I've been busy, you beat me!

This CP had been on sale for more or less 11k pts per night in Feb and March. I wish I could stay longer at such a price (cash rates were in mid €100s), but stayed only for a night. I was downgraded to platinum this year, so I was counting on the lounge (I still have the pass) that also opens in the morning or that gives me a free breakfast in the restaurant like most hotels. I was told that the lounge didn't offer breakfast, and no free breakfast for the pass holders. However, as a 'goodwill' gesture, I was given a free buffet breakfast, which was good.

The lounge attendant was lovely, she was from Myanmar, I was told she was sent to Istanbul by IHG. While I haven't seen such international exchange employees with IHG for years, it isn't uncommon with other chains. I looked for IHG properties in Myanmar, but I didn't find any, hmmm.

The spread all day was impressive: as you posted, basically what other hotels may offer as 'afternoon tea', this CP offers them all day. If they opened earlier for breakfast hours, it may well be acceptable as continental breakfast.

The happy hour was good, booze free flowing even during Ramadan, which I was concerned about before my arrival. I liked the mezze, but the hot foods were forgettable.

While I liked the lounge, I wouldn't recommend it if you don't have a lounge pass. There are many inexpensive and good eateries near by. Overall, I had a good stay, including a free upgrade to a junior suite right next to Laleli Mosque. The building itself is a historic building.

One pet peeve was that there was a $50 deposit required, or it takes several days to reimburse if I used my card as a guarantee. I opted for a cash deposit, and they had this old school minibar. At check out, it took forever for them to check that I didn't steal anything: at least 10 minutes. I'm disappointed they didn't simply trust a platinum member with a decade membership wouldn't steal anything from the room.