Jul 21, 2015, 8:54 pm
Last edit by: ISTFlyer
It's strange this thread has no Wiki, so here it is, created 7/21/2015
PLEASE READ THE OP Post first
For case related questions ( ex: Am I eligible, etc... ) contact[email protected] first before posting your question here.
TK free hotel room rules:
Note:
- You still need e-VISA to enter Turkish for a Tour or Hotel. The prices vary by countries ($60 USD for Canadian, $20 for USA, etc...)
You can apply here at https://www.evisa.gov.tr/en/
Tour website is at http://www.istanbulinhours.com/
There are 3 tours offered (Schedule)
A Bosphorus cruise, with food and drinks, is available for business class passengers of more than 7 hour layover (€183 as of Nov. 2017)
Here's a list of the common hotels that are reported in this thread:
Marriott Renaissance Polat Istanbul Hotel (72% TripAdvisor – most common)
Akgün Istanbul Hotel (44% TripAdvisor–common – far from the airport)
Wow Airport Hotel (56% TripAdvisor–common - very close to airport)
DoubleTree
Wyndham İstanbul Petek (92% TripAdvisor)
Radisson Blu Conference & Airport Hotel (53% TripAdvisor)
Hilton Garden Inn
Courtyard by Marriott Istanbul International Airport
Gonen Hotel Istanbul
Pullman Istanbul Airport Hotel
PLEASE READ THE OP Post first
For case related questions ( ex: Am I eligible, etc... ) contact[email protected] first before posting your question here.
TK free hotel room rules:
A complimentary hotel accommodation (maximum 2 nights) will be provided to our valuable passengers when there are more than 10 hours (for economy cabin passengers) and 7 or more hours (for business cabin passengers) waiting during their international connecting flights due to Turkish Airlines’ schedule structure. However, if your destination can be reached by an alternative flight to your first flight and the waiting time is less, you cannot take advantage of the hotel service. This service is not applicable when there is a shorter connection available within the time frame mentioned above. The first and the connecting flights must be with Turkish Airlines. All passengers must hold a confirmed reservation for the first and the connecting flights. Complimentary accommodation will be arranged with Turkish Airlines’ corporate partners and will be provided through the “Hotel Desk” located after the customs’ check point at the arrival. Passengers must check for any visa requirements when entering Turkey. In the event where a visa is not granted, Turkish Airlines assumes no responsibility for providing complimentary hotel accommodation.
Note:
- You still need e-VISA to enter Turkish for a Tour or Hotel. The prices vary by countries ($60 USD for Canadian, $20 for USA, etc...)
You can apply here at https://www.evisa.gov.tr/en/
Tour website is at http://www.istanbulinhours.com/
There are 3 tours offered (Schedule)
- Tour 1 8:30am - 11am - Sightseeing Tour
- Tour 2 9am - 3pm - Tour
- Tour 3 9am - 6pm - Tour
- Tour 4 12pm - 6pm - Tour
- Tour 5 4pm - 9pm - Cultural Walk Tour
A Bosphorus cruise, with food and drinks, is available for business class passengers of more than 7 hour layover (€183 as of Nov. 2017)
Here's a list of the common hotels that are reported in this thread:
Marriott Renaissance Polat Istanbul Hotel (72% TripAdvisor – most common)
Akgün Istanbul Hotel (44% TripAdvisor–common – far from the airport)
Wow Airport Hotel (56% TripAdvisor–common - very close to airport)
DoubleTree
Wyndham İstanbul Petek (92% TripAdvisor)
Radisson Blu Conference & Airport Hotel (53% TripAdvisor)
Hilton Garden Inn
Courtyard by Marriott Istanbul International Airport
Gonen Hotel Istanbul
Pullman Istanbul Airport Hotel
FAQ 8: Free hotel/tour/cruise when connecting at IST
Aug 31, 2015, 1:42 pm
#421
Join Date: Aug 2010
Programs: TK Elite Plus, SAS EBG, QR Platinum, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 2,297
Maybe a long shot. I'm flying BKK-IST-ARN in October. I'm arriving on the daytime flight from Bangkok which connects to the 21:00 departure to Stockholm. Sadly since I live outside Stockholm, the last bus home already departs after the flight lands. So rather than spending the night at Arlanda, I decided to take a night layover in Istanbul. My question now is: Will I be able to get a free hotel room with my overnight layover itinerary, despite there being earlier flights to ARN? I'm expecting a no answer, but some people have managed to get a room, despite there being earlier flights.
