bamboola

Ok, I misspoke. What I meant to say - I've heard that taxi drivers tend to take advantage of a foreign woman travelling alone by jacking up the fare. I would prefer not to be taken advantage of money-wise.

hfly

May be true, however ripoff taxi drivers do not target one gender, and while it can be a problem, it is not as bad as Milan or Amsterdam for example.

sallyerd

Four adult family members had two Diamond Reward Rooms reserved for mid May 2007 (two nites). Upon arrival, the GM came to greet us personally and invited us to preview the Presidential suite for our approval (Prez Bush stayed in this Suite in June 2004). Upon inspection, we were overwhelmed by the generous offer and later two extra (real) twin beds were added to the corner of the huge living room. We all agreed, the comfort and opulence was quite unexpected. The suite included a full separate kitchen, a separate dry bar, separate dining room for 12, two full baths and one huge master bedroom, two flat screen TVs. A wrap around view of both the Bophorus and sprawling city. Exec. lounge was delightful and the hotel gym and pools more than adequate. The rose gardens and gated grounds were lovely.

With regards to safety. We felt very comfortable in Istanbul during our four days of touring and utilized many taxis, public trolleys and buses. We did experience two separate incidents of taxi billing shenanigans, but never felt unsafe.

We drove by the Hilton SA Park hotel and is looked quite shabby. No way would it be considered for future stays.

BTW, my DH is no longer a FlyerTalk skeptic. I get the razz from family for time spent researching on these boards. But between our recent Istanbul and Cavalieri Diamond Reward stays there is a new air of respect from the peons around here.

SuzyB

This was a thread in the past, but seems to have gone away....
Please share your thoughts on the Istanbul Hiltons. I will be there next year, and want to relax after a 12-day tour. Advice? Thanks!

bamboola

We stayed at the Hilton Istanbul in July and thoroughly enjoyed the stay. We were upgraded to the Executive Level, but had breakfast in the downstairs dining room every morning. Breakfast items ranged from the standard cereal, eggs, sausages, etc., to miso soup. It was quite a spread.

The Exec Lounge had a nice variety of complimentary alcoholic beverages. Each day, a plate of fresh fruit was brought to our room.

On my last day, I got the 24-hour tourist stomach cramps. The hotel called a doctor with whom I spoke on the phone. The hotel also sent a staff person to the pharmacy to pick up medicine. The entire episode (doctor phone call, taxi for the staff to go to the pharmacy, and the medicine) cost less than $25.

We had dinner reservations at the hotel that last night which we had to cancel. When my husband went down to cancel, the restaurant manager offered to send up some soup for me.

Sweet Willie

a search for "Istanbul" brought up this thread which has quite a bit of feedback on it and I'm guessing might be the one you are referring to: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...light=Istanbul

Great city, have fun !!!
^

--

JDiver

Lost of discussion over the years, always the same questions, always the same answers: Hilton Istanbul on Cumhuriyet Caddesi in Harbiye. The thread Sweet Willie pointed out says why.

jerry a. laska

When looking for threads about Hilton's in a particular geographical area you can also go to the Hilton Family Hotel Master Thread a sticky at the top of the forum. Once there you can click on the geographic link for the area you are looking for and then scroll down to the country and city and you will find a list of the threads about Hilton family hotels in that city.
For example, for Istanbul you would click on the link for Africa and Middle East and then scroll down to Turkey where you would find the following with links to the thread:

UK2USFlier

Suzy, hi: my wife and I stayed at the Hilton Harbiye (URL http://tinyurl.com/2upeb7) in August '07 - got an upgrade (as a Diamond) to the exec floor. Excellent lounge, expensive restaurants (albeit a good buffet) in the hotel and watch out for the usual local scumbag taxi-drivers ... don't fall for the con "I missed the hotel entrance" and insist that the taxi driver takes you to the hotel entrance, where the uniformed doorman will explain the rules to the taxi-driver.

Don't drink water in a restaurant - as mentioned by my wife - and enjoy the hotel; the views and the service from/in the exec lounge are stunning - save me some of those icky, gooey pastries?

allga

Hi everyone--

Planning a three or four day stay in Istanbul after a cruise. First time there as tourists, will stay on points.

Choices are Conrad Istanbul, Hilton ParkSA Istanbul, Hilton Istanbul.

What are your views on the best of the three for our purposes?

Thanks.

JDiver

A search using "Istanbul" as a keyword will reveal many members' existing offerings and reviews of these properties. I wouldn't devalue them with an extensive answer, but many of us like the Hilton Istanbul, as it is quieter and north of the city, they seem to treat elites well and have less of a quirkiness factor.

dlwalt

I am using HH points for a 2 or 3 night stay in IST in August. There are three different Hilton properties there, any comments on them? I am leaning toward the Conrad or the Hilton SA rather then the Hilton IST due to lower redemption points. How are the locations of those compared to the big Hilton?

mecabq

All of the locations are good. The big Hilton is in the Taksim area, one of the main tourist venues. The ParkSA is on the other side of the park, a bit far (but feasible) walk from Taksim, and in another nice area called Macka, which is one of the most upscale areas of the city.

I have stayed at both of these. The big Hilton has far more amenities -- including a concierge lounge, pool, and several restaurants -- and more modern rooms. The ParkSA has fewer services, one small restaurant and bar, with small and fairly dumpy rooms and bathrooms. I also remember in two stays that the beds were uncomfortable. But, I agree, for the price difference, it's a reasonable trade-off. Also, the breakfast on the top-floor restaurant of the ParkSA is very nice -- the food, service, and view are very good. I think that I got free breakfast as a Diamond, but I am not certain of my recollection.

I haven't stayed at the Conrad, but its location is similar to the ParkSA. I think that reviews on this board have been pretty mediocre. You can do a search and find many details about all three properties.

jerry a. laska

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showp...9&postcount=40

kyushuman

For my stay October 16-19 (3 nights), prices in IST are STEEP!
Here are my HHonors choices. Which would you take?
(FYI: Even Best Westerns with horrible Trip Advisor reviews are US$100-160). I prefer the Taksim side, and most hotels in Taksim like Hilton, W, Hyatt, Marriott, etc seem to be on the $300-450 range.
I'm Gold, so there is a chance of Club upgrade at Hilton--though haven't stayed at Hilton since the Club "enhancement". Anyway, you can take into account the fact I'm HH Gold, too.
Thanks!

Hilton Park SA Istanbul:
$185 room only
$230 incl. daily bf and 1st night's dinner

Hilton Istanbul
$300 room only
$330 incl. bf and 1st night's dinner

Conrad Istanbul
$290 room only
$340 incl. bf and 1st night's dinner