mecabq

They are similar in location; the W is about a ten minutes' walk down a hill from the Park Hyatt. It really depends what you're looking for. I prefer the Park Hyatt, as it's in a denser commercial area with lots of upscale restaurants, bars, cafes, shops, etc. outside. From the Hyatt you are also within striking distance -- via a decent walk or a funicular fide -- from Taksim Square.

The W doesn't have those amenities right there, but they are close. If you walk a further half a block down the hill from the W, you are on the Bosphorous Strait, which is a great place to walk during the day. And you are near somewhat more downscale areas (like Ortakoy) that offer plenty of amenities.

Given that the Park Hyatt is a far better hotel in every way (except for restaurants and bars in the hotel, which are quite nice at the W but mediocre in my experience at the Park Hyatt), I would choose that one and recommend that you make the walk down past the W to the Bosphorous at least once while you're there.

elsie

^^I just spent last weekend at the property and had a great time.

Enjoying my Diamond status, I received
a beautiful spa room. I asked to see the suite, but greatly preferred the Spa room. The steam bath, TV, Hammam, tub, lighting are infinitely a treat. It took me about an hour to get the lighting right, but that was fun too. as mentioned they offer a special tap with thermal water.

This was my first time to stay in Nistanasi, and I really enjoyed it. The staff are all very personable and friendly. Occupancy was minimal and the staff seem to really enjoy mingling with guests in the lobby and just being effacious and personable. Any problem was seriously considered, be it personal or in regards to the hotel. It would be my hotel of choice. I have yet to stay at the Ciragan, or FS Bosphorous, which would be on my list. I don't need to go back to the RC or IC. The same weekend, I spent one night at the Hyatt Regency and could also praise their customer service, lounge and rooms. The PH is a more private experience.

Dinner was room service, which offer mainly french fare, but it was excellent. I had a white bean soup with duck (a kind of cassoulet) and a rack of lamb. Delicious.

I wanted to try Kantin (offsite), but they were already closed and weren't open on Sunday. Sunday night, I went to Kosebaci right across the street which was extremely convenient and very good.

Breakfast at the hotel included some powerful coffee and a cold buffet. I ordered Eggs Florentine which were quite good. The freshly squeezed grape juice was delicious. The next day was green melon juice and I had an omelette with lamb sausage.

On Friday evening there was a bar playing a thumping base music outside the hotel. I called the front desk to ask if they knew when it would stop and acknowledged that it really wasn't their problem. Within 3 minutes they called back and said that i could move to a different room, but that it would be on the main street. I declined their prompt offer, not wanting to change at around 11:30. I stuck my earplugs in and was off to sleep.

I can't wait to go back!

Pictures here

mecabq

This is interesting information. I had assumed that the suites had the same bathroom as the spa rooms, but are you saying that they do not?

broadwayboy

Elsie -- I am wondering the same thing. Why did you prefer the Spa room to the Suite?

Thanks.

elsie

RIGHT!

The suite does not have the spa area. The rooms have the same sq ft approx. and the suite that I saw was VERY VERY dark. I love black, but the room was, well, BLACK.

It had puzzled me before I arrived that the suite and the spa room were the same size, and I had even gone so far as to upgrade with points for the suite, but I reconsidered and greatly enjoyed the spa.

It was just so relaxing to have that whole "wet room" with the lighting and music right in your room. It was such a treat!

broadwayboy

Thank you for a very valuable info.
Maybe if they would upgrade Diamonds to an Exec Suite, it would be a different deal. It looks like I won't be pursuing the Suite route for this hotel.

SanDiego1K

I had a 2nd exceptional stay here. The concierge immediately got to his feet when I entered the lobby and walked me to the front desk, greeting me as a returning guest. The GM was in the lobby, with whom I had a brief conversation enroute. By the time I got to the front desk, the very personable Guest Services Manager was standing there with my folder. He took me to my room to check in. I never had to give anyone my name.

I had the spa room again, which is exceptional. No hotel anywhere has a bathroom that compares to this hotel. I was told they had hoped to give me a terrace suite both nights so that I could experience it, but were only able to do so the second night. They hoped that was ok with me. OK? I hadn't booked a suite, it was an extremely generous gesture from the hotel. Of course it was OK.

