Originally Posted by
mecabq
I didn't say that it was in the league of Park Hyatt at Four Seasons (or the Ciragan Palace); I was careful in listing what I thought were the large chain business hotels that are comparable to it.
With the exception of the Ciragan Palace, the rest of the ones that you have listed are small boutique properties (<20 rooms) and/or not in the business center locations of the city. As non-chains, I don't imagine that they compete all that much with the IC. Plus the number of rooms at all of them put together is much less than the IC. So listing them hardly proves that there is not a relative shortage of quality hotel rooms in the city.
P.S. I wouldn't pay EUR 380 for the IC Ceylan, either, and have paid far less than that in each of my handful of stays there.
I spent a lot of time in Istanbul last year, First Try Atlas Jet cheapest ticket I've ever purchased. I flew from Antalya to Istanbul and the rate was so cheap I didn't know what to expect. I booked it based on time and a deep rooted desire to avoid Turkish Airlines which was 70X more expensive. I liked the IC Ceylan location was great and hard to beat. Had a corporate dinner deal at the roof top restaurant thing they have and the views were stunning. You can see the entire city Million Dollar view. I liked the hotel a lot but I like older hotels that have character. I loved the restaurant and lobby experience, I remember sitting in the lobby with a co worker and talking for a while sipping on high priced lattes. I also stayed at the Crowne Plaza Harbiye wow what a great hotel. New Property location is a up and coming part of the city sort of a B location but it cost me about five or 8-15 bucks to get to the IC or Ortakoy. The train is also not far although it was on a hill and it was a pain of a walk to get to the train. The train is also packed like sardines, it was an experience but I opted to cab it every where else. It was a new hotel at the time it still is but very modern look and feel to the property. I liked the restaurant and hospitality that people in Istanbul Showed me was out of this world. I also stayed at the CP Old Town the restaurant is what sticks out for me from that hotel I like the food there. I also had to work at the CP Asia wow I liked the part of the city that hotel was located in, I liked the hotel as well. They were really nice to me great hotel, I loved Istanbul and have recommended a trip to so many people. Antalya and Istanbul worth the trip for sure, I put on so much weight. The deserts were so great and hard to turn down. A co worker took me a store that sold Turkish Delights it was supposed to be the oldest and I mean old like hundreds of years old nice experience. The one thing I wish I would of done is book the hotel in Ortekoy that House Restaurant sat on it looked like a really nice hotel. I loved having dinner and lunch at that place and watching the sunset. Ortekoy is a must if your going to Istanbul you have the little Potatoe stands street meat sales people. The restaurant row deal is interesting as people hustling to get you in the restaurant well but house had incredible views and the food was good. This part of Istanbul reminded me San Francisco for some reason, There is also a Jersey Store or athletics store, I bought Authentic Jerseys, Shirts, etc. for the local team Besiktas dirt cheap