ffgap

There is the new subway line running from Taksim. Takes around 40 min or so. Taksim is a 5 min walk from the GH.

BTW, my elite treatment there was not so great. Upgraded from standard to room with Bosphorus view. I think I didn't receive a welcome note or amenity in the room. I liked the club lounge, though, except for the hot food.

mangoMan

Thanks PDXpress and ffgap. How are taxis in Istanbul - do you have to haggle a price before getting in? For the subway, is it a pain if you have luggage?

365RoadWarrior

It isn't possible to get to IST (new) Airport on the subway. Taxis are okay, but do not use the Bitaksi app. It is the worst thing ever. Your payment is almost cetain to be refused (if a driver shows up at all) and you will need to paying cash because every form of credit debit payment will be refused. I would absolutely book through the hotel.

ffgap

During rush hours, the metro is probably a pain. But I cannot say anything for sure as I haven't taken the new metro line yet. It literally opened less than a week ago. To get to IST, you will have to change trains once. In theory (supposing it works as promised), the metro should be the fastest option to IST.

In case you need more info on public transport, I think the people in the TK forums will be able to give the most competent advice .

Stgermainparis

We have an international flight out from SAW in mid July on a Friday at 3:45PM. Recommendations on getting 5 of us to airport? And how long before flight should we leave GH?

rota

Let the hotel book a taxi. Nothing else makes sense.

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Stgermainparis

I was worried a taxi wouldn’t accommodate 5 people with luggage. Would it? I did find a rec for a private transfer. 55 Euros for a big Mercedes minivan. That might ease my stress level.

Pocatello

I used my Uber app to book taxis in Istanbul in February of this year. The Uber app will ONLY book taxis and nothing else. Here is what I found. They have 3 levels of taxis: Yellow, Blue, and Black. Each "color" of taxi would appear in the Uber app as an option. Yellow was always the cheapest and they had the smallest taxi cars. Blue was hit or miss and I did not have much experience with Blue. Sometimes Blue would time out and there were no Blue taxis that would accept my Uber job.

I ended up booking the most expensive option, Black Taxi, for most of my tourist activities around town. Black Taxi was always a larger sized van. When I say van I mean something in between a mini-van and a Mercedes / Dodge / Freightliner Sprinter type van. They were all of a custom size that I had never been inside of. They were a brand and manufacture that I had never seen before. They all had seating for six people inside and luggage at the very back. The seats were 3 facing front and 3 facing back all looking at each other. I took these larger vans all around town.

I should point out that the Black Taxi was the most expensive but for me the price was always very reasonable. $50 or 55 Euros to the airport seems normal and reasonable. I took them all over Istanbul during a 2-week stay and the prices were low enough for me to use them almost exclusively. Even though I was traveling alone!

Stgermainparis

Oh this is good info and perfect for my family of 5. I think for airport transfer I will schedule the private transfer in advance but if we need transfers while in the city I’ll do this option on Uber. For ex, we will be moving from Sultanahmet to Grand Hyatt half way thru trip. This sort of transfer will be easier.

mclachlan4321

Any good restaurant recommendations in the area around the GH?

Stgermainparis

What tourist things are convenient to the GH that don't require tram/train/taxi? Thinking we should spend our entire stay in Sultanahmet and not move to GH.

myperks

mostly shopping around the Taksim area. From Taksim, there is a long walking/shopping street with lots of restaurants, shops, and malls and in and outs local side streets all the way to Beyoglu/Sishane. You can take the trolley back to Taksim.

We enjoy going to Besiktas near the W with lots of local eateries and shops and then catch a ferry to Asia.

pregabalin

Has anyone has any experience with booking two rooms and getting globalist benefits for both? I guess it would be safer to book one as a guest of honor room?

thelostshark

I stayed here in April, unfortunately only for a couple of nights. They had a dynamite breakfast, with a guy making flatbread stuffed with a variety of fillings, and also a wine selection (which I couldn't pull the trigger on at 8 am). Terrific service, hope to be back. tls

kabroui

Just returned from a trip to Turkiye. Stayed 3 nights at the GH, 3 more nights in a cave hotel in Cappadocia, then a final night at the Park Hyatt in IST.

No complaints about the Grand Hyatt.... used a SNU to upgrade, but my experiences as a Globalist in Europe make me think I would have probably been upgraded to a suite anyway. Staff was exceptionally friendly and helpful complimentary bottle of wine in the room, an outstanding concierge that booked us some nice tours, great breakfast and the dinner at the restaurant was great.

No competition to Macka Palas Park Hyatt though. I used points there and was upgraded to a beautiful suite with a steam room. Service level here was just over the top. The neighborhood around PH was much nicer as well.

Would highly recommend either one of these hotels.