Suites at this hotel are on the 8th floor. I was moved into a terrace suite. This differs from the terrace, which is on the room of the lobby (so 2nd floor for Americans, 1st for Europeans). There are 5 suites on the 8th floor: Presidential, Diplomatic, two terrace suites, and I've no idea what the 5th one is. You cannot access the 8th floor unless you are staying on it. The terrace suite seemed to me to be the same size as the spa room, abeit with an extensive outside terrace. I had a lovely view of the Bosphorus from the terrace. On the terrace, I had a lounger plus umbrella, and a seating area with sofa and two chairs plus umbrella. In the room, the same furniture in the spa room was displayed in a larger room - 3 chairs plus a desk. I would have liked a sofa or chaise. The bedroom had sliding doors/folding doors to enclose it. Once enclosed, it was internal to the room. The corridor to the bath area went along the window wall. It also had the color therapy bathtub and a steam room. It was nicely designed but the bath area was very compressed.

I was amazed at breakfast to again be greeted as a returning guest. The waitstaff must have seen a few thousand people go thru there since January. There is nothing exceptional about me. I marveled at the recognition.

The hotel had opened its terrace, since it is early spring in Istanbul. I liked it very much. It is a combination of dining area/outdoor living room. There is a pool a few steps up with a lounge area at one end. Staff was very warm and hospitable. The dining area runs along side the pool. It's a great place to stop by for a beverage any time of day, or food from either of their restaurants. They make fresh lemonade - lime, raspberry, plain - and it is lovely. It was still a little cool when I was there, particularly late at night. I was grateful for their heat lamps. I think this will be very popular.

Istanbul traffic is abominable. When you want to eat out, but be able to walk, go to Kosebasi across the street. The doorman walked me over and delivered me to the concierge. Lovely treatment. They have a great range of Turkish appetizers, as well as a variety of roast lamb and kebabs. There are some chicken dishes, too. According to the TIME article hung on the wall, Clinton took Chelsea there for a meal.

I can't say this property was better than the first time around, because my first visit was exceptional. The great news is that it is consistently exceptional. And the terrace is a very nice improvement to their property.

NYCWahoo

Just stayed at Park Hyatt Istanbul over the Memorial Day weekend.

Stayed at a King Spa room and overall really enjoyed the room and service.

Some issues we had to deal with that I would like to share with future visitors:

1) Our room was facing the pool side and on Sat night the music from a night club which is a block away was so loud I couldn't go to to sleep. I FELT the bass beat from the night club until 3am. I just couldn't believe this was happening at a Park Hyatt. Next morning I talked to a front desk mangager, Ahmet(linebacker build with a buzzed cut) and he was very apologetic and was very helpful.

2) Bathroom: We stayed in a spa room---when you take a shower water spilled over to the sink area. On our 2nd night the hotel experienced a power outage around midnight and heard the generator kicked in right away. All of sudden the "hammam light" which you can turn on with a remote control over the bath tub came on and would not shut off. Finally, a hotel engineer came up to fix the issue.

3) Hotel location/direction. Park Hyatt Istanbul's their own direction card is just awful. Most taxi drivers can't find it so we had to ask Ahmet the front desk manager to write a detailed direction for us. Since there are no public transportation options near the hotel you have to take a taxi every single time you go in and out of the hotel and it costs 10-15 lira/trip

AZ Travels the World

This was a big problem when I was at the hotel back in January. I'm sorry to hear that it still is, but I suppose it takes time for understanding of a new hotel, especially a small, high-end, boutique property such as the PH, to make its way through the taxi driver ranks.

I will repeat my offer from earlier in the thread: I have what proved to be a life-saving direction sheet written in Turkish, provided to me by a member of the hotel staff. I'm happy to e-mail it to anyone who sends me a PM with their e-mail address.

IncyWincy

We shall be staying at the PH Istanbul in a few weeks and I am considering which is more attractive/suitable for us, the Suite or Spa Room.

Usually one will prefer the suite but from earlier posts in this thread FTers seem to prefer the Spa Room.

Has anyone been to both?

In particular, I wonder if there is a Spa Room that also has the steam room and Hamam facilities?

Thanks.

SanDiego1K

I had a spa room and a suite on sequential nights. The hotel staff was fabulous, and wanted me to see the suite. The best thing about the suite was the terrace. If the weather is great, it's nice to be able to sit outside. Otherwise, I'd as soon have the spa room. It is truly amazing, and the space is used really well. You get both the hamam and the steam room.

IncyWincy

Thank you dear friend.

laurajoyce

Just completed a three night stay at this property. The service was phenomenal throughout and we loved the spa room. The noise from the club was definitely a problem though. (we were in a pool facing room)

catwood

I enjoyed a three night stay and this is a fantastic hotel.
My own lesson learned was when we had three glasses of champagne, our own fault for not asking the price, but they turned out to be $200USD, apparently there is a 400% tax on champagne in Turkey.


Chris

peteropny

Nice comprehensive Review of the PH IST (along with the FS Bosphorus): http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/luxur...bosphorus.html