Istanbul Marriott Hotel Sisli, Turkey [Master Thread]
Oct 14, 2020, 9:33 am
Upgraded to an executive room on the highest floor (32, 33 is presidential) The room is nice and decently spacious for a one-night. I do particularly like the light coming through to the bathroom coupled with the view. There is a great cafe called Shishly cafe & bistro not a 2 min walk to your left from the hotel. There are also plenty of amazing places to eat in the vicinity and it is bustling with activity. I am considering returning here for a few nights later on as I could eat through some places (though the same could be said for most other Marriott locations here in Istanbul) but I would not say stay away by any means for even a leisure tourist in a more businessy district like Sisli.
The automatic window might interest some as well! I will say this is the first Marriott that has not had a sanitizing machine at the elevators on my floor.
I know there is a thread about opening windows so this might interest some
Last edited by reggiekush; Oct 15, 2020 at 7:49 am
Oct 14, 2020, 5:57 pm
Oct 15, 2020, 7:32 am
I will update with this. The cleaner fully walked into my room while I was packing up this afternoon and just started to clean..to say I was thrown off was an understatement. I was like give me 2 mins she just ignored it, I didn't have my mask on as I wasn't expecting anyone. I mentioned it the the FD but not sure she will do anything as she barely looked 18.
Oct 28, 2020, 1:42 pm
Check in: Smooth. With mobile check in everything is taken care of within 20 seconds and I'm on my way to my usual room with $10 F&B credit. Everytime I have stayed when I returned after dinner I have walked into my room to notice a gift. Whether it be a bottle of wine, or some fruits and nuts. Even today as I could barely get situated my familiar area without a knock on my door with 3 Mason jars; strawberries, grapes, and plums along with dates and nuts.
For those of you who are road warriors, you definitely realize how much the same room means to you ( I won't put me in the same category as you). It gives you some semblance of a home as you know your number before you even before arrive you just know the nooks and crannies of your room.
Before I continue I had a much better articulated review until my fingers slipped on my laptop sending me back a page....I'm sorry
The staff here continue to be aware of COVID rules but unfortunately the guests...not so much. There is a fair amount of non compliance from the lobby to the hallway of your room. To that point this is the only hotel I have been in that has NOT provided any hygiene kit nor do they have sanitizers in the elevator lobby. They only have them in the lobby which is ok but not up to par.
I did see they left a pack of antibacterial wipes in the bedroom as they never leave any package for their guests or any package and have no sanitization pump nor automatic station in any elevator lobby.
Last edited by reggiekush; Oct 29, 2020 at 4:08 am
Oct 28, 2020, 9:13 pm
Oct 29, 2020, 4:08 am
Oct 27, 2021, 2:48 am
Istanbul Marriott Hotel Sisli
Istanbul Marriott Hotel Sisli
Abide-i Hurriyet Caddesi No: 142, Sisli Istanbul, TR 34380
Istanbul Marriott Sisli = Allergies when in the Room (20 Photos)
Istanbul Marriott Hotel Sisli
I read mixed reports of Marriott Sisli in the past so I never rushed to try this hotel until now. Based on my stay it was also a mixed bag for me: proactive suite upgrade, excellent club lounge with nice views, however service sometimes left to be desired and breakfast was forgettable borderline unpleasant.
Room
I booked the entry level room and was upgraded as Ambassador Elite to the Executive Suite. The room was not very large (59sqm) and I wish it had a convenient half bathroom instead of only the main bathroom, but it was on a high floor (30th) so excellent views on two sides of the room and given that the hotel is higher than surrounding buildings it felt private and I enjoyed the views thanks to the floor to ceiling windows. The hardware was decent as well – perhaps less carpet would have been nice but the bathroom was in good shape including a stand-alone shower in addition to the bathtub and a couple of windows for natural light. The welcome amenity was also nicer than what many other hotels provide these days: a fruit plate and a bottle of red wine. The biggest problem with the room for me was allergies. I am allergic to dust so in some older hotels my nose can get congested. Marriott Sisli is not an old hotel but I had allergies anyway; we can never be sure what is the source but when I went to the lounge or in the restaurant I felt better, then going back to the room I got worse. After checking out of the hotel I got better again. I suspect they have not cleaned the air ducts for a while and for this reason alone I will be reluctant to return but I realize for other guests this can be a non-issue. Another mild negative is that bathroom toiletries were from an unknown cheap brand.
