felizdenovo

Personally I liked Doubletree by Hilton Sirkeci more than the Old Town

rrz518

The Sirkeci location does not offer the same rate program that the Bosphorus/Old Town properties do, so I need to choose one of those....I was hoping for some insight as to the hotel itself - facilities, service, etc. I'm familiar with the relative locations of each, so specific property info would be helpful.

Thanks

49er

Just to answer my own question now after the fact, getting to the airport from DT Sirkeci was a nightmare. I guess I should have pre-booked transportation, but I did not. I spent almost an hour trying to find some way of getting to the airport, but no taxis were available (or would take 20-30 minutes to get to the hotel, which I thought was too long). Uber was severely underestimating the time to pick up, and their drivers kept cancelling. Fortunately there was a family going to the airport and there was space in their van. They were nice enough to let us join them, we paid a reasonable rate to the driver, and so we made it.

Hotel itself was ok. Location was great for sightseeing.

:D!

You know you could have just taken the tram to Yenikapi and then the metro if a taxi was not forthcoming...

49er

Yeah, but it was 36 F, windy, raining, and I was with my wife, two kids, and our baggage. I looked up transit on Google Maps and it seemed there was a transfer which I was worried about (being outside in the cold, windy rain).

vincewy

I'm afraid all lower tier hotels are now asking 10000 points.

I booked Hilton Garden at Umraniye for 5000 points earlier and when I tried to add extra night it's 10K now. Nonetheless 10K is still a good value given how much HH points have devalued.

Agneisse

Have read a few pages of this thread. Am I right in saying the consensus seems to be that the DT Old Town is best for proximity to the sights? It will be my first time in Istanbul, tourist and looking to make a 5-night points booking. I am only Gold so lounges are not a big priority.

escape4

There are still several Hilton family hotels in Turkey for 5k points, but I think you are correct that in Istanbul it's now 10k pts or above for all of them.

puchong

Reading this thread I decided to check the rates for a random date in October 2019 and was shocked to find that the DT Sirkeci was priced higher (€124) than the DT Old Town (€108) - though the latter is superior in many ways. Both were way higher than the Hilton Bomonti (€90) - which is a better hotel with a decent lounge. The Conrad was €131 - nearly the same price as the Sirkeci property?

I was even more shocked to find that the HGI Ataturk Airport wanted TRY 594 while I have never paid more than TRY 180 in any of my past two dozen stays! This used to be a 5,000 point redemption hotel! How do they get away with these rates, especially now that the airport has moved far away?

Thepi

Had a nice stay in the Conrad recently. Upgraded to an executive King room with Bosphorus view as a gold.

Also stayed in the DT Sirkeci the week before, it was convenient for most of the major sights.

A word of warning for Uber, drivers will tell you they are having problems receiving card payments and will then ask you to pay in cash. They then drive you the long way round...

rrz518

Hello: I'm trying to decide on these 2 properties; I've stayed at the Intercontinental before, and liked it a lot, particularly the proximity to Taksim Square Metro, and Isteklal Caddessi.

Not familiar w/the Hilton in the least however, but I have a comparable rate there as well. It appears to be in the same general location, but a bit further afield.

Any thoughts? I'm a Gold member w/Hilton, and a nobody with IHG.

Thanks!!!

RRZ

pauleeepaul

IAN-UK

The Intercontinental is a much nicer hotel, though entry-level rooms might not impress. The club lounge is comfortable and has quite spectacular views, but it's one of the rare places where the catering isn't all that much better than at the Hilton.

Both are convenient for Taksim, but the IC has the edge here, with the metro only a very short walk from the hotel.


But it's not much fun staying with no status leverage at all, so perhaps you should go for the Hilton and keep your fingers crossed for the upgrade fairy to her work.

SK AAR

Currently booked on a LH flight arriving IST at 01:35 (I know it is dreadfully late but I need the full working day before flying to IST). I note that the various HAVAIST buses also operate during the night (departures 02:00, 02:30, 03:00 etc) and as I just need a bed to sleep a few hours before moving on to the conference hotel near Taksim Sq. I would like to book a cheap but reasonable hotel that is easy (and preferably quick) to get to at night (with busses rather than taxi - preferably to get off the HAVAIST bus very near the hotel to avoid changing to tram, metro or other busses for the last part to the hotel). You get the idea? The few hotels at or in the vicinity of IST are ridiculous expensive (compared to what you get elsewhere in IST) so I will skip them.

Any suggestions?

razzaba

I just completed a stay at the new Curio property, the Hagia Sofia Mansions. It just became part of the Hilton portfolio this week.

Aside from a couple of to-be-expected hiccups with their systems/IT (given the transition and that I checked in the first day) I have nothing but positive things to say about the property. It did take a short while to understand the layout of the property, as there are several different disconnected buildings that are all a part of the same property, but are not all right next to one another.

The location was awesome - a stone’s throw from the Blue Mosque, Sultanahmet Square/Hippodrome, and Hagia Sophia museum. Very close to Topkapi as well.

As a Diamond (I’m guessing I was the first Diamond at the property) the hotel staff literally treated me like a king and they all were incredibly helpful and attentive. I was upgraded to a very nice suite, was always greeted personally by name (including upon arrival when walking through the door - before I had even attempted to check in or provide ID), and provided with complimentary Turkish tea or coffee any time I asked.

The manager was also insistent, in a good way, that I try a variety of their dishes for both breakfast and dinner (which were brought complimentary, beyond what I had already ordered for dinner) and all were absolutely delicious.

I would highly recommend this property if you want to be in the vicinity of the Old Town historical sights. I only wish I had more time to stay there for pleasure instead of having to also work!