Istanbul Hotel - "Early Check-In Fee"

With a layover in Istanbul more than 24 hrs a complimentary hotel booking was made on the Turkish Airlines stay-over program. Flight arrival at Istanbul was 17h05. The hotel required Euro 50 as an "early check-in fee" for checking in prior to 22h05. How can FIVE hours after the flight landed be considered an early check-in. The fee was exorbitant - I refused to pay it. Response from the Turkish Airways "Help" desk has been woefully inadequate - generic cut & paste ignoring the 2 concerns.