Aug 31, 2015, 1:44 pm
#422
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: MAN,TLV
Programs: Silver:BA,VX,AB, QF. Gold:A3,RJ,AZ,GF, EY,SPG,Marriott,Choice, Carlson. Dia/Plat:HH,IHG,BW,Accor
Posts: 1,965
Maybe a long shot. I'm flying BKK-IST-ARN in October. I'm arriving on the daytime flight from Bangkok which connects to the 21:00 departure to Stockholm. Sadly since I live outside Stockholm, the last bus home already departs after the flight lands. So rather than spending the night at Arlanda, I decided to take a night layover in Istanbul. My question now is: Will I be able to get a free hotel room with my overnight layover itinerary, despite there being earlier flights to ARN? I'm expecting a no answer, but some people have managed to get a room, despite there being earlier flights.
Aug 31, 2015, 4:39 pm
#423
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Southern California, USA
Posts: 1,393
Could someone help determine if I would be eligible for the free layover hotel?
Saturday, January 16th: FCO -> IST: Arrive at IST 10:40PM
Sunday, January 17th: IST -> ORD: Depart IST at 1:40PM
Total Layover: 15 Hours
If I am eligible what time is the hotel desk open until? Is it easy enough to take public transport to a hotel? Or should I plan on taking a taxi (what would the costs be)?
Thanks!
Saturday, January 16th: FCO -> IST: Arrive at IST 10:40PM
Sunday, January 17th: IST -> ORD: Depart IST at 1:40PM
Total Layover: 15 Hours
If I am eligible what time is the hotel desk open until? Is it easy enough to take public transport to a hotel? Or should I plan on taking a taxi (what would the costs be)?
Thanks!
TK1362 17JAN FCO-IST 0720 1055
TK 005 17JAN IST-ORD 1340 1755
Sep 1, 2015, 12:28 am
#424
Join Date: Oct 2013
Programs: AF FB Gold, TK Elite
Posts: 274
Hi all,
during next months i will have a flight with some friends (9 people totally).
The segment are TRN-IST ---> 13H layover and then IST-GRU.
The return is pretty the same.
The reservations is in W class (the lowest)
4 people out of 9 are TK Elite.
Are we eligible to have the free accomodation? Ithink yes based on the rules but the W class is worrying me.
Regards
during next months i will have a flight with some friends (9 people totally).
The segment are TRN-IST ---> 13H layover and then IST-GRU.
The return is pretty the same.
The reservations is in W class (the lowest)
4 people out of 9 are TK Elite.
Are we eligible to have the free accomodation? Ithink yes based on the rules but the W class is worrying me.
Regards
As far as I know, neither the booking class nor the status make a difference in your eligibility for the free hotel/tour.
So, you should have no issues provided there's no possible shorter layover on your itinerary
Sep 1, 2015, 1:21 am
#425
Join Date: Mar 2014
Programs: TK Elite +, HHonors Gold
Posts: 38
Hello everyone,
I am planning to fly from London (LHR, LGW) to IST and then onwards from IST to MIA on TK.
The last flight from LHR departs at 10:30pm arriving in IST at 04:20am. Flight to MIA departs at 13:30 - hence the total stopover time is under 10 hours. I will be travelling in Y so it seems unlikely that a Free Stopover will be given.
My other option is to fly out from LGW, on TK1998 and arrive in IST at 11:00pm. This will give me a stopover time of roughly 14 hours. Can anyone elaborate on whether this will work, since technically there is a later flight from London, albeit from a different airport (LHR)?
Thanks!
I am planning to fly from London (LHR, LGW) to IST and then onwards from IST to MIA on TK.
The last flight from LHR departs at 10:30pm arriving in IST at 04:20am. Flight to MIA departs at 13:30 - hence the total stopover time is under 10 hours. I will be travelling in Y so it seems unlikely that a Free Stopover will be given.
My other option is to fly out from LGW, on TK1998 and arrive in IST at 11:00pm. This will give me a stopover time of roughly 14 hours. Can anyone elaborate on whether this will work, since technically there is a later flight from London, albeit from a different airport (LHR)?
Thanks!
Sep 1, 2015, 1:26 am
#426
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: TRN
Programs: AB Gold, Az gold, Tk gold
Posts: 94
I agree with you, let's see what will happen!
Sep 2, 2015, 9:42 am
#427
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: HEL
Programs: AY, SK, TK
Posts: 7,602
I've done the free night once and now came back to check if free night is provided also with a TK award ticket, anyone knows?
