phatozzy

I've been to Istanbul 3 times and in fact just got back and here are my recommendations on 3 Hilton properties I am familiar with:

I will preface by saying I prefer walking the city or taking the tram if I have to for long distances. I avoid taxis and uber since traffic is horrendous and uber drivers will either cancel on you if the distance is not to their liking or will message and say that they will charge 100TL for a 50TL ride since traffic is bad - on this last trip, had many cancellations and upcharge attempts.

Doubletree Old Town - I really like this property and I've stayed here twice. Walking distance to Grand Bazaar and not too far to all the sites in Sultanahmet. There is a tram stop right across the hotel for those longer trips - very convenient . Being a Diamond member I was upgraded both times to a terrace suite and they have an excellent buffet breakfast. Had dinner at the restaurant 1 night and was not bad. However if you like nightlife, then not so good since nothing to do around there at night.

Doubletree Sirkeci - have not stayed at this property so cannot talk about facilities however have walked past it and the location is excellent. Quite near the Spice Bazaar and Eminonou port to catch ferries. Very walkable area with many stores and restaurants and tram stops are nearby as well. Bit of an uphill climb to Topkapi and Hagia Sophia but you can take the tram for that.

Hilton Bosphorus - also have not stayed here but know the area and not really a walkable area and no tram stops nearby.

Conrad Istanbul Bosphorus - stayed here on last trip and personally will avoid this place at all costs - in fact I was booked for 4 nights and checked out after the first night. This place is always super busy like a train station - seems to be very popular with visiting politicians so security is crazy - while we there, some politician was coming and they had riot police and armored vehicles - small army in there. Was supposedly upgraded to a Deluxe King however the room was tiny and bathroom even smaller - some hampton inns have a bigger room and bathroom. Did have a partial Bosphorus view but you're not in Istanbul to sit and look at the view all day. Breakfast was at the lounge and not very good - it was semi-buffet since the food area was cordoned off and you had to point to anything you wanted and the servers would fill your plate - very hard to decide since you don't actually know what you're pointing to. My main gripe aside from the supposed upgrade is that you have to take a taxi anywhere - very remote location and definitely not walkable.

hfly

I am no fan of the Conrad, but have to say that the above review of it and "Istanbul" above is sort of like a review of NY that only takes into account perhaps the Times Square area when speaking of NY, West Hollywood when speaking of "LA", etc.

Most of the times that I have been to the Conrad, one could throw bowling balls across the lobby and not hit anyone. But what do I know, I've only had to frequent the place for over 30 years, how can my opinion possibly compare with someone who says, "I was booked for 4 nights and checked out after the first night".

A word of warning to all...........Big Istanbul hotels (5 Star) get big events, whether political, business or personal. In Turkey a large percentage of high value weddings happen at 5 star hotels, such as the Conrad, much higher than what most are used to in the west, so if you are at any big property at the time of a wedding, Circumcision, or the whatever minister hosting a dinner, it will be busy. Also just as a note ALL high end properties in Istanbul have "crazy security" and have done since the 70's, so metal detectors, X ray machines, etc are not "crazy" but the norm, as are car checkpoints, mirrors run under cars, etc etc. This is not something special or abnormal and is not found at lesser more touristy hotels.

Referring to "tram stops" it should be noted that there is really only one "tram" in Istanbul, that happens to go through touristy areas,(yes there are a few tiny other ones), the tram is in no way a major transportation "type" in Istanbul, and you know Istanbul has subways, metrobuses (metrobuses are something that a tourist would normally not take, but probably carry 100 times the passengers of "trams"), buses, ferries and all sorts of other transportation. No one except possibly a first time tourist that is ONLY staying around the Sultanahmet area would ever need to be concerned about the "tram".

Regarding the Hilton Bosphorous, I have no idea what this person is talking about, it is well located to a number of attractive areas for tourists and business travelers alike, whether we are speaking about Besiktas, Taksim, Nisantasi, or any of the happening neighborhoods down Istiklal (Beyoglu, Pera, Gumussuyu, Cihangir, etc etc). Istanbul is a huge city of close to 20 million people, and there are plenty of interesting places to see outside of the Sultanahmet area.

sfgiants13

I don’t understand the hate for the conrad. Sure it’s not near a metro stop but there’s a bus stop right in front of the park by the hotel and the Bus from the airport is maybe a 5 minute walk away. We had no issue taking a taxi into town every day for $5 and just taking the metro/bus back. 5-10 mins walking away are a ton of shops and restaurants. Kind of nice being away from the touristy parts. Plus it was just about the only hotel with any semblance of a lounge during Covid. I’d be perfectly willing to stay at either there or the bomonti.

