JDiver

I'll be posting a Hilton Istanbul stay report next month. From others' posts, it is on a hill as well, good views, even of aircraft headed to Ataturk, if not as close to the hustle and bustle - which for me is a plus, as sometimes I like to get away from it.

One thing about the Hilton, you can not book a non-smoking king-bedded room on the Hilton website - the only king-bedded rooms listed are all smoking . That has been for months and months, so... it'll be interesting to see what happens, how we are treated.

SanDiego1K

Armed with the information we have given you, the Conrad will be just fine. You'll know to only order beverages on the top floor, rather than the next to top floor!

The best part of the lounge is the spacious deck overlooking the Bosphorus. It's a wonderful place to sit and decompress from all the sightseeing and shopping that you do in Istanbul. The view can't be beat, even if service is sporadic and the free food spotty.

peteropny

The main tourist sites are not walkable from the Conrad but as has been mentioned, taxis are incredibly cheap in IST.

JDiver

I booked Hilton Istanbul a couple of months ago, at least, and on my birthday I received an e-mailed PowerPoint presentation someone put together (yes, birthday theme... "The Blue Day Book".) the notation under the first slide says "BU POWERPOINT CALISMASI ISTANBUL HILTON OTELI ON BUROSU TARAFINDAN MISAFIRLERINE TESEKKUR AMACI ILE HAZIRLANMISTIR.
HARUN DAGLI - ON BURO SEFI." Well, I don't speak Turkish, so... nut this was a first!

Maybe they'll give me a PowerPoint presentation of an Executive room instead of an actual upgrade?

Merlot

We didn't get a room on the executive floor as it was full. However, we were upgraded to a delux room as gold, and lounge access. I agree the deck overlooking the Bosphous was wonderful and a great place to relax after all the sightseeing. We booked side trips - to Esphesus and also to Cappadocia thru the Am Ex desk in the hotel lobby. We had great trips-one was a full day fly out and in on the same day-and one was an overnight...I would love to go back to Istanbul...Taxis were cheap, so we always took a cab, never walked anywhere.

row1A

hope you will post a trip report when you get back, Mrs row1a and self have a trip there in Oct this year and have been watching for feed back on the conrad. Especially transport from the Airport, as we are coming on a very late AF flight from Paris.
Couldn't pass up the rate there, a E rate of 80+ US, Have had friends who have stayed at the Hilton and loved it.

row1a

GoodTimes

row1a, you'll be going there before I will! Mr GoodTimes and I will be going there in Dec - a long wait. So, I hope that you will post a trip report!! USD 80 is a good rate. Rate is USD 125 at Conrad and 175 at Hilton.

row1A

will post, hopefully other people will also post, everything will help. I got the rate about 3 months ago, it is actually 84 usd+ but I had to pay one nite to get it, if the hotel isn't what it seems, which is highly unlikely, as they just made 5star, I can go elsewhere for a couple nites.

I'm still hoping someone knows about the transportation aspect,as we get in at 11 pm and from all the books I read all the shuttles and buses stop at 11. Guess its going to be the taxi....

row1a

hfly

I've posted this many times before, so will keep this short and you are welcome to do a search for my prior comments. The Conrad Istanbul is perhaps the poorest Conrad in the world. No one I know who has ever stayed there has been happy, service has been a problem forever at the property, it never improves and food is generally poor. As for the comments about the Hilton being resorty, perhaps that is because it has a lot of land around it as it was built in the 50's and has more land around it than almost any other hotel in Istanbul. In any case I know many people that have left the Conrad after a day or two and would recommend the Hilton instead (that being said, there are hotels I'd put above the Hilton, but you didn't ask about them).

cbob

From what I read here, I'm glad I stayed at the Hilton.
I was there for a medical conference a bit more than a year ago, and it was a great stay. Nice clean quiet part of town, with a great view, especially from the rooftop bar. Reasonably close to Taxim Square, so it was easy to walk down the hill through one of the better shopping areas, and experience the covered market. Best place to get a fresh seafood meal.
Because I was getting my room paid through the Congress, I was not eligible for the usual Gold upgrades, but when they saw my status, they threw in a few things like lounge access, and free internet. Dial-up, but it worked flawlessly.
I would certainly stay there again-even on my own buck.

Dakota

As hfly says, this has been discussed before and s/he really does not like the Conrad. However, I do not recognise the hotel described below as the one in which I enjoyed a fantastic stay two years ago. Upgraded to a massive, opulent suite with wonderful views, excellent service, one of the best executive lounges I've seen - large inside and out, extensive terraces with stunning views of the Bosphorus and city, free, graciously served breakfast, evening snacks and drinks - splendid pool and healthclub.

Granted, the building is not pretty and has no grounds or outdoor pool, but it was great for me.

Travel The World

So there !

simonsmith

I have to concur with Hfly; we had a disastrous stay at the Conrad which was certainly the worst I have stayed at. What on earth is the Butler floor all about?!

hfly

Now this is getting nonsensical as the Conrad Istanbul does in fact have an outdoor pool, on top of the health club (on the way to the tennis courts). Look, perhaps I have a different perspective on this, I know the former manager, hell I even used to be friends with the wife of the guy who built it, I am in fact friends with the hotels current CFO, I would say conservatively that I have been on the premises at least 80 times in the last 15 years (roughly since it opened), I have been to weddings, bar mitzvahs, trade conferences, etc at the hotel. I have been to countless dinners, meetings, played tennis there on numerous occasions (and still do occasionally as it is well located for me and a tennis partner to get together - hell I am looking at the top of the damned place right now!!), I have had friends, family, acquaintances, etc. stay there and have been in countless romms including the best suite there (can't remember the name, so do not want to err by giving it the wrong name here). The point is that service has always been quite poor, prices always over the odds for not great service, and the rooms have never been that great. There are many other better hotels in Istanbul, and since the renovation, the Hilton is one of them. Remember, these things are subjective, I do not doubt that for some this can be classified as a great hotel, I would just question the judgement/experience of anyone who made the statement categorically.

row1A

Thanks for the help, knowing a hotel, any hotel is a great help for those of us who ask these questions. As you said these things are subjective, all I am looking for in these info threads is good critizism on a location. I know that some people have bad expriences and won't give the hotel a good rating. When Mrs row1a and self travel to other countries, we try to stick to given quantities that we know will give us a better than normal chance to have a great experience. The hilton chain for us is one of the those solid quantities. Of course there are the lagards in any chain.
I have several times arrived at a hotel and not been happy with our room, we found other lodging shortly there after. That is what we will intend to do here, as we have one nite paid for on the E rate, 84+ USD. It will have to be pretty bad at that rate, now if it were much more than that it would be another story.
Oddly enough, I have been on FT only a short time, any experience and input I have been able to give on these threads come in the way of hotels and areas, not air fares and MRs. We have traveled extensively and it's nice to help and be helped. So thanks again

row1a