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Tags: Turkey Hotel Guide / Istanbul Hotels / Intercontinental Hotels / Hotel Breakfasts / → All Tags

The Ceylan Intercontinental Is a Decent Hotel with An Excellent Breakfast Buffet

Where: Asker Ocagi Cad 1, Taksim, Istanbul, Turkey, 34435

Last week Shira Levine spent a few days getting her Turkish Delight on in Istanbul, Turkiye ("Turkey is a bird; Turkiye is the country") and checking out the transcontinental Eurasian city's hotel scene. Any questions about where to stay in Turkiye? Send 'em to us and we'll have Shira answer them for you.

First Impressions
It's nice when a medium hotel surprises us with doing things right we weren't even expecting. That way there is some balance to our disappointment when something isn't right. Istanbul's Ceylan Intercontinental Hotel is one of those hotels. While it's been awarded five stars, our feeling is that it has a five star quality in a very 1992 kind of way. Nevertheless, the lobby is classic. It's wide open and bright with shiny and gilded decor and dramatic stairs that lead to some good early morning dining.

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Tags: Turkey Hotel Guide / Istanbul Hotels / Four Seasons Hotels / Luxury Hotels / Jail Hotels / → All Tags

Turkish Delight: A Former Prison is Now a Four Seasons Hotel

Where: Tevkifhane Sokak No. 1, Sultanahmet-Eminönü, Istanbul, Turkey, 34110

Last week Shira Levine spent a few days getting her Turkish Delight on in Istanbul, Turkiye ("Turkey is a bird; Turkiye is the country") and checking out the transcontinental Eurasian city's hotel scene. Any questions about where to stay in Turkiye? Send 'em to us and we'll have Shira answer them for you.

By director Oliver Stone's "Midnight Express" film portrayal, if there is one notable Turkish site to skip over it's the inside of a Turkish prison. But if it's the inside of a Neoclassical jail conversion and that jail conversion happens to now be a Four Seasons, we learned that staying a few night doesn't compromise sanity, just bank accounts.

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Tags: Turkey Hotel Guide / Istanbul Hotels / W Hotels / Hotel Video Tours / → All Tags

Turkish Delight: The W Istanbul Brings The Crazy Sexy Cool

Where: Suleyman Seba Cad No: 22, Akaretler, Besiktas, Istanbul, Turkey, 34357

Last week Shira Levine spent a few days getting her Turkish Delight on in Istanbul, Turkiye ("Turkey is a bird; Turkiye is the country") and checking out the transcontinental Eurasian city's hotel scene. Any questions about where to stay in Turkiye? Send 'em to us and we'll have Shira answer them for you.

With Istanbul the first European country to bag a W Hotel, we knew there wasn't a chance in Turkish prison hell that Starwood would mince on the fabulosity for W Istanbul. Especially when the location is in the renovated Akaretler Row Houses of the exclusive Besiktas district. Back in the 1870s those row houses served as the housing for Sultan Abdülaziz's staff of the nearby Dolmabahçe Palace).

So at just over a year old things are looking pretty trendy as expected. 50 Cent recently stayed in the Exteme WOW Suite. In June NIN will arrive and they have apparently booked a few of the MEGA suites.

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Tags: Turkey Hotel Guide / Istanabul Hotels / → All Tags

Turkish Delight: A Gypsy Wooden House

Where: Abbiyek Degirmini Sok. 7 , Sultanahmet, Istanbul, Turkey, 34400

Last week Shira Levine spent a few days getting her Turkish Delight on in Istanbul, Turkiye ("Turkey is a bird; Turkiye is the country") and checking out the transcontinental Eurasian city's hotel scene. Any questions about where to stay in Turkiye? Send 'em to us and we'll have Shira answer them for you.

To experience a city like Istanbul, where just two bridges in the Bosphorus connect the continent of Europe to Asia; or where Islam intersects with Christianity and Judaism; and the ancient world juxtaposes a more noveau way of life, it makes total sense that President Barack Obama chose this complicated city as his first to visit.

This week while we recover from slinging back one too many Turkish coffees and raki shots, we'll share our take on post Ottoman-era hotels, totally 80's corporate chains, and the majorly renovated contemporary and luxe slick stays.

Not to mention we'll give the lowdown on how we survived a Turkish hammam, didn't completely destroy our credit in the Grand Bazaar and Spice Market, and how to deal with the never ending probing by Turkish men who ask: "Where are you from? Do you want to come into my nice store?"

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