Istanbul Travel Guide
Tags: NYT Reviews / Istanbul Hotels / Boutique Hotels / → All Tags
The NYT Wants You to Get Thee to a (Turkish) Nunnery
In this weekend’s travel section, the NYT checked in to Tomtom Suites in Istanbul, a newish 20-suite boutique hotel housed in a restored 1901 building that once was home to French nuns, and decided Hamlet’s infamous slam—“Get thee to a nunnery”—could be the hotel’s “fun-loving invitation” or slogan.
Highlights:“Tomtom Suites addresses the partier’s paradox: how to find a crash pad within striking distance of a night-life district that isn’t overrun by noisy lager louts,” the NYT writes, describing the location as a five-minute walk to nightlife-heavy Istiklal Caddesi. Spacious suites have contemporary touches (wooden floors, “high-tech gadgetry”) injected with “Turkish touches” (hand-painted ceramics, tubular harem-style tasseled cushions). The bathroom has a Philippe Starck-designed bathtub with underwater jets as well as Molton Brown spa toiletries. The top-floor breakfast terrace serves a tasty morning spread.
Tags: NYT Reviews / W Hotels / Istanbul Hotels / → All Tags
NYT Pops Into W Istanbul for Some Turkish Delight
Until the W Barcelona officially pops its cork this fall, the W Istanbul remains Europe’s only W Hotel. The NYT’s Fred Bernstein checked the place out recently, so we thought we’d compare his observations to those of HotelChatter’s Shira Levine, who just last month filed her own review of the “crazy sexy cool” spot. Overall, the two agreed on much.
Highlights: “There is no perfect spot in Istanbul — the city is too vast and complicated — but the W’s comes close,” Bernstein says. (Er, Levine put it differently: “W Istanbul is located on an attractive but weird corner where there is a complicated traffic pattern.”)
Tags: Snapshot / Edition Hotels / Hotel Hype / Hotel News / → All Tags
This Is What the 7-Star Edition Istanbul Will Look Like?
Um. No, thanks.
This is the rendering for the proposed Edition Istanbul which will be the first ever Edition Hotel to open in December from the seemingly unholy union of veteran hoteliers, Bill Marriott and Ian Schrager. The building is currently undergoing a 100 million Euro renovation from an office building into a 7-star hotel which will have 80 guestrooms, all suites.
Please, pretty please, spend a lot of that money on the interiors. Please.
Tags: Edition Hotels / Hotel Hype / Istanbul Hotels / Bill Marriott / Ian Schrager / → All Tags
Top That! Edition Hotel Will Open in Istanbul in December
UPDATE: A rendering of the building is now pictured after the jump.
South Beach, DC, Honolulu, Istanbul. What do all these destinations have in common? They have all, at one point or another, been designated the location for the very first Edition Hotel, the new luxury hotel collection spawned by Bill Marriott and Ian Schrager.
Last we checked, Edition Honolulu would open in sometime in 2010. The Edition DC project was starting to look rather unlikely and we've got no idea what happening with Edition South Beach.
But now there's been an announcement that Edition Istanbul will open before all these other jokers on Dec 15, 2009.
Tags: Park Hyatt Hotels / Istanbul Hotels / Hotel Delays / → All Tags
Park Hyatt Istanbul Gets Delayed Again
Update: A rep just let us know that the hotel does not have a specific opening date. But they are holding a press conference on October 27 and the new opening date (probably mid-November) will be revealed.
Dear Park Hyatt Istanbul,
Remember when you said you were opening September 1? And then you said you were opening October 16? In fact, once you even claimed early 2008.
Well all those times have come.. and they have passed. We're guessing you're not open yet because now your site is telling us "end of 2008" instead of October. And also it won't let us make reservations. Even though we TOTALLY COULD before.
And while hotels do take a lot of work to open, this is a renovated building. It's been standing for almost 100 years! What is taking you so long?
We are able to make reservations starting November 17, but we don't know when you're really opening. We don't believe anything you say anymore. You've shattered our dreams too many times.
Call us (or not) when you're ready to commit.
