Thunderroad

Just bumping this thread because my wife and I will be in Istanbul for four or five days in May on an award stay. Am wondering which hotel to stay in. FWIW, we'd love a room with a balcony and a view. Any updated comparisons of the two properties would be much appreciated, including whether one tends to treat Diamonds better than the other.

UTA_flyinghigh

My wife, my 9-month old son, my sister-in-law and myself stayed at the Conrad IST for 5 days/four nights last month on a award stay.

We were put in a large room at the top floor (16th IIRC), choice of lounge or restaurant for breakfast (which is on the floor below), great views of the Bosphorus, nice breakfast, very good choice of liquor in the evening and very tasty finger food available too. The food for dinner was actually so good (hot food, desserts, cheese, salad, etc...) that we actually never ate dinner outside that week. The staff were great and took great care of us during our stay even though it wasn't a paid one.
Would return there at the first opportunity.
Tell me if there is anything more you would like to know about this property.

UTA

WBurcham

Thanks for the + about the Conrad. Considering which Hilton (either the Hilton or the ParkSA) or the Conrad or the W to burn points at...

Quick 2 night (1 1/2 day) trip near the tourist areas.

chitownflyer

Many think the Hilton Istanbul has the best location and is easily accessable to the metro. The Executive lounge is also supposed to be quite good. I would read up the reviews on all the hotels at tripadvisor.com.

UTA_flyinghigh

I've never stayed at the "real" Hilton but have stayed at the ParkSA property. Although very nice if you can score it when there's a promotion going on i.e less than €50, I sure wouldn't burn my points there as the ParkSA is nowhere near the Conrad and nowhere near the other Hilton if I believe FT and TripAdvisor.

UTA

hfly

The Parksa is across the valley and wuite close by, even walking distance but you have to know how to walk there. Conrad is a few KM's away but not really that far.

WBurcham

Thank you! I'm not a fan of tripadvisor only, their tastes seem to vacillate far too much. Tend to get similar opinions (to mine) here on FT.

Close by to what?

Thunderroad

Thanks very much for this updated info. In reading reviews of the two properties here and on tripadvisor, some suggest that it's easier to get to tourist spots from the Hilton than the Conrad--though both require public transportation or taxis to get to most such spots--and perhaps (IIRC) the Hilton also has more restaurants, shops, etc. within walking distance. How was your experience with the Conrad in these regards? Not having been to Istanbul before, sorry if I don't have a lay of the land.

hfly

"as the ParkSA is nowhere near the Conrad and nowhere near the other Hilton if I believe FT and TripAdvisor"

UTA_flyinghigh

The Conrad is indeed a bit far from the downtown area and is located at halfway up a very sloping street. You can walk to the tramway station (the line that goes to Zeytinburnu which is the interchange for the airport) but it's a bit far. Same thing goes for the ParkSA which is next to the Besiktas stadium.

Taxis however are plentiful and all are metered, the hotel has some "official" cabs with the Conrad logo waiting in front of the hotel.

UTA

millburnmike

I have read the trip report threads for the Istanbul Hilton and Conrad, and both seem to have had their ups and downs. I still can't get a good sense of which one is better at the moment and having never been to Istanbul before, I do not have a sense for some of the geographic references in the posts.

For my first trip to Istanbul in mid-February (business a few days and staying over the weekend before heading back to UK), which one would FT'ers recommend?

Being my first visit, I want to do the tourist things of course but the lounge (HH Gold) and fitness center are also important for me.

Any advice would be appreciated.

TRAVELSIG

Conrad is very nice.
Whatever you do, don't stay at the Hilton ParkSA, which is one of the worst Hilton's in Europe. I checked out after 6 hours (and that was after arriving at 00:30).

FrAAmer

If you've read the trip reports, then you must have come across my post (with pictures) from the HILTON.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hilto...reviews-4.html Post #59

The only "drawback" to the Hilton is the requirement that you either cab to the "highlight" destinations, or take public transit (very easy but still a walk from the Hilton to the funicular) and then a tram- but....

As a Diamond you will be treated very well, the lounge (I don't really understand your Gold reference as your profile says you are a Diamond) is wonderful and the fitness club at the Hilton, complete with indoor and outdoor pool and squash court is first rate.

I cannot imagine that the Conrad could be any better.

JDiver

I highly recommend using Search; it will reveal at least two threads entitled "Hilton HHonors Properties in Istanbul" - and some other Istanbul property threads.

Select Advanced Search from the Search menu

Select for thread titles only (not posts)

Use keyword Istanbul

This keeps FT running better, as it leaves a slimmed down database index, and it makes use of the information other members have taken the time and trouble to post.

People like the Hilton Istanbul, generally avoid the Hilton ParkSA, and give the Conrad mixed reviews. But this is a gross summation, and the actual information others have posted about their experiences - some of it quite thorough - is pretty useful.

travelexpert

Since I so badly want to visit Istanbul, I have read ALL the details about both hotels--both here at FT and at Tripadvisor.com.

Surprisingly, the Conrad seems to be the inferior choice and "suboptimal" (I am trying to say this as nicely as possible) even through Conrad is positioned as a near-luxury brand.

And the Hilton is not much better.

The bottom line is that neither property is worth staying at.

So I am looking towards using my precious few Hyatt points at the Park Hyatt Istanbul--even though I have no status with Hyatt...