Sep 9, 2015, 8:58 am
#428
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 488
I am looking at a flight from ZAG to ORD. The shortest connection in IST is about 14 hours so I know that I can get a free hotel for sure. But what if I choose to come to IST earlier and have 23 hours connection, will I still get a free hotel? Since I will get a hotel anyway if I pick the shortest scheduled flight.
Sep 12, 2015, 6:17 pm
#429
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: LAX
Programs: UA Platinum
Posts: 216
I have done this in the past (chose a longer connection flying CDG-LAX when I knew the minimum connection qualified) and I was given a room. YMMV but I think it's a safe bet.
Sep 18, 2015, 7:46 am
#430
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 173
I'm looking at booking flights CDG-IST-TLV as follows:
Arriving from CDG on TK arriving at 10:45 PM on a Sunday evening.
Continuing on to TLV on TK the next evening, leaving IST at 9:15 PM.
I'm not interested in the hotel (we're a family of five, so the tour can be more expensive and/or complex than a cheap hotel, and in any event don't qualify since there are many flights per day to TLV); but I am interested in the tour. Turkish has confirmed by email that I'm eligible for the full day tour. I understand that I'll need an e-visa to leave the airport for both the hotel and the tour.
My questions are whether (a) I book the tour on arrival in the evening or stop at the desk at 8-8:30 AM the next morning, and (b) can I get back in to the airport to the hotel desk the next morning? Some airports restrict access into the arrivals area.
Thanks in advance!
Arriving from CDG on TK arriving at 10:45 PM on a Sunday evening.
Continuing on to TLV on TK the next evening, leaving IST at 9:15 PM.
I'm not interested in the hotel (we're a family of five, so the tour can be more expensive and/or complex than a cheap hotel, and in any event don't qualify since there are many flights per day to TLV); but I am interested in the tour. Turkish has confirmed by email that I'm eligible for the full day tour. I understand that I'll need an e-visa to leave the airport for both the hotel and the tour.
My questions are whether (a) I book the tour on arrival in the evening or stop at the desk at 8-8:30 AM the next morning, and (b) can I get back in to the airport to the hotel desk the next morning? Some airports restrict access into the arrivals area.
Thanks in advance!
Last edited by md125; Sep 18, 2015 at 9:43 am
Sep 21, 2015, 6:39 am
#431
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: IST
Programs: TK E+ | HHD | Marriott TE LTG | etc.
Posts: 286
a) You can get your tour voucher every time, no restricted time.
b) Yes, you can get back to the arrival area. There is a security check on arrival floor and it's almost empty all day long, no restriction.
b) Yes, you can get back to the arrival area. There is a security check on arrival floor and it's almost empty all day long, no restriction.
Sep 24, 2015, 4:45 pm
#432
Join Date: May 2003
Programs: UA1k; Bonvoy Titanium; Hilton Gold; IHG Gold; AA Plat Pro
Posts: 1,794
TK New Free Istanbul Tour
The website says that there is a new tour option 0830 - 1100 starting 10/08/2015. Does anyone know if this has already started (assuming the dates are dd/mm/yyyy - does not specify) ?
Thanks.
Thanks.
Sep 24, 2015, 4:51 pm
#433
Join Date: May 2003
Programs: UA1k; Bonvoy Titanium; Hilton Gold; IHG Gold; AA Plat Pro
Posts: 1,794
Oct 4, 2015, 12:25 pm
#434
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 132
I tried to understand this but couldn't.
I have a LAX-IST-TLV, The only possible connection was over night.
So I land at 17:10 and leave at 6:45 AM...
I would gladly take the shorter flight if available but the schedule hasn't permitted that.
This means I can get a hotel or not?
If not this means that no flight involving TLV can get a hotel...
I have a LAX-IST-TLV, The only possible connection was over night.
So I land at 17:10 and leave at 6:45 AM...
I would gladly take the shorter flight if available but the schedule hasn't permitted that.
This means I can get a hotel or not?
If not this means that no flight involving TLV can get a hotel...
Oct 5, 2015, 1:25 am
#435
Join Date: Nov 2005
Programs: BA Gold, TP Silver
Posts: 888
I tried to understand this but couldn't.
I have a LAX-IST-TLV, The only possible connection was over night.
So I land at 17:10 and leave at 6:45 AM...
I would gladly take the shorter flight if available but the schedule hasn't permitted that.
This means I can get a hotel or not?
If not this means that no flight involving TLV can get a hotel...
I have a LAX-IST-TLV, The only possible connection was over night.
So I land at 17:10 and leave at 6:45 AM...
I would gladly take the shorter flight if available but the schedule hasn't permitted that.
This means I can get a hotel or not?
If not this means that no flight involving TLV can get a hotel...