paul4040

Grief. That's a lot more than I was expecting; they must be using an executive car company.

Taxi it is.

wendySFO

I had unpleasant taxi experience at Istanbul before so prefer to arrange a private car pickup over taxi.

The airport shuttle bus is very convenient. It drops passengers at Taksim square and then it is about ~10 min walk to Hilton.

more4less

Some taxi drivers standing outside the main tourist spots do not want to put the meter and quote 2/3 times the fare you would pay by the meter. It happened me once in a recent trip but I just refused and looked for another one, not big deal.

Enjoy Istanbul!

banffflyr

I've used Effendi airport shuttle about 6 times in the last year to Hilton properties and been very happy. Always accommodating at IST even with lengthy flight and baggage delays.

dsquared37

And I have just been chided for making reservations at the Grand Hyatt as opposed to Sultanahmet area (which for me would be the DT) because "the food and drinks are much better in Sultanahmet". Specifically this was in reference to having a night of revelry akin to ones we frequently enjoyed in bangkok.

This is from a veteran traveler who enjoyed Bangkok life for years (where I met him) and now lives just outside Istanbul with his family.

To each their own.

denikon

The Executive Lounge and Terrace at the Conrad on the 15th floor is now closed and moved to floor R. Go for the Hilton Bosphorus guys...

Zurich

I stayed at both properties and would agree with denikon's report. The neighbourhood of the Conrad is good, but involves walking downhill or uphill. There are bus stops nearby which we never tried that. We went to the pier, instead, where there are frequent boats coming and going as part of the public transport.
So, locationwise, the Hilton Istanbul Bosphorus might would be easier to use public transport. What I liked about the Conrad was the elegance and the re-modeled room (with a great shower). What I liked about the Hilton Istanbul Bosphorus was the remaining of the glorious past (in the 50s). And everything was in working order.
What I consider as a plus over the Conrad: they have a hamam (and sauna and steam bath) that has gender specific opening hours (something like 07.00-15.00 for women and 15.30-22.00 for men).

kmandrew

Just booked a March 3 - March 13 trip; we would like to visit both Athens and Istanbul. We will arrive in Athens 6 pm March 4 so initially thinking do the 5th night free there then fly to Istanbul for March 9 - 12 (March 12 has to be in London to get home on an AM flight Mar 13). As I read reviews a lot of people seem to like Istanbul better so would love some advice on maybe switching the days around a bit. If we do 4 and 4 what about staying 2 nights at the DT Moda then 2 nights at the Bomontis? I know it is a bit out of the way but the reviews seem to be very favorable.

denikon

I stayed at both properties number of times. DT Moda is a very nice hotel and its a perfect hub to explore the Asian side. Within walking distance there are many amazing cafes, restaurants and bars that are filled with locals. You can also take the ferry from opposite of the hotel for the European side, princess islands or Bosphorus tour.

Hilton Bomonti is a very luxury hotel located in the business district of Istanbul. Bomonti is currently the biggest hotel in Istanbul that has very large and comfy rooms with great facilities. However, its location is not tourist friendly and you can't really walk anywhere from the hotel so you have to rely on Taxi or take the Metro from Osmanbey located 20 mins by walk from the hotel.

Any questions, just ask

fourspoons

Hi All. I'm checking in to the Hilton Istanbul Kozyatagi tomorrow but can't find much information about it on here.

Anyone been or have any tips? I'm there on business but will have some short opportunities for sightseeing..

Thanks

shonamac

Please do tell how this hotel turned out to be, especially the surrounding area and public transport options for getting there. Thanks

docbert

I stayed here a few months back. Two separate stays over a period of about a week.

It's new, and at least when I was there didn't seem very full. Both times I was upgraded to one of their One Bedroom Apartments (which seems the same as a suite but with an additional sink/microwave). Room was huge with 2 distinct rooms, and hard to knock in any way!

Lounge is good, with a reasonable range of food although somewhat limited hours. Diamond breakfast was in the lounge or the restaurant - I went for the restaurant. Restaurant had a few staff training issues while I was there, but nothing too surprising given it was newly opened.

As far as transport, if you feel like catching one of the local buses they stop basically at the door. More realistic, the Metro station is maybe 150 metres away - although if you want to head to the European side you'll normally need to change at least twice (M4 to the Maramay line, then onto one of the European side lines).

There is a reasonable size shopping center across the road (with a walk bridge to get there).

All up, if you need to be in the area or possibly somewhere along the M4 route then I'd definitely suggest it. But if you're planning on travelling to get there each day, I'd suggest finding somewhere a little more convenient.

ORD-TGU

Ok, last minute visit to IST. First time to IST and TK, so reading previous threads the consensus is Hilton Bosphorus vs Conrad. I do like the conrad luxury, but if it is not ideal for first time tourist, will pass.

I checked weather in December, in the 50's, better than Chicago, but is it business as usau or do tourist activities significantly wind down.

arlflyer

Are you asking which property you should stay at? The Conrad and Hilton are sort of in the same-ish region. The Conrad is about a mile east as the crow flies, but due to topography and winding roads/paths it is really much further in practice. The Hilton is closer to Taksim which is where many of the goings-on and access to transit are. I would advise the Hilton out of those two solely on location, especially if you like to walk places as I do.

However if you are a first-timer in Istanbul and want to be closer to the old, famous stuff then you should really consider the DT Old Town. That will put you on the main trolley line (accessible to the airport with a transfer to rail) that will take you right to the main attractions, to the ferry docks at Eminonu, and then across the Galata bridge and on to Kabatas - basically a lot of the places you would want to be.

Tourist activities in Istanbul are pretty much year-round things in my opinion - checking out old buildings, going to markets, eating a lot of food, riding ferries around, etc. Tourist-specific things such as predatory touts and huge crowds, well, those would be less prevalent during the winter, but that's a positive.

And there are kestane, lots and lots of kestane.

ORD-TGU

Thanks a lot for the answer.