hfly

Now I will chime in on location, in regular, not Covid times. For any regular tourist the original Hilton is by far the best location, hands down. As Ian points out, if one is walking from Taksim square one is going to encounter a lot of people, I do not understand why anyone would walk through Gezi park at night, or any similar park anywhere. The Conrad as pointed out is up a long steep hill.....I should add that if walking up from Besiktas, ferries etc, one also has a chance of encountering drunk or homeless people (That being said, this is not Newcastle or Calcutta that we are talking about, it is not some endemic Istanbul problem). Yes Ortakoy, etc are "down the road" from the Conrad, but the Conrad is essentially while in a "good" neighborhood" somewhat far from everything in a walking sense and cut off from everything (but what do I know, I only lived quite near it for a decade). Bomonti is currently the best property in Istanbul. That being said, if one really wanted an awesome location, the Doubletree in Moda, on the edge of Kadikoy is probably the best "hidden" gem in Istanbul currently, also convenient to the ferries, bordering two excellent neighborhoods, and in many ways just as accessible to all the big tourist sites as either the original Hilton or the Conrad (while on the Asian side, it is close to ferries, one can also take the subway or Marmaray, the Avrasya tunnel etc).

That being said, any location works, taxis in Istanbul are cheap and public transportation has evolved a thousand fold over the last decade.

arlflyer

I remember walking by that property years ago and saying to myself "WOW - next time, I am staying there!" Awesome part of town and yet of zero interest to the vast majority of the tourist hordes, plus an excuse to take more ferry rides...sign me up!

kingcole974

Firstly, thanks for the advice. Now for a quick follow up.

After reading comments on this thread and doing a little extra research I decided I quite liked the Bomonti so we booked a suite there. However, before booking, I had emailed the Hilton Bosphourous explaining that I’d normally book a suite but as the prices were high, could they guarantee 2 rooms together if I buy two?

Well, talk about chalk and cheese with the Conrad. My reply came with a booking already made to one exec room, with an auto upgrade to a Bosphourous suite, with the promise of an additional bed for my son, and asking for my flight details to they could provide a complimentary airport pick up.

Have just completed our third night and are ready to go home. The exec room was closed but we were well catered for in the main bar with 3 x drinks vouchers, each, per day (kid got one but didn’t take a voucher for his soft drinks). The appetisers were excellent and even when my son decided he wanted a plate of fries and my wife, a Mohito instead of a ‘local’ drink, they refused to take payment.

It’s location is great. It’s easy to be put off by the exterior look of the hotel, but it’s really a gem. My first post covid hotel stay was a huge positive.

Schwann

Off to the Istanbul area for a week in December, so instead of trying to decide which hotel to book decided to stay in 3 different ones.

First 2 nights: Hilton Istanbul Mall, which opens in November.
Second 2 nights: Hilton Bomonti
Final 4 nights: Conrad, booked on an Impresario rate.

Most likely the Conrad will stay as is, but might switch the first two depending on my fancy. Details as ever will follow.

zeer0

Stayed at the Bomonti last month and it was fantastic. Upgraded to a massive Corner Suite and the hotel was just physically beautiful. Not the best location but taxis are so cheap it's not a consideration for me. Almost everything was open except the lounge which was instead a modified service in the restaurant.

escape4

Susona LXR Bodrum

ankomonkey

I had points bookings on 2 different October dates for the Hampton Kurtkoy at Sabiha Gokcen Airport. The hotel have cancelled them saying "due to restricted numbers of open rooms/guests" they are not accepting points bookings on my dates. While I can understand that cash is more attractive to them than points in the current mayhem, can they get away with cancelling me or is this against Honors rules? I wonder if they will fill their allowed numbers on the 2 nights in question.

escape4

That does not sound acceptable. Especially because the hotels are not even closed, I would ask to be compensated and given a room at another hotel of similar level or above, free of charge.

petter2

I would like to stay to collect some nights during the double promotion in 3 weeks time, but it seems like none of the Hiltons are really a good option.
Bomonti and Conrad seem like the best ones - both are not in a great location, far away from the metro and nothing nearby. The more central ones - Doubletree Sirkeci and Old Town are not rated very well - Ranked >200th hotel on Tripdavisor.
Am I missing something? Where are the upgrade chances highest as Gold?

makrxx

Looking at 3 nights in January, first time in Istanbul so want to explore the sights/food. Cheapest available room at the Hilton Bosphorus at Є102, Conrad at Є93, DoubleTree Sirkeci Є71, DoubleTree Sirkeci Є85. Are these the normal prices or on the lower end? Thinking if I should just book now or wait it out if there might be more Hilton promo of double nights/points etc.

I assume there'll be free breakfast at the minimum for a Gold and perhaps upgrade to the next category (probably not suite)?

kkong42

Bomonti is no more than a 10 minute walk from Osmanbey metro, I have stayed there a few times and walked to/from the metro each day without any issues.

Hilton Bosphorous is a similar walking distance from Taksim.

IAN-UK

??

If you want to do the sights, that usually means Topkapi, Hagia Sophia and friends. The Double Tree is perfect for that, and close to the Eminonu ferry port in case you want a Bosporous cruise or a ride across to the Asian side. No lounge, but significantly cheaper than the Hiltons or he Conrad.

The Hliton is a nicer hotel, and in a fine position once you've found your feet: but it's a little awkward in location terms for a first-time visit unless you are happy to jump in taxis.

The Conrad is lovely, but even more awkward.

The Bomonti is reasonably close to a metro station, but i think it would be hard to find anyone to claim its location is at all attractive.

sfgiants13

Something to consider is whether the lounges will be open too if you get access and that matters to you. We just did the Conrad because of that. It really isn’t that bad for access to the sites. A $5 taxi ride to the main sites and we caught the bus which stops right in front of the park on the way back. Really not that bad and the area around the hotel is very nice to walk around in.

hfly

BTW to answer youir question, those rates are in fact in non-Covid times quite LOW.

jbandy10

I have a similar question for myself. Going on a 6 day solo trip as a tourist in February. Never visited before. Cash and points rates are crazy low. Conrad, Hilton Bosphorous, and Bomonti are all around 90 EU per night. DT serkeci is 55.

I'm Diamond. I would assume in February I have a good shot at a suite upgrade at any property on that list. I was primarily looking at the Conrad before I read this thread. Now, I'm not so sure. Exec lounge access also does matter to Me, but during Covid, maybe it doesn't matter.

What would you do?