IAN-UK

I'm not sure where you get the idea of anyone expressing hatred of the Conrad. The hotel gets a lot of love from Diamonds because it can be quite generous with upgrades. It's getting a bit worn in parts, but thats just the patina of a fine hotel. The staff are (generally) terrific. The lounge is not what it was, but it's still OK.

The single thing that puts me off is the inconvenience of the location, though the high season price don't help either! If I had to stay at a Hilton in Istanbul it would be the old one, with all its failings - though if i were on a honeymoon the Conrad would get my vote As it is, my preferred hotel is the Intercontinental, just round the corner from the Hilton.

ISTFlyer

As a local of Istanbul, I would like to add some bulletpoints based on what is discussed in the last few posts.

For the Conrad; yes, the location is not touristic and there is no touristic destination within walking distance other than the Çırağan Palace and Dolmabahçe Palace which are 10-15 minutes walking distance so for a first-timer I wouldn't suggest this hotel based on the location. Although, taxis might seem cheap for foreigners, it's not good to rely on taxis at Istanbul as the number of taxis are limited and it might be hard to find one during certain times of the day + account the traffic that you might get into.

For the DoubleTree Piyalepaşa, the location is horrible for any tourist as it's middle in no where with nothing around except one or two car dealers and petrol shops. Maybe there are some cafés and restaurants available at the new Polat Piyalepaşa project which is near the hotel but there are much better hotels in terms of location and accessibility. Of course, if you have a rental car or prefer to roam with a taxi all the time, the distances are short.

For the Sultanahmet discussion, yes, most touristic spots including the Haghia Sophia Mosque, the Topkapı Palace, the Basilica Cistern, the Grand Bazaar etc... are located around and yes the tram is a convenient method to roam around that region, although as hfly mentioned above, when visiting a city, you wouldn't need to stay at the most central point of the city. However, I would definitely mention that staying in Sultanahmet for leisure purposes is much better than staying in Taksim where there is nothing else than the Republic Monument.

Schwann

Am staying in the Hampton Old City soon - got an excellent rate and it looks fairly good being new. So will post a "review" after my stay. It was considerably cheaper than any other Hilton option when I booked a few months ago.

Out of curiosity, having just had another look at prices to see if prices had come down.. what is causing the extremely high hotel rates in Istanbul? I assume demand but they are literally eye watering compared to what I remember a few years ago.

hfly

There is a lot of weird things happening with hotel rates in Turkey in recent months, not only is it like they are all trying to make up for the appx 1.5 years of thin or no business, but as if they are trying to reset back to 2013-14 before Turkish hotel prices went off a cliff. Prior to 2013 in $ terms all segments of the Turkish hotel world (I am referring to IST, and major tourist destinations) were increasing by 10-20% a year and had been doing so for at least 5 years. There was a huge boom in hotel building that started in roughly 2010-2012 in all price points, and everything was "sunny". Then so may things happened................AIRBNB, overbuilt capacity at every price point and then a huge string of set backs.............Gezi Park, at least 143 terrorist incidents (including Reyna, Besiktas stadium, the Hippodrome, Istaklal Caddesi, the Ankara train station, Reina, the airport, etc etc), corruption scandals, an attempted military coup, several economic disasters (which in some cases helped tourism), and ultimately Covid 19.

Just take a look at Hilton properties in/around Istanbul and Turkey as an example.......... up until 2000 or so, there were maybe 3-4 in Istanbul and perhaps 9 in all of Turkey. Today? 28 in Istanbul, about 80 throughout Turkey. It is my understanding that after 2 years of terrible business, the last 5-6 months has been pretty good for the industry BUT it is also my understanding that beyond November or so things are going off a cliff. So we will see what happens.

suley

So I have an upcoming stay in Istanbul, it’s kind of last minute so most rates are a little higher.

I have provisionally booked the Hilton Kozyatagi as it seemed to be cheaper then the others but reading the reviews (about dated rooms and poor service) and seeing the location it may not be suitable (£70 a night). The plan is a friend is flying in for a night and it’s sightseeing for them. The other days I can travel myself. They fly into SAW so it’s probably better placed for arrival, we could get changed and then go out for the day but I do recall it’s usually hard to get taxis in the evening.

