Marriott Bonvoy hotels in Istanbul, Turkey
Oct 13, 2016 | 2:24 am
Oct 13, 2016 | 12:57 pm
Oct 13, 2016 | 2:22 pm
I wonder what this signals as to a further decline of the EDITION brand. Marriott started out in 2007 thinking that there were going to be 100 EDITION properties by 2020. However, almost 10 years later, plans for only 15 have so far been announced. And now, after only 4 properties have been completed, there has already been an exit. With the Starwood merger probably putting some pressure on Marriott to consolidate the combined company's brands in the coming years, perhaps this signals the curtailing of the EDITION brand?
Feb 10, 2017 | 12:37 pm
I wonder what this signals as to a further decline of the EDITION brand. Marriott started out in 2007 thinking that there were going to be 100 EDITION properties by 2020. However, almost 10 years later, plans for only 15 have so far been announced. And now, after only 4 properties have been completed, there has already been an exit. With the Starwood merger probably putting some pressure on Marriott to consolidate the combined company's brands in the coming years, perhaps this signals the curtailing of the EDITION brand?
I wonder what'll happen to Edition. Marriott made it clear after the merger that W and Edition would stay with Edition being pitched as a more luxurious and exclusive lifestyle brand in the same space as W. I wonder how that stands now seeing that they've been on a roll with W since the merger closing [Algarve, Budapest, Melbourne and Prague signed since November with Sydney in the near-confirmed rumor mill].
The next few months will be interesting indeed... who knows what the future of Marriott's brands will hold?
khabah
Last edited by khabah; Feb 10, 2017 at 1:23 pm
Sep 4, 2017 | 11:01 am
Jun 26, 2018 | 3:56 am
Renaissance Polat Istanbul Hotel
Renaissance Polat Istanbul Hotel = Great Airport Hotel For Layover (10 Photos)
Renaissance Polat Istanbul Hotel
I stayed at Renaissance Polat near the airport during a quick layover.The room was paid by TK because there were no short connections available for my routing.I believe the Ren is the hotel TK normally pays for long haul J travelers; it was the second time in a year that they gave me a room there.Given that it was a TK booking, staff at reception did not know that I was MR Plat when I got there but they assigned me a suite even before I gave them my MR number which was surprising.Perhaps they could see via my passport that I stayed there before?Anyway it was a good surprise because last year I did not get a suite.Perhaps a contributing factor is the fact that I arrived at 4am and had to leave at noon to go back to the airport so they felt they could still sell the suite for the following evening and have plenty of time for housekeeping to be done.Anyway, it shows willingness to be generous with suite upgrades.
Room
My suite was on the top floor (24th) where the space in the corridors is very expansive and airy.
My room had with a view of the airport which is not far away although I was not disturbed by any noise.Looking at the floor plan all rooms are suites on that floor.The room is very nice and modern as you can see.The living room is separated from the bedroom with a door and it also has a working desk besides the L-shaped sofa.At the entrance there is a half bathroom which is in addition to the full bathroom in the bedroom.The living room has hardwood floor with a large rectangular rug in the middle.There is a rain shower in the corner of the main bathroom with decent water pressure but several holes in the shower head being plugged so it would need some work.The bed was very comfortable and I had good rest before going back to the airport.
Location
I got to the hotel with the shuttle bus which is only a 5 minute ride.For an airport layover or for a business conference its a great location.But if you want to go to Istanbul for tourism I would not recommend it.You will end up paying a modest premium price for the convenience of the airport location while you should be paying a premium price for a city center location instead.If you want to save money by being in a location away from city center, I would recommend to choose somewhere else than the airport and you will get a better a lower price for a hotel of a similar category as the Ren Polat.
Dining
The breakfast in the restaurant was free and I was told at check-in that the Club Lounge also has a few breakfast items but far less elaborate.I went to the lounge just to check it out.It is one floor below reception and it has views of the pool.There is also an outdoor terrace.The seating space inside is a bit limited but since I did not go in the evening I do not know if its large enough to handle the volume of guests allowed in the lounge.Some trip reports earlier in this thread indicate that the lounge was on a high floor so obviously they must have moved it recently but the change would have been before August 2017 when I stayed here for the first time and the lounge was also at the same location as it is now.
