For anyone travelling by car, one line decides the hotel: "we have parking." Unfortunately that sentence can describe five quite different realities at once — and the difference between them is felt keenly at the end of a long drive. Below is what the phrase conceals, and what to settle before you book.
Five different things "we have parking" can mean
It may mean any of these: an enclosed garage in the hotel's own building; an open lot belonging to the hotel next door to it; a valet service where staff park the car for you; an arrangement with a car park somewhere nearby; or, at its weakest, an optimism that amounts to "you can usually find a space on the street".
The differences are not small. An arrangement with a nearby car park usually means a walk — and that walk with luggage at midnight is precisely what nobody factors in when booking. Nor does "arranged" mean free. So the first question is not "is there parking?" but "is the car park the hotel's own, and is it at the building?" That single question narrows five possibilities down to two.
Capacity: "there is parking" is not "there is a space for me"
This is the second point and the most frequently missed. Hotels rarely have as many spaces as they have rooms; in most cases the parking area is noticeably smaller than the room count. Which means the car park fills in order of arrival.
So "we have parking" does not guarantee a space will be left when you arrive at midnight. The sentence that settles it is simple: "Is a space included with the booking, or is it first come, first served?" If you are arriving late, knowing the answer in advance saves you circling the neighbourhood at night. Giving your arrival time when you book does the same job — a hotel that knows will usually plan around it.
How the charge works: per night, or per entry?
If parking is paid, ask how it works before you ask what it costs. In some places the charge is nightly and you can come and go as often as you like; in others every entry is charged separately. For someone spending the day out and returning two or three times, that distinction changes the picture entirely.
Even where parking is free, the same question applies: can you leave and return? Under some arrangements, once your car leaves your space goes to someone else — free does not necessarily mean the space stays yours. We covered how to total up the items beyond the room rate in our guide to affordable hotels.
The size of your vehicle can be a constraint
Enclosed car parks have a height limit at the entrance, and while that is no obstacle for a standard car, it becomes one if you have a roof rack or roof box fitted, if you are arriving in a van or a pickup, or if you set off with a bike carrier on the back. Ramp gradients are a separate issue for low-slung cars.
So if you are arriving in anything non-standard, one question covers it: "what is the height limit at the garage entrance?" If the answer does not work, the hotel can usually offer an alternative — but that needs discussing beforehand rather than at the door.
The real gain on a city trip: parking once and leaving it
Most people driving in do not register this: on a city stay the car spends the overwhelming majority of the time parked. Its usefulness shows up on the way into and out of the city; within the city it usually becomes a burden — hunting for a space at every stop, paying for it, sitting in traffic.
The ideal arrangement for a driver is therefore this: leave the car at the hotel and use rail within the city. A hotel with parking that also sits near a rail connection lets you park once and not move the car again for the rest of your stay. Bornova strikes that balance: the city centre is 6 km away, the intercity bus terminal 4 km, and the airport 25–35 minutes by car — easy to get in and out of the city, without needing the car to reach the centre. If you are picking up a hire car at the airport, we set out the options in our airport transport guide.
A car on a long stay is a separate question
Leaving a car for one night and leaving it for several weeks are not the same thing. On a long stay, establish up front whether the space is reserved for you throughout, and whether there is any issue with the car sitting unmoved for a long period. We gathered the other details of weekly and monthly stays in our guide to long stays.
Parking at MyMahall
At MyMahall Hotel the car park belongs to the hotel and is free — that is, the best of the five possibilities above applies: no walking to an arranged car park elsewhere, you leave the car at the hotel. The hotel is in central Bornova, so leaving the car and seeing the city by rail is entirely practical.
Capacity and vehicle size depend on the dates and the situation on the day, so those are best settled in advance: tell us your arrival time and what you are driving, and we will tell you exactly how those dates look. Take a look at our rooms, find us on the contact page, and if you are arriving by car the quickest route is the telephone: (0232) 461 95 95.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does "we have parking" actually mean?
It can mean five different things: an enclosed garage in the building, an open lot belonging to the hotel, a valet service, an arrangement with a car park nearby, or simply an optimism that street parking is usually available. The right question is not 'is there parking?' but 'is it the hotel's own, and at the building?'
Is a space guaranteed at a hotel with parking?
Usually not. Hotels rarely have as many spaces as rooms, so the car park fills in order of arrival. Ask whether a space is included with the booking or whether it is first come, first served — and if you are arriving late, give your arrival time when you book.
If parking is free, is there anything else to ask?
Yes. Even when it is free, ask whether you can leave and return: under some arrangements your space goes to someone else once the car leaves. And if it is paid, ask how the charge works before asking the amount — nightly, or charged on every entry?
What is parking like at MyMahall Hotel?
The car park belongs to the hotel and is free, so there is no walk to an arranged car park elsewhere. The hotel is in central Bornova, so you can leave the car and see the city by rail. For capacity and vehicle size, tell us your arrival time and what you are driving: (0232) 461 95 95.