tips:

  • Use online hotel booking sites for the best and cheapest prices as well as discounts. Online bookings will almost always be cheaper than the reception rack rates and there are also significant price differences for the same type of room in the same hotel among different booking sites. We suggest using a hotel meta-search engine like hotelscombined.com which auto compares almost all online booking site prices and lists them for you.
  • The low seasons for New York hotels are January and February especially the days after the New Year; the last 2 weeks of August; 3 days before Thanks Giving and Sunday’s. If the cold and snow does not scare you, hotels in New York are cheapest in January and February.
  • Sometimes the airline you use to fly to New York or the travel agent offers “flight + hotel” packages which may provide cheap hotel accommodation in New York.
  • Instead of staying in a hotel. you can stay in a B&B or private apartment room advertised on sites like Airbnb starting from 50 USD.
So where to stay in New York? Let’s answer this question with some of the most popular places to stay in New York.

Midtown Manhattan

Housing some of the most iconic places in Manhattan such as Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, United Nations HQ, Sixth Avenue, Madison Square Garden, Rockefeller Center, Broadway, and Times Square, M'dtown Manhattan is also the most popular and the best place to stay in New York. The area contains the largest number of hotels in New York and although it is expensive to stay here, its central location in Manhattan makes it the best place to stay in New York.

For hotels in Midtown Manhattan as well as useful details such as  room rates and price comparisons, you can check New York City Midtown Manhattan hotels page.

Panaromic view of Midtown Manhattan from the Empire State Building
Panaromic view of Midtown Manhattan from the Empire State Building
Central Park and the Upper East Side

Upper East Side is to the north of the Midtown and to the east of the Central Park. It is one of the most affluent neighbourhoods in the city. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Fifth Avenue,  Jewish Museum, Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, Temple Emanu-El of New York are here. The area hosts some of the most famous museums in the world and the strings of museums along the infamous Fifth Avenue fronting the Central Park is called "Museum Mile" (it was once named Millionaire's Row). Madison Avenue and Second Avenue offers some cool bars while Central Park is a must see in every New Yok itinerary. Also do not miss The American Museum of Natural History on the west side.

For thew hotels in this affluent New York neighbourhood as well as a room price comparison list, you can check New York Central Park hotels ve Upper East Side hotels pages.

New York Central Park
New York Central Park

Chelsea and Greenwich Village

With its brown colored stone mansions, green streets and wonderful art galleries, Chelsea is just two blocks to the south of 34th Street. You will love the restaurants, delis and bakeries here. Greenwich Village may be an affluent neighbourhood today but this area below 14th Street has a bohemian past which is still preserved. The Village Vanguard offers fantastic jazz music in the nights while the street musicians on the Washington Square offers a feast of music of its kind. You can find hip clubs and restaurants in Meatpacking District and head to The East Village for a Rock & Roll atmosphere.

For hotels in these central New York Districts, take a look at New York Chelsea hotels and Greenwich Village hotels pages.

SoHo and the Lower East Side

You can find the art and fashion center SoHo just to the south of Greenwich Village. Nice restaurants, boutique fashion shops and shopping experience is waiting for you in Broadway and its side lanes. You will find "Little Italy" in Mulberry and Mott Streets while infamous New York Chinatown is just below these two. Canal Street offers electronics, fresh fruit / vegetable and Chinese craft shopping. The Lower East side is very famous with its boutique New York hotels, trendy restaurants and bars. 

Take a look at New York SoHo hotels and Lower East Side hotels pages for details.