escape4

Introduction I reviewed this hotel two years ago during covid times and stayed a couple of times this year so I thought I would provide an upgrade with what has changed and what has not. At the moment many hotels in Istanbul are very expensive, a lot of them more than double the pre-covid prices and sometimes even 3x. Conrad is one where prices seem to remain a bit more reasonable and can now often be cheaper than many Hiltons and DoubleTrees in the city which makes it a no brainer for me. It continues to be my favorite Hilton property in Istanbul. Check In For my stay in the first half of 2022 the hotel had high occupancy and I did not get a suite upgrade. I asked about it at check-in and they said they would check again the next day if a suite becomes available and unfortunately it did not so we stayed in a non-suite. For my latest stay a few days ago, surprisingly I was not auto-upgraded in the app ahead of time despite seeing many room types available online, for example even rooms with a better view (non-suites) were available but I did not get an upgrade. Once I arrived at the hotel I was welcomed as Diamond but I was given a room type as booked which was puzzling to me; I asked about suites. They said if I did not receive an upgrade it must be because there is no availability but I said it looks like there are many room types available online. The receptionist and her colleague checked a few things and found a family suite for us without further argument. I never had that room type before and I guess they assigned us this suite because they could see we had a baby in tow. Room The family suite does not look as great as the regular suites (too much carpet) but it had two full bathrooms, one with a shower and bath, and one with a shower only. This was quite convenient for us and I appreciated the thoughtful upgrade considering the baby. The view from our low floor was pretty much nothing but I guess that’s the compromise to make especially when receiving a complimentary upgrade rather than a suite which is paid for. Another difference from the regular suites is that the TV in the bedroom was at the foot of the bed, which reminded me of the setup at Conrad Bora Bora, completely on the other side of the planet.The pillow menu is still available and the hotel is now being more explicit about having special bathroom toiletries available upon request from Refinery and Temple Spa brands, in addition to what’s found in dispenser bottles from Byredo. These are special extras that I appreciate. Dining I stopped by the executive lounge and did not notice major differences from the past. The service was quite good with staff proactively offering refills to guests. Breakfast in my 2022 stays was far superior to the more limited buffet in 2020 during covid. The only downfall is that the restaurant tends to be very crowded after 9:30am and it’s not that easy to find a quiet spot so it’s more enjoyable for early risers. Overall Overall for the price paid I continue to be satisfied by the value proposition, not only within the Hilton chain but also when comparing with Hyatts and Marriotts which also have many hotels that have become priced very aggressively, unlike Conrad. Perhaps there is a temporary influx of guests and pricing might be out of whack at some hotels, we’ll see in 2023 what price levels become but Conrad will remain on my list of regular places until something changes for the worse.