Overall
Bottom line the Ren Polat is a strong airport hotel.Just a few weeks ago I stayed the Sheraton Atakoy which is a property that Marriott loyalists might consider in the future if they want another alternative near the airport.My advice: dont.The Ren blows the Sheraton out of the water.The Ren has a shuttle bus, the Sheraton does not anymore.The Ren is closer to the airport.The Ren seems generous with suite upgrades while Sheraton is stingy for Plats.The room at the Ren is nicer and more modern.The price tag seems to be about the same by scanning various dates and you will also have to pay the taxi for the Sheraton.So in the future if I need to pay for a layover hotel myself rather than TK, I will consider Ren again (and perhaps Hyatt Regency) but not Sheraton.
Jun 26, 2018 | 4:27 pm
The big issue came after we arrived home. Marriott took forever to give us credit for the stay. On the phone, after a long wait, the agent acknowledged verbally that it should have posted but, with much saber rattling on my part, it still took well over a month to get posted. We were in Portugal, Montenegro and Istanbul but no other hotels were an issue for posting.
We arrived in the early evening so being well located for anything but the airport was not an issue. We just wanted to avoid the heavily congested morning drive from either downtown or the Bosphorus to the airport. So we maximized our lounge experience!
Jul 4, 2018 | 2:58 pm
Aug 19, 2018 | 11:22 am
I arrived in the early hours of the morning for the Courtyard stay to a very quiet hotel. The night watchman's command of English wasn't 100% (which is perfectly fine, of course) but he managed to explain that I had a full breakfast as Platinum member. The only Platinum welcome amenity was the points at this hour of the day. The room was perfectly fine; reasonably spacious and comfortable. The hotel offers transportation but there's no information on its website and I didn't get in touch before hand which was silly. The typical airport taxi extortion racket was in full play at IST airport. I was first told it would cost me 300 lira which is about EUR43 (well, back then, at least). I scoffed and walked off. The next in-airport counter wanted 150. Nope. Bugger off. I walked outside and tried to get some cell coverage to no avail. I was approached by a transport pimp (what's the correct term?) and I responded with a great degree of skepticism. I told him where I wanted to go and he asked how much I wanted to pay to which I said 40 lira. He accepted and took me to a driver. I reiterated to the driver, twice, how much I was paying and there was no issue. At the Courtyard, he accepted 40 lira without issue.
The Marriott Asia is a nice property, although unless you want to buy a motor vehicle there's really nothing in the immediate vicinity. The desk clerk came out from behind the desk to hand me my keycard at check-in. The room was large and could be made completely dark which I appreciated. The lounge offering was quite good, well presented and quite extensive. Drinks were available from 5.30pm to 8.30pm although they were still out when I left at 8.45pm. Canapes are served from 5.30pm to 7.30pm. Breakfast was offered in the restaurant as a Platinum and it was quite good, no complaints.
Aug 19, 2018 | 2:37 pm
I wonder what this signals as to a further decline of the EDITION brand. Marriott started out in 2007 thinking that there were going to be 100 EDITION properties by 2020. However, almost 10 years later, plans for only 15 have so far been announced. And now, after only 4 properties have been completed, there has already been an exit. With the Starwood merger probably putting some pressure on Marriott to consolidate the combined company's brands in the coming years, perhaps this signals the curtailing of the EDITION brand?
Aug 19, 2018 | 2:42 pm
In Istanbul my top 3 are : St regis (some good prices time to time around 180 euros) / Le Meridien (love the duplex suite and the lounge terrace) / AC Marriott is not bad for a city break (well priced and well located in front of the W but it's a city hotel, not a lot to do in the hotel) / Marriott Asia if need to go to SAW aiport.
The properties I really didn't liked was W (small room, poor service, not a real W) / Renaissance Polat and Courtyard airport (really depressing hotel).