ariell

suite there are perfect..^

ThWilmesi

Stayed there last year as a platinum ambassador, great hotel... had booked a club room and got an upgrade to a junior suite with view of Bosporus as well as Hagia sophia and blue mosque, great!... the club is nice, but evening food is sufficient for a meal, the restaurants of the hotel are so so, although the Turkish restaurant at the top is great for sitting outside and have a good view, it is very romantic.

Overall a great hotel, oh the junior suite for a junior suite is massive with 1.5. bath great... just great.

kats

I am staying at this hotel in a few days. What would be a good way to get to the hotel from the airport? Taxi? I just have one small suitcase.

kats

I am staying at this hotel this week. What would be a good way to get to the hotel? Taxi? I just have one small suitcase.

spanishflea

We travelled there via the subway and tram system. It took about 1h30m but it was dead cheap and gave a reasonable introduction to the Istanbul neighbourhoods for a first time visitor.

darby1970

The subway/metro to the tram is quite cheap . Transfer is seamless. Probably
60-90 minutes . You need to ride funicular at the end to get to Taskim square. Hotel is then a 5-10 minute walk through a park.

Public transport is fun , but very crowded in the city center area. There is also a direct bus between Taskim Sq. and airport . Only 2 blocks from hotel.If I remember right,about 10-12 Euro/person. Plan on 1 hour and hope for less.

stimpy

Unless you really want to explore the public transit option, to me a taxi is the only way. It's really not that expensive by western standards.

Shareholder

I was able to redeem a couple of Free Nights from the last promotion for that weekend, so turns out to be a rather good use of an award!

serkan

You may take the Airport shuttle (Havash) to Taksim, and then it's only 200-300m walk to Intercontinental. Shuttle costs around 5 euro. It's a direct and express line, so a good alternative to tram+bus combination.

kats

Thank you folks for the transportation advice. I ended up taking the Havas bus to the hotel. The cost is only 10 YTL or $6-7 for the direct service from the airport to Taksim SQ. It took less than 30 min to Taksim. Here is the link for the timetable.

The hotel gave me a wonderful RA upgrade to a suite. The suite is as large as the club lounge on the 16th floor. I have nothing to complain about the hotel. I will definitely come back to Istanbul for great lunch at Ortakoy and for the hotel.

BEYFlyer

Got back yesterday from a 3-night stay at the IC Ceylan. It is really a good property and I really like the location. Staff are always very friendly. Took a car from the airport for 60 Lira; it is probably the quickest way to get to the hotel from the airport. Otherwise, the big Havas buses park just a few hundred meters from the entrance.

Shareholder

So how did you get from the airport to the hotel. Assume the HAVAS bus service is the most cost-effective?

kats

Yes, I took the HAVAS bus to Taksim. The hotel is only a few minutes from the bus stop. After getting off the bus, you walk for 1 or 2 min in the same direction as the traffic. The hotel is on the right side by the park. You can actually walk through the park to the hotel, but it's better to stay on the street if you have luggage because of steps in the park.

Shareholder

Thanks, kats.

As an RA I have been upgraded to a Park View Suite for my award stay later this week. Has anyone had success in changing an award stay from a suite to a regular room with Club access? Or would the suite include Club access? Or if I cannot get Club access (either with the suite or a regular room) should I just request a room with a view of the Bosphorus straight?

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To answer my own post, a spectacular upgrade and treatment as others have noted: junior suite on a Club floor (1520) which is a full suite in all but name and lack of a full door enclosure between the living room and bedroom. Huge master bathroom plus an ensuite. Park view has some of the Bosphorus in sight and what it misses is made up for from the Club lounge dining room! But from this height one can see over to the Topkapi and both the Blue and Haghia Sophia mosques among other sites in the Old City.

Staff was most professional and courteous, welcoming me at the front desk and an assistant manager taking me up to the Club lounge to check in, then escorted down to my room, already laid out with a table of goodies to sample, lots of bottled water. The Ambassador gift was a pair of aromatic soaps.

And the HAVAS bus, at 10TKL was very convenient at both ends, though one must walk out of the terminal to the taxi ranks to find any sign of this service (cross over to the central quay where there should be at least one of their buses parked). Terminus in Taskim is right across the park from the IC, curbside.

nicolas75

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/16175230-post4185.html