TPJ

I would rather avoid Radisson Blu - it is next to the highway and can be very noisy...

starflyergold

Agreed, rooms are not great. It is also at the end of the runway so noise even for an aviation geek is a bit much.

Rescmajster

i've been several times to the Courtyard and is not bad, except the restaurant which is not enjoyable...due to food and position (you really don't want to walk outside the walls of the hotel) I would suggest it only for 1 night stays between planes, but not for longer.

last time is decided to stay at the renaissance (normally it costs more than the courtyard) and i found it much more enjoyable.

shuttle-bus is available every hour, but a taxi ride can be also made in few minutes in case you're unlucky to miss the shuttle and don't want to wait 1 hour

the renaissance is actually closer to the airport than the courtyard and has better facility and wide choice of food if you don't want to adventure outside.
if you don't want to stay in the room, can walk by the poolside and it is nearby the ferry terminal, plus it has an executive lounge for gold cards or for club level rates.

i did not try other hotels nearby, so don't have much experience, but if the rate is good would go again for the renaissance in future

potjernik

I always stay at the Hyatt Regency Istanbul Ataköy for overnights near the airport. Not sure about the shuttle, but taxi is an inexpensive option.

stucchimax

I also recommend the Renaissance. It's very very close to the airport, with a nice breakfast spread and nice rooms.

It also has free shuttle to/from the airport and to/from the city centre.

blahmeh14

Thanks for the recommendations everyone.

Since I have status with Marriott and Hyatt, if I choose to go with an airport hotel I'll probably stick with the Renaissance based on what people have said above (possibly looking at the Hyatt also, although less likely).

If I decide to spend a night or two downtown, I'll probably be wanting to stay with one of those two groups. So, I'm looking at the Ritz-Carlton, AC Hotel, EDITION, the Renaissance Bhosphorus, the Park Hyatt, or the Grand Hyatt. However, being in a good location would probably be my first priority, so I'm open to other suggestions as well outside of the list above. Would anyone be willing to share their experiences with any of these downtown hotels?

Thanks again for the great recommendations!

Rescmajster

in case of a stay in the center, i've been in a small hotel in walking distance from Sultanamet as the idea was to have a convenient location and a more informal atmosphere.
actually i first cehceked also the positioning of Marriotts, but they were very inconvenient for me to do some tourism...did not want to rely on taxis or long transfers by public transportation.
sorry cannot help with big chains

ululaz

There are two major attraction points in Istanbul; Old City and Bosphorus.
Four Season Sultanahmet or Boshphorus would be your choices.
Grand Hyatt is close to Taksim and Bosphorus.

If money doesn't matter, I would try Ciragan Palace Kempinski.

igor82j

There is a recently opened hotel near to the airport which i was very happy with. It's called grand palace hotel. Dont expect it to live up with the name ) but the price is unbeatable, about 25eur. No free shuttle though.
It's my review of the hotel on my personal website.
http://www.cariverga.com/review-gran...otel-istanbul/
Obviously, it's much better to time your connection so as to get a free Doubletree Hilton from TK

VivoPerLei

I like the Renaissance Polat. Definitely do not recommend the Radisson Blu for a variety of reasons.

shuly

Near the airport I actually like the Radisson very much, especially the 50sqm business class rooms. Indeed, noise can be a problem. But I really like the fact that it's in a "real" neighborhood, where you can just go out and see real people, eat like a local, etc.

Last week I spent one night at the Elite World Business, still in the same area, so very lively. It was perfect: a 5-star business hotel, no noise issues whatsoever, excellent service, spacious, clean rooms and less than 60euro, with (a very good) breakfast included.

Shuly

vincewy

The term "best" is quite subjective, what would you like to get out of?

Near the airport I agree Renaissance is the best as far as facility. I also like the convenience of shopping and local ambiance. Normally I stay at Ramada or Titanic next to Capacity (shopping mall and restaurants) in Bakırköy. My last visit I stayed at Rios Edition Hotel, in front of the Bakırköy pier, which is exactly what I need, close enough to the shops and cafes nearby, if I need to go to Istanbul I can just hop on the ferry without any traffic in Istanbul.

http://rioseditionhotel.com/

ExpatSomchai

Would recommend the Hyatt or Sheraton in Atakoy

Renard

I have stayed at both the Radisson Blu and the Courtyard. I don't remember a problem with the Radisson but I pretty much arrived and went to bed-woke up and left. Both the Courtyard and the Radisson have no shuttle if you have an early morning flight which I find very annoying. For this reason I wouldn't stay again if I had an early morning flight unless it was really, really cheap.

kt85

Hi,

so are there any hotels near the airport that provides a shuttle for a 615am flight?