Love,
HotelChatter
Tags: Park Hyatt Hotels / Istanbul Hotels / Hotel Stores / Hotel Retail / Boutique Hotels / Turkey Hotels / → All Tags
Park Hyatt Istabul Opens With Armani and Gucci Inside
[Update: Despite what the online reservations system initially told us, this hotel is offically opening on October 16th. Online reservations are being taken for stays later than October 18th.]
There are at least two reasons to stay at the new Park Hyatt Istanbul Maçka Palas: Istanbul is the only city in the world located on two continents, and Emporio Armani and Gucci boutiques are in the same building.
Of course, there is also the limestone bathrooms, with 25 of the 90 deluxe-sized rooms featuring authentic Turkish baths with heated stone seats. And it's located smack in the middle of the ultra-trendy shopping district, Nişantaşi, home of some of the best shopping in the world.
Each guestroom is equipped with the latest technology including high-speed broadband Internet access, flat screen television, a DVD/CD player and iPod docking station. And a boutique hotel wouldn't be complete without an exclusive spa and special spa suites.
This renovated 1922 building has a unique blend of the old art deco and new modern architecture found in other Park Hyatts. Glass tile is found in much of the hotel with a "Bordeaux Wall" in The Prime, the first Istanbul steakhouse, made entirely out of wine bottle glass.
The hotel officially just opened September 1 but already appears to be sold out for much of September. Rates start at 230 euros ($336 US).
Tags: W Hotels / Istanbul Hotels / → All Tags
The New W Hotel in Istanbul is Keeping Everyone Happy So Far
We were quite excited when we learned the W Hotel Istanbul was ready to open earlier this month and it sounds like we're not the only ones. UrbanDaddy just had a visit there and reported back in pretty glowing tones:
If you go with the Extreme Wow Suite (which we know you will, because you're extreme like that), you'll relax from within the bubbling-hot-water confines of a Jacuzzi on your private terrace, admiring the sun dipping under the Bosphorus Strait.
We agree that this sounds like a nice way to enjoy the chaos of Istanbul. The only hiccup seems to be that add-ons like internet access or the kind of necessary process of eating breakfast are all too expensive for most people's tastes, after paying at least $500 for a room. (Yes, people want free WiFi, especially after they pay a high price for a room. Anybody listening?)
Otherwise, all glowing reports so far about the W Istanbul--and apparently its presence has made the whole neighborhood turn funky. We're looking forward to trying out that Jacuzzi some time.
Tags: W Hotels / Hotel Openings / Istanbul Hotels / Hotel News / → All Tags
The W Hotel To Open in Istanbul on May 6
The W Istanbul is going to open soon! From USA Today:
The Istanbul hotel will open May 6 with 134 guest rooms, including 26 suites, a spa and chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Spice Market restaurant.
The hotel is located in a historic building at the end of the Akaretler Row Houses in the Besiktas district, which date to the 1870s but have been newly redeveloped. The site is near the Bosphorus Strait and the trendy Nisantasi neighborhood.
The guest rooms will all have high ceilings and full-length windows along with 32-inch TVs, iPod docking stations and as the website promises, ottomans.
There's also a W-branded gym, Sweat. Interestingly, there's no Bliss spa but the hotel does have treatment rooms where estheticians use Estee Lauder products. However, Bliss products will be found in the room. You know, because god forbid you go to a different country and have to try something new.
Tags: Underwater Hotels / Poseidon Resort / Hotel Hype / → All Tags
Underwater Hotel Planned for Istanbul
Planned Underwater Hotels Poseidon (Fiji) and Hydropolis (Dubai) are getting some more competition.
Istanbul has announced its own plans for an underwater hotel which will open in 2010, the same year the city will be taking over as the Capital of Culture. From TrendHunter:
The underwater hotel is being built on the ruins of a historical 1930s tobacco factory and will have restaurants, exhibition halls, and rooms all with sea view rooms.
It will be interesting to check-in and check-out the underwater hotel rooms and facilities, as local experts suggest that the underwater visibility of the Istanbul Bosphorus Strait (which is the body of water that links the Black Sea, to the north, with the Sea of Marmara, to the south) is about ten feet.
