I stayed at the St. Regis Istanbul and the Ritz Carlton Istanbul. I'd say the St. Regis is in more of a "touristy" area, and was overall a nicer hotel. Both were very nice though and I definitely was recognized at both. I had a very inexpensive upgrade to a club level room at the RC, which was definitely worth it. Frankly, there was no reason to ever go anywhere for meals if you didn't want to.