Originally Posted by
downinit
I can confirm that the hotel desk is open and operational. The exit past customs going right (the direction of the desk) was closed, but that side of the hall is still easily accessible and open once you exit from the left side doors.
That said, the new airport really is way way way out in the middle of absolute nowhere. The hotels they are using are all near the Mall of Istanbul...but unfortunately, the mall is not really accessible unless you have a helicopter. My hotel was only a couple hundred meters away from the mall, but on the wrong side of the freeway interchange. It would have been a 15 minute drive or 2.5 hour walk to get there
Also, I hate to say bad things about a very useful free service, but my driver drove past the hotel and kept going, eventually turning around near the old airport...but only after finding a major traffic jam on the road leading even further out of the way past ISL. In the end, we got back to the hotel about 45 minutes after we first passed it. And I was the only passenger and only stop.
It's nice to know that they have re-opened the western part of the arrivals hall in IST.
The Mahmutbey Basın Ekspres intersection might be one of the most crowded and one of the worst intersections in Turkey in terms of traffic. That area is supposed to be an industrial zone, however, they have built numerous of hotels over there.
By the way, Mall of İstanbul has a free shuttle service to most hotels; however, on the way back to the hotel, you would need to show a receipt minimum of ₺30 ( around $4 ) that you have spent in any vendor ( including cinema, food outlets, cafés, play zone, supermarket ) in the mall.
For those who wish to check the hours of that shuttle service:
https://www.mallofistanbul.com.tr/ulasim ( Refer to services Oteller or Oteller 2 )