[MENTION=783825]solewalker[/MENTION], thanks for the review! I did not even know there was a UC hotel in Istanbul. Even though the the hotel looks nice, it is probably not as desirable for guests with elite status. If I am not mistaken, they do not have suites so the best possible upgrade would be the View Terrace room which are a bit bigger than the standard rooms, and is not the room you got. The hotel is small so probably not easy to score an upgrade.

Istanbul is a city with lots of full-service hotels where you can get lounge access and good odds of suite upgrades, at very modest price. Park Hyatt gets rave reviews from several guests. The price tag is higher than UC but only moderately so. At GH you will get lounge access and maybe a suite, possibly for cheaper than UC since GH is an older hotel. GH's reviews are not as great as PH, but decent nonetheless.

Outside of Hyatt, lots of good options too if you have status with other chains. St.Regis is an alternative to Park Hyatt, Hilton Bomonti has a great executive lounge, Fairmont is in a different league than UC at similar price.

Bottom line, while I am interested in trying a boutique UC hotel, I am not sure Istanbul is the right city for it, at least for me. For folks without elite status anywhere, that is a different equation however and this particular hotel would possibly be interesting to try. I see this hotel as best for people who have a strong preference for small boutique hotels relative to large hotels, and do not mind giving up elite perks for it.