Your Favorite Hotel in ISTANBUL????

[bogie113]

We are on the Aug. 6th Barcelona to Istanbul and are staying an extra night in Istanbul.

 

Does anyone have any wonderful hotel experiences there or recommendations you would care to pass along.

 

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks

Marsha

[phlewt]

We stayed at a nice botique hotel in the old city. The name is the Armada Hotel. From the terrace you can see the Marmara Sea and in the other direction the Blue Mosque. In fact it is within reasonable walking distance of many of the wonderful attractions.

[lovecruisingtoo]

Four Seasons is fantastic. Expensive but worth it. Right near the mosque etc. How many people can say they stayed in a hotel that was once a prison?

[JimandStan]

Does anyone have any wonderful hotel experiences there or recommendations you would care to pass along.

 

Bogie,

Yes, the Four Seasons is fantastic in Istanbul, but for a once in a lifetime Istanbul experience, our vote goes to

the Cirigan Palace, the hotel rooms are modern and state of the art with all the bells and whistles you could ask for (including a huge pool and a Bosphorus view to die for), while the reception rooms, ballroom and restaurant are actually in the old Ottoman Kempinski Palace (the very last one that the Sultans lived in!).

It is expensive, but posh beyond belief.......

<-- And being able to say that you stayed in the Sultans Palace beats an ex jail in our book!

Istanbul hint: We resisted going to the cisterns, thinking that a sewer is a sewer, but they were AMAZING!.....don't miss them (especially if you are a James Bond Fan). They're within walking distance of the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia.

[hrprof]

Ciragan Palace is not to be missed.

[caribbeansun]

If you want something more moderately priced you can try the Hotel Sari Konak which is in Sultanahmet - it's nothing fancy but is in a great location.

[Nana4x]

The Sari Kanock is a good bargain.

 

We found the Hotel Nena to be just as good in price. They will pick you up at the airport for FREE.

 

The breakfast at their rooftop restaurant was much more then we expected. When we were there in May of 2007 they gave us a sizable discount on dinner one night. The food was good at dinner and the price for weary jet lagged travelers was just right. Check out their reviews at Trip Advisor.

 

Hotel Nena is an easy walk to the Blue Mosque - near the trolley line - an ATM is on the corner - and I found a small grocery store a few blocks away where I bought local wine and bottled water (on my credit card) for our room.

 

We had one of the two balcony rooms and the Blue Mosque was incredible esp. at night with the lights on.

 

This is a small hotel so write them asap as they are pretty heavily booked.

[Bruin Steve]

You know, unless any of us have been there multiple times and have stayed in different hotels, it really is hard to give advice...except to say a word about wherever it is WE stayed...

 

As for us, we stayed at the Conrad and loved it...

 

It really came down to whether we wanted to stay in a "local" Turkish place...or in a big American hotel...

 

The local places would have had more local flavor...and it likely might have meant staying close to the center of things near all the local sites...But, my wife liked the security and familiarity of that big American chain (for those who don't know, the Conrad is a Hilton)...Besides, we had tours arranged every day with Ekol and they would pick us up and drop us off at the Conrad...

 

In any event, the Conrad is up on a hill, sort of dominating the skyline of that part of Istanbul and the views were simply incredible. The hotel was five-star all the way, the beds among the most comfortable we've ever slept in...and the security was unreal...

 

The real kicker is this: We managed to get it over the internet (July 2006) for a mere $113 per night!!! Oceania has it as one of their hotel options for our July 2009 post-cruise at $449 per night PER PERSON for one night!!!

[wripro]

Another option if you want to stay on the Bospherous is the new Four Seasons Bospherous. It is right next door to the Ciragan Palace. It may not even have opened yet but I saw it under construction when I was staying at the other Four Seasons in August and it looks beautiful. Admittedly, these choices are expensive but in terms of value received and the experience, not out of line.

[lovecruisingtoo]

Another option if you want to stay on the Bospherous is the new Four Seasons Bospherous. It is right next door to the Ciragan Palace. It may not even have opened yet but I saw it under construction when I was staying at the other Four Seasons in August and it looks beautiful. Admittedly, these choices are expensive but in terms of value received and the experience, not out of line.

 

They are taking reservations for stays starting 15 June.

[owl61]

We stayed at the Hotel Niles for 4 nights last week. It is located a 10 min walk from the grand bazaar - a 5 min walk from the tram line stop. It is not luxurious, but the rooms were comfortably modern with decent amenities e.g. hairdryer, toiletries, english language TV programming ( BBC, CNN and movies), nice bedding and towels , and a full breakfast on the roof top terrace with views of the Bosphorus. The front desk manager, Seda, takes a personal interest to make sure all guests get good info to enjoy their stay. An excellent value for the $. Also well reviewed on tripadvisor.

[ClaudiaF]

I have recommended the Conrad many times.. it is a wonderful hotel..if price is no object , then ofcourse the Cirigan Palace is THE place to stay!;)

[phillipahain]

We stayed at the TAN Hotel which was central to everything

 

It was small ,well run and friendly and pretty inexpensive

[Obiwon]

We stayed at the Nena Hotel in Nov 07 for three nights and loved it. A beautiful boutique hotel in an old Ottoman mansion. The location was very central, only a few blocks to the Blue Mosque. We had a deluxe room #401 top floor, just below the dining room. Breakfast was fabulous. A huge variety to choose from and sunrise shining in, plus a great view of the Blue Mosque. The staff were extremely friendly and helpful. For no additional charge, they picked us up at the airport and on departure day, took us to the pier. Very reasonably priced as well. The only complaint (very minor) was the bed could have been a bit more comfortable. It wasn’t a big deal though and I would stay here again in a flash.

