As per the name, Orientbank Hotel used to be a bank and after renovations which lasted 18 years, they finally opened in June 2021.  They chose Autograph brand but to be honest in light of my stay this could easily be a Luxury Collection hotel and it scores very well in most regards.  I can highly recommend it as one of the best hotels I have stayed in Istanbul before.  

Location

There are not many hotel chains in the old town, Hilton has a DoubleTree and a Curio, Accor has a Mercure, and there is also a Four Seasons.  Out of 20+ hotels in Istanbul, Orientbank is the only Marriott hotel in the old town, consequently location will be a major draw for travelers going to Istanbul for leisure.  The flipside of that is many small streets in the old town are entirely pedestrian or motorcycle only – very few cars are allowed to go there.  So when trying to reach the hotel with a normal taxi unless the driver has pre-clearance to enter the old town, he might have to drop off customers about a 5-minute walk away so with heavy luggage it would not be ideal and I would recommend booking a car in advance.  Same thing when leaving the hotel: the taxi should be booked for a specific departure time. 

Room

I was pre-upgraded a couple days in advance to the top room type Executive Suite (45 sqm) as Ambassador Elite, however on the day of arrival I wanted to check-in the morning and my room was not ready so I settled in a Grand Deluxe room on the top floor instead (listed as 26-27 sqm) which was one category higher than the entry level room that I booked.  

As most hotels in the old town, the rooms are small so for people looking for spacious rooms this will not be a good fit.  My room felt a bit cramped especially in the bathroom because when opening the door of the toilet on one side or the shower on the other side, we would have to squeeze near the sink area.  Also the shower and toilet enclosures were entirely glass with a decal on the walls but not going all the way down – at about knee height, so it could feel less private to some.  Apart from that, the room looked great, high ceilings, very stylish and charming, I would say it was a mix of Design Hotel and Luxury Collection brands.  

Common Areas

The hotel common areas looked equally attractive as the room – I was on the top floor so it was easy to notice the sun roof which kept hallways very bright on all floors because of the open space where we could look down at other floors below.  The construction was not entirely finished, on the roof of the hotel they were planning some sort of cigar lounge and panorama which had great views of the city.  They are also finishing up a restaurant in the basement of the building.  

Service

Many newly opened hotels have service issues but at Orientbank it was entirely the opposite: service was absolutely superb during my entire stay.  Part of it is that it’s a very small hotel with only 36 rooms so they are set up to give highly personal service, also they seemed to have a significant number of staff relative to the number of guests.  Service was excellent in all regards, whether it was at reception or in the restaurant.  In terms of service I consider it the cheaper Marriott alternative to St.Regis which is cream of the crop for service.  When I stayed at Ritz Carlton Istanbul I had good service too but that’s because I had a club room - service in the lounge is exclusive.  However for guests without lounge access at Ritz Carlton, I would say Orientbank has better service, and it’s also a notch above Marriott’s other two luxury options in Istanbul, JW Marriott and W.  Bottom line Orientbank was very impressive for a 3-month old hotel. 

Dining

Until the new restaurant opens, perhaps the current venue of the restaurant was not the best set up because when you enter the hotel it’s just one room with the reception on one side and the restaurant / bar on the other side.  So when dining you can see guests coming in and out the hotel.  Nonetheless the food and cocktails were both excellent, and for breakfast I enjoyed the healthy breakfast bowl.  

Wifi

Wifi worked well with speed of 15 Mbps.

Overall

Because this is a small property, they might not have been able to fit a fitness gym and perhaps this is a reason why the hotel could not qualify for the Luxury Collection brand.  However for the hardware, the service, and dining, I think it’s a top notch hotel for people who can accept a small(er) room to be in the old part of the city.