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hotels
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; a few independent boutiques have sprouted up. Even the crusty old Pera Palas, which housed Agatha Christie and other Orient Express passengers back in the day, is getting a facelift (it's due to reopen late 2009). 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.
Istanbul is fast becoming Europe's capital of cool, and its hip-o-meter certainly clocked up a couple more notches with the April 2008 opening of the W in the...more
In the onetime garden of Dolmabahce Palace, the hotel offers "wonderful views" of Istanbul from the Gaja Roof Restaurant, which serves Continental cuisine....more
The Ritz-Carlton occupies 15 floors of one of the city's most controversial buildings: Süzer Plaza, a dreary monolith that stands obnoxiously at the heart...more
Opened in fall 2008, the Park Hyatt is a sophisticated, stylish hotel with all the modest self-assuredness that is the mark of a solid high-end brand. Architect...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
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
Ottoman interiors are offset by contemporary art and furnishings at this glass-and-stone tower. Gold, burgundy, and light-brown guest rooms have pillow menus,...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
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