[Acrusa]

We took the 3 day pre hotel package from O for our July 7th cruise.We chose the Swsissotel mostly because they are a Raffels hotel.

We stayed at 2 Raffels properties in Angar Wat and Singapore.Found them to be very sophiticated and very high end. We where told by a few other people who stayed there that the views from the room's where fantastic.

[msn123]

Check out the Faros Hotel. We were very happy there last fall.

[Daw6id]

I've stayed several times at the Sultanahmet Palace [googleable], which is between the Blue Mosque and the Sea of Marmara, great breakfasts, great service, reasonable price, amd rooms with a built-in Turkish bath. Walk to most of the great sites in Istanbul, from Topkapi to the Grand Bazaar. The tram goes everyplace else.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I agree, look at the traditional Ottoman hotels in the Sultanahmet. You can get reviews and listings here as well, a great website:

 

http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/go/Istanbul/IstanbulHotels/index.html

A few comments

 

Try the little local restaurants, but be aware, some serve no alcohol.

 

The HoHo bus is pretty cool, takes you around the city. The traffic was bad when we were there, so waiting for a pickup was kind of slow, but it got us over to see Kariye Museum (Church of the Holy Savior in Chora) with its amazing mosaics.

 

Also the Suleymaniye mosque is amazingly beautiful, and has far fewer tourists. It's prominent in the skyline. I seem to remember it's walking distance from the Grand Bazaar.

 

Be aware, depending on the time of year, it's hot and humid. So pace yourselves and plan on a return to your hotel in the later afternoon for a shower and rest before dinner.

[laurelhollow]

We are on the Aug. 6th Barcelona to Istanbul and are staying an extra night in Istanbul.

 

Does anyone have any wonderful hotel experiences there or recommendations you would care to pass along.

 

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks

Marsha

 

we stayed at the ritz-carlton in taksim. incredibly awesome hotel. the room was exquisite, the mezes with drinks was extraordinary, the breakfast buffet was to die for. really enjoyed walking around the area. that being said - i really, really, really wished that we had stayed in the sultanahmet (sp) area. was really pissed that the travel agent had not put us into the ciragan palace. (the four seasons wasn't available yet when we were there) if you can stay in the old section you will be happier. jmo.

[CruseKrazy]

We stayed at the Hotel Niles for 4 nights last week. It is located a 10 min walk from the grand bazaar - a 5 min walk from the tram line stop. It is not luxurious, but the rooms were comfortably modern with decent amenities e.g. hairdryer, toiletries, english language TV programming ( BBC, CNN and movies), nice bedding and towels , and a full breakfast on the roof top terrace with views of the Bosphorus. The front desk manager, Seda, takes a personal interest to make sure all guests get good info to enjoy their stay. An excellent value for the $. Also well reviewed on tripadvisor.

 

Have booked the Niles for 4 nights in September based on previous ratings. Thanks for this update. :)

[ChatKat in Ca.]

We stayed at the Hilton in Taskim on the Bosphorus. Rooms were clean, comfortable and the food at the hotel was great for a traditional Turkish dinner for the travel weary in a view setting. We did the Oceania package which came with transfers and the ability to take a tour the morning of embarkation. The tour included the Spice Market, Underground Cistern, a boat ride on the Bosphorus (the boat sat 100 and there were 25 or so on the boat!) and City tour, I think. If you did not take the O package, you would not have been able to do the tour. It was a great intro to Istanbul, and prepped us for the next days tours.

 

We hired a private guide who was exceptional - he used cabs for our transportation so there were never any parking issues and he included the fares in his fee. We were skeptical at first, but rides were always there waiting for us. He know all the nooks and crannies to show us. If we go back sometime, we would be thrilled to have him take us around. One of our favorite places.

[kathy16]

We booked the Ada Hotel in Istanbul for our May Insignia cruise (from the reviews on Trip Advisor). Anyone have experience with this hotel. Can we walk to most of the "sights" in Old Town?

[Penzance]

Obiwon: We are also staying at the Hotel Nena this month. Do you remember if they have a safe/secure place to leave our luggage to enable us to tour during the day before embarking on the ship late afternoon?

[Obiwon]

Penzance: We checked out at noon and someone from the hotel drove us to the ship. I wasn't aware of a place for luggage to be stored but I am sure you could make some arrangement with the hotel, either to check out a few hours later or store you luggage if they have a space for it. I would send them an email and ask. They were always very quick to reply with any questions I had. One idea for you, our plan was to board early (1:00 ish) then walk off the ship and explore the area above the pier, which is a shopping district. However, it started pouring rain out and we ended up staying on the ship.

 

1/3 of the way to the ship, I realized my backpack wasn't in the car and we had to turn around and go back for it. They were waiting at the front door with it when we arrived. I found the staff very friendly and helpful and never once felt I couldn't trust them.

 

One thing to be sure about, they don't have safes in the rooms, they are in the main office. We gave our passports over to the front desk on check in, thinking they would be put in a safe, not realizing we actually needed to activate a safety box. When we came down the next morning to go into our safe, there were our passports sitting in one of the front desk shelves. Needless to say, we quickly had them store safely away.