Istanbul, Turkey

Most prefer to stay in the Old Town area of Istanbul, usually Sultanhamet or Sirkesi areas that are within easy walking distance of most of the famous sights and the ferry terminals at the Golden Horn. It looks from GoogleEarth that you are quite a ways from the Old Town with the spice market, famous mosques, Topkapi Palace, and Grand Bazaar. You can probably take a tram or taxi to the famous sights. Go to tripadvisor.com, Istanbul forum, and local residents in Istanbul can direct you to the best places to stay or how to best travel from Taksim to the old town. We spent 5 nights there last spring and never crossed the Galata bridge to Taksim. We stayed at the Erboy Hotel and there are many fine hotels in that area.

I didn't stay in this particular hotel but I traveled by tram many times to the area from the "Old City". Taksim is close to the Istikal Cd (street) which is a long pedestrian street full of shops and restaurants in the "new City" (also called Pera), so you'll have plenty of nice restaurants in the Beyoglu/Galata neighborhoods. The vibe is a lot more vibrant than the Old City (which shuts down at night) and the architecture is more European. It's not hard to get anywhere from Taksim - there's a funicular called "Tunel" at the end of Istiklal street which connects to the tram (which goes to the Sultanahmet stop, where most of the touristy sites are - Blue Mosque, Haghia Sophia, etc). I didn't take any, but taxis shouldn't be too expensive in case you need one. You should check out the Galata tower in Beyoglu (very hilly there), Istanbul Modern museum along the Bosphorus (Tophane neighborhood), as well as walking along the Galata bridge (and of course all the toursty stuff you probably already know about).

not at this hotel but know the area. taksim is on the hill across a bridge from the old town. it's about maybe 30-45 min walking. the area is very lively esp. in the evenings with so much shopping and good food (old town has touristy food). it's also a short ride from dolmabahce palace. If it's your first visit to IST, i would suggest another place in the old town area, such as old city viva hotel, not taksim area. but, for real good food i still think taksim has some of the best places to eat, and smoke when people watching.

Thank you everyone for your advice and suggestions. I did book my flights on Turkish Airways. I am going on a Rick Steves tour and note that he has changed hotels and not the same hotel they usually stay at in the past. I was curious as how people liked this hotel. I am happy to hear that there is a lot to do in this area and would be most interested in the shops, resturants and the palace nearby. Thank you.
Ann

If you're taking a RS tour, you should be getting a Rick Steves Istanbul book as part of it. This will have plenty of details about what to see and do in the Taksim area. The one book recommendation that was a bust was the restaurant Haci Abdullah (right off Istiklal Caddesi). It was not only overpriced, but the only place in Turkey where we encountered rude and attitudinous service - avoid it. But everywhere else we went, both guidebook recommendations and places we found on our own, were great.