Dining
The club lounge on the 32nd floor has recently reopened and had views as great as from my room, if not better. The design and layout of the lounge was attractive and made for a nice place to spend some time.
Afternoon tea was offered 3-5pm which was mostly desserts. Happy hour 6-8pm had hors d’oeuvres, and drinks were available until 10pm; 4 hours of drinks was quite generous. The food choices during happy hour were above average including fish, and drinks included sparkling wine so overall I thought the lounge was a strong point of the hotel.
In contrast, breakfast was a black mark during my stay. The restaurant was very loud and crowded but the main issue was that service was poor; I waited to be offered a drink and after quite a while nobody came so I went to the staff-served and chaotic buffet. Food choices did not stand out – the typical Turkish breakfast items. Once I started eating someone finally came to offer me a drink.
Service
Service was not only a problem in the restaurant. When I checked out I ordered a taxi and the entire episode was bungled twice, in part because there was no staff outside the hotel, at all, for arriving or departing customers.
The lone good service aspect was the call in my room to ask if I was having a good stay – I wish more hotels did that. Service in the lounge was not bad either.
Wifi
Wifi worked well with speed of 15 Mbps.
Overall
In this price range, it’s a very crowded field for hotels in Istanbul and competition is fierce from many hotel chains. Marriott Sisli was not bad but for various reasons it did not stand out enough for me to recommend it strongly or to consider returning in the near future.
Nov 22, 2021, 2:08 am
Apr 15, 2022, 5:33 pm
In terms of shops nearby, there are two major malls Cevahir and Trump Towers Mall that are located near the hotel ( both walking distance ) and should have a decent store options but in terms of shops in the street, nothing much other than tobacco shops, supermarkets and offices.
Although, if you like to walk, it would be better to walk towards the Nişantaşı area ( 15-20 minute walk ) which would have more restaurants, shops, etc... for a visitor. Also, if you are a decent speed walker, you could walk to Taksim within 30 minutes from this property and the Galata area within 45 minutes.
Feb 28, 2023, 10:14 am
Pros:
- Upgraded to a Corner Suite the evening before arrival - this did not work out due to room condition (more in Cons), but they are willing to upgrade, which is a good sign
- Offered late checkout - I asked for 2 PM - they asked if that was late enough
- The views are nice - the hotel occupies floors 14-33 of the building, and most rooms face south towards the sea - you're so high up that most things are unobstructed
- Shower pressure was decent - not that strong, but decent (similar to the pressure I see at home)
- Service attitudes were pretty good
- Front desk folks were friendly
- Nice restaurant staff at breakfast
- Guest Relations folks walking around at breakfast asking how stays are going
- Evening lounge offering (32nd floor) is solid - some good breads, olive oil, and cheeses that were tasty enough that I was able to replace dinner (because Azzurro Pizza, my go-to, is closed on Mondays)
- Breakfast is not served in the lounge, but is instead served in the restaurant and was very good
- Nice omelet station that made a great Turkish sausage omelet (stuffed full)
- Really nice gozleme (like cheese naan) - I had about 5 servings
- No issue with getting lattes that weren't bad
- EUR-TRY exchange rate used was very fair
- Waited 30 minutes in lounge for Corner Suite upgrade to be finished by Housekeeping, but arrived to find a suite that was so full of smoke smells - went and asked for a non-smoking room and was told that was non-smoking (tell that to the past guests) - if so, Housekeeping should have smelled it (I could from the hallway walking down and just hoped that it wasn't coming from the room I was assigned)
- No other suites available, they said, so I was put in a normal Sea View room (most rooms face the sea) on the 29th floor
- This room did smell better
- Room design is frankly hideous - so much beige and a horrible wall that looks like a classroom whiteboard
- Desk chair was very uncomfortable as all I could feel was the pole that connects the legs to the cushion
- When turning the TV on, I encountered several loading screens before the TV crashed and turned off (I tried multiple times)
- AC was ineffective - I had it set on 18.5 for hours, and it only ever cooled down to 21 (I made to sure to close the automated window)
- Bed was not ideal - paper thin covers (seems like a thing for Marriott outside of NA), mattress was firm but had a rather lumpy mattress pad with hills and valleys, pillows were fine (though, two were kind of lumpy)
- No washcloths
- No Ambassador welcome amenity provided in room (only hotel so far in IST that hasn't provided something - even Ren Polat brought something while I was out)
- Wi-Fi was a bit shoddy (though, not super terrible)
Photos:
