We ended up at the Ararat hotel – www.ararathotel.com - which was a lovely little hotel, but the rooms were really small and the hotel very very noisy. Friendly welcome, great view form the terrace, but difficult to recommend it.

I’ve been told that hotels in Istanbul are all very noisy, but here are a few that I short listed at the time and managed to see during the trip :

Empress Zoe www.emzoe.com – looked really nice – but go for a top floor room with terrace or their new garden suites – otherwise very small rooms.

Ibrahim Pasha www.ibrahimpasha.com – very nice views from the terrace – well situated for the grand bazaar and old town

Blue House Hotel (haven’t got the website) standard sort of rooms but nicely placed and great terrace.

I have to agree the Four Seasons http://www.fourseasons.com/istanbul/index.html is absolutely fabulous if you can stretch your budget it is definitely the best choice in town.

Our long weekend was cut short by a slight accident (I twisted my ankle and tore a ligament - so I recommend a good pair of walking shoes to visit the old town) and didn’t get to see all we had hoped, but would love to go back. After having done the old town and the grand bazaar, do not miss the Egyptian Bazaar (great for spices of all kinds) – Galata and the “Tünel” tram to take you up to the new part of town – the shops and cafés of Beyoglu etc… If you have time a cruise on the Bosphore is supposed to be a must.

Hope this helps – have a great trip.