We have zero faith in these underwater hotels so we can't get really excited about all this. However, The Poseion Resort has got a fancy website that is pretty legit. With an opening date of September 2008, (reservations are to start March 17, 2008) this place should be well under construction. Although since the location is supposed to be a "secret" no one can really check on the status.
We have a feeling this is going to end up as another land-lubbing resort with overwater bungalows but prove us wrong Poseidon.
Tags: Istanbul Hotel Reviews / → All Tags
A'Jia Mansion Hotel: Hot or Not
A'jia is Istanbul's "serenity now" spot. Not much to do, in the traditional tourist sense, however, a 16 room waterfront Ottoman mansion hotel called A'jia is justification enough to consider staying in A'jia.
A Mediterranean Italian terrace restaurant, teak balconies, and panoramic views of the Bosphorous sure look pretty on websites and brochures, but does this hotel provide the type of experience that its views and price tag deserve?
Reports are mixed. European travelers tend to rave about this place, while American folks, at least this one from Chicago, tend to disagree:
Loud music plays all night preventing you from sleeping; room service delivers delicious food, but certainly not what you ordered; preparations for evening concerts begin early in the morning, by banging around wrought iron chairs, once again waking you up. The kind hearted fools at the front desk, try but are completely helpless and unable to help you out. They offer you coffee for compensation.
Maybe European travelers aren't as cranky when they don't get much sleep. We are still looking for more info on the A'jia experience, a hotel this beautiful is a terrible thing to sully with bad service, so if you have been there, let us know in the hotel review section here.
Related Stories:
· A'Jia [TripAdvisor]
Tags: Hotels in Istanbul / → All Tags
For $20,000 a Night You Too Can Feel like Sting, George W., or Just a Sultan
If you're paying $15,000 a night for a hotel room, you'd better hope it's called something like the Sultan Suite. Well that is what it's called at the Ciragan Palace Kempinski in Istanbul.
If you've actually got the dough to throw down for a room like this, expect the works. Overlooking both Asia and Europe due to its locale, this isn't even the top. Throw down an extra $5,000 grand more and you can be the grand sultan like many celebs to have come before you:
Sting moved out the day before I arrived and other illustrious guests have included Luciano Pavarotti, Ray Charles, Gloria Estefan, Warren Beatty, Uma Thurman, Prince Charles, Bill Clinton and assorted Bushes
With a celeb list like that and a bill over 20 grand don't worry you'll be seeing plenty of crystal chandeliers, Turksih marble, and the high-tech stuff too like plasma TVs, automatic sound systems and WiFi. You can even rally up your butler to arrange the mattress's softness to your liking, something we imagine George W. having done.
As for us, we don't need a bed butler. We'll probably just demand a silver platter of Turkish Delights and work on feeling like a sultan...without the sex slaves.
Related Stories:
· Room with a View-of two Continents [The Star]
· Ciragan Palace Reviews [TripAdvisor]
Tags: Killer View / → All Tags
Room with a Killer View: Hotel Topkapi
We are suckers for a room with a killer view. We find that we are even more likely to forgive some minor hotel inconveniences if we can stare out the window at something pretty--yeah we are that shallow. Let's help out our fellow hotel mavens by uploading rooms with killer views to the HotelChatter/Flickr photo pool, or by sending the photo along to us. We will feature our favorites in this space from time to time. Remember to tell us the name of the hotel and the room number of the hot view.
Staying in Istanbul can be a hit or miss. Here out the window we've got a real hit from the three star Hotel Topkapi. Unfortunately, past reviews of the hotel are a bit more miss. So it's a case of deciding how much a killer view is worth. In this case it will be a lot cheaper than in most other places of the globe.
To the hotel's credit however, complaints consisted of limited English. The staff had limited English, the hotel room television had limited English speaking channels, and we'll confirm that although there is an English language icon on their website; it doesn't work. But hell, what are you going to Istanbul for? A view or an English gabfest?
Related Stories:
· Vue de la fenetre de ma chambre [Flickr]
· Hotel Topkapi Reviews [TripAdvisor]
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