I did see Hilton piyalepasa (£100 a night) was a little more then what I was paying for the other but no lounge and probably closer to central. Both seem to have mixed reviews with the first hotel fairing worse on room reviews.

I did look at another Hilton more central in faith but that’s was closer to £110 a night, I plan to stay for 4 nights but my friend is only visiting for the one night.

which would you recommend, stay with the current snd bank the savings on taxis? Is the Asian side as bad as the reviews on Google or would you stay in ten Europe’s side

MP001

I only have been once at the Hilton Kozyatagi in 2019 and they treated me very well, upgraded to a suite as a Diamond and full breakfast provided. Not much to see in the area, you have a shopping centre just across the motorway. That said I would base your choce on arrival time in SAW and what you want to do/see. Consider that from SAW to the Hilton Kozyatagi you can probably make it in 40/50 minutes. Then if you want to go to the touristic part you will need at least an hour. But it can vary based on time of the day. If you are planning to stay out and visit the touristic part of the city you may not need a lounge so you can also consider other hotels. I have been at the .DoubleTree Sirkeci for instance and from there it is a nice and easy walk to many touristic attractions.

suley

Thank you, I arrive at IST a few days earlier and I have the time to travel, they travel into SAW and arrive around 9am, so I would say 11am at the hotel, get changed and then plan to stay out for the day and into the night as they only have one day. Next morning we both fly back on a 3pm flight from IST, ideally would like to do something in the morning before we head to the airport. When I had stayed at the Bosphorus it was nice in the morning going to taxim square for just a bit of contrast.

I’ve just seen Sirkeci it’s got a great location, which you recommend based on the flights but also would you say go to the shopping centre in Kozyatagi or what’s walkable in the morning around Sirkeci before heading back to the hotel to get a taxi.

ovacikar

If you prefer to stay on the asian side, you can also check Doubletree Moda, which has nice views , transportation hub location (Subway, ferry, Bus service to both airports). You can catch a ferry or Subway ride to the Old city. I am not sure if the lounge is open though, since I stayed as HH Gold last year.

MP001

As you are planning the morning walk I suggest to stay more in the turistic area, DT Sirkeci or similar. Hotel might be more expensive but you'll save in taxi and time. Plenty of walkaround opportunity, things to see and you are close to the tram that easily go through the main turistic sites. Around Hilton Kozyatagi there's no much to walk around. Hotel is nice and you have a lounge - that probably won't be used if you will spend the day out- but I would only stay there if significally cheaper compared to other properties.

ffgap

Good analysis (my quote is a bit arbitrary, wanted to avoid full post quote).

I have been surprised by Istanbul hotel price levels in light of the weak Turkish lira (I am aware tourist hotels quote in EUR or USD, but still).

I will have my first Istanbul trip in years in November. Started looking at Hilton hotels 4 weeks ago as I still need a few qualifying nights. Rates were just through the roof. The new Hampton semi-flex for €130, DT and Hiltons with mediocre reviews on TripAdvisor closer €150, Conrad/Hilton Bosphorus/Hilton Bomonti all above 200 semi-flex. I know in many places, prices are elevated right now but Istanbul wasn't on the forefront of my mind in that regard.

Furthermore, I was a bit surprised of very mixed reviews. Not just for Hiltons, but also for IHG and Marriott properties.

For now, I have booked the HI Istanbul City at 11,000 per night. Reviews are mixed as well but I still think the value is probably there

Concerto

What has happened to Istanbul? I have been there recently and I stayed at IHG hotels. I found the Hilton properties far too expensive. There was a time until very recently where you could get great hotels at a fraction of the price elsewhere, and now I am seeing mostly stupid prices for mostly mediocre hotels. Clearly people are happy paying these prices, otherwise they would quickly come down. How come the change? Oh yes, and they do advertise in Euros, but you're always billed in TRY which means that the Euro price sticks whether or not the TRY goes up or down, and of course you have to eat FX charges on your cards.

ISTFlyer

There is a huge amount of Russian tourists that could not travel to other countries that are now going to Türkiye for vacation. And, this is in addition to all the Gulf residents that come visit the city and pay those displayed prices on highly marked-up chain hotels so I am totally not surprised of the pricing.

In addition, the same thing also affected rents in the city as they have skyrocketed similar to hotel prices despite the neighborhood involved.