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Istanbul hotels
Istanbul's hotels have come a long way since the days of the hippie trail, when budget travelers were looking for a slice of the Orient, an exotic smoke, and a cheap bed. The major luxury chains, including Four Seasons (with two properties), Ritz-Carlton, Kempinski, W, and Park Hyatt have opened for business. More and more independent boutiques like Ansen Suites, the House Hotel, and Witt Istanbul Suites have sprouted up in the center of town. Even the crusty old Pera Palace, which housed Agatha Christie and other Orient Express passengers back in the day, has gotten a facelift. Those with an urge to stay in the Old City, Sultanahmet, should be aware that the proximity to the main historic sights has its downsides: a poor selection of nightlife and eating options, generally shoddy hotels (exceptions listed here), and ceaseless haranguing from touts. Most of the luxury options are in the more "modern" part of Istanbul north of the Golden Horn, or across the Bosphorus.
To understand the lay of the land in Istanbul, visit our Fact Sheet.
This small ten-room town house on the edge of Tünel, Istanbul's most bohemian neighborhood, is probably one of the best options in town in terms of price,...more
It would be hard to get much closer to history than one of these small rooms that back onto the outer walls of Topkapı Palace and look directly at the side...more
This mid-19th-century palace, located on the site of an 18th-century residence belonging to the last Ottoman sultans, housed the Turkish parliament for two...more
The Çırağan Kempinski must have been glancing nervously over its shoulder in June 2008, when the new Four Seasons Bosphorus opened in the elegant...more
Probably the only Four Seasons in a prison, and one of the smallest in the chain, but there's nothing confining about this 65-room hotel very handily midway...more
Set alongside the glut of cheaper hotels, guesthouses, and hostels in Sultanahmet, the Empress Zoe is one of the rare places in the area to display any spark of...more
When Hotel Les Ottomans opened in 2006 in a renovated 18th-century mansion in Kuruçeşme, a little way up the Bosphorus on the European side, it...more
From the people who oversee Istanbul's ever-expanding locations of the modish House Café comes the House Hotel, which opened in summer 2010. This...more
From the people who oversee Istanbul's ever-expanding locations of the modish House Café comes the House Hotel, which opened in summer 2010. This...more
This four-story hundred-year-old town house is named after the palace of Ibrahim Pasha opposite—whose divine Islamic Arts museum can be easily checked off...more
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