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
Feb 10, 2018, 3:00 am
#766
Join Date: May 2012
Location: SXE
Programs: QF LTG, VA Gold, BA Gold, HH, SFSC
Posts: 502
My TK flights were booked on LM. No issue getting the layover hotel.
Feb 13, 2018, 3:42 pm
#767
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Ljubljana, Slovenia
Programs: Skywards, Miles&More
Posts: 111
We'll be flying HRG-IST-LJU and we have 10hrs 10 min conncection time. We were offered hotel. We will land around 8am i was thinking if it's possible to change this to tour of Istanbul instead. Is that possible?
Feb 13, 2018, 10:46 pm
#768
Join Date: Sep 2017
Programs: TK E+, RJ S, AZ E
Posts: 1,869
The hotel desk at the international arrival hall after passport control also handles the tours so if you miss it you can always request a hotel.
touristanbul
Feb 14, 2018, 12:28 am
#769
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Ljubljana, Slovenia
Programs: Skywards, Miles&More
Posts: 111
Yes. You can have either a hotel stay or a tour. The tour times are from 8:30 to 11:00, from 09:00 to 15:00, from 09:00 to 18:00, from 12:00 to 18:00 and from 16:00 to 21:00 and you have to be there half an hour before the tour starts so for an 8am-6pm layoff it’s pretty tight for the 8:30am or 9am tour.
The hotel desk at the international arrival hall after passport control also handles the tours so if you miss it you can always request a hotel.
touristanbul
Mar 2, 2018, 12:16 am
#770
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: YVR/YUL/LHR/HKG
Programs: TK Gold
Posts: 576
Was on award J, sent to Elite World Europee hotel Istanbul. Upgraded to suite at hotel at around 0100..Waited 20 min, There was other separate J passenger on another hotel with longer layover. Not sure whether they are going to Renaissance
May 12, 2018, 1:49 pm
#771
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Canada
Programs: UA*1K MM
Posts: 23,293
Any idea if landing at 15:15, assuming on time, would one still be able to make the 16:00 tour?
May 13, 2018, 4:16 pm
#772
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: LAX
Programs: TK M&S, LH MM, Global Entry, Hertz Gold, Sixt Platinum
Posts: 1,087
15 mins from wheels down to hotel desk is optimistic.
May 14, 2018, 1:15 am
#773
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 2,866
I am facing the same situation in August with the MIA-IST flight arriving at 3:15 pm, and leaving the next morning at 7AM. I hope my flight arrives early. Do they fast track business class through customs and immigration? I don't expect a hotel because there is an 8:15 pm flight to my next city, but at my age I need a nights rest before travelling on after a long flight. I hope they check my bags through to my final destination.
May 18, 2018, 1:31 pm
#774
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Chicago
Programs: Delta SkyMiles, IHG (Platinum Elite), Amtrak Guest Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors
Posts: 636
So I'm thinking of doing this - flying BOS-IST-MSQ and I have to have a 20 hour layover because TK only flies to Minsk once a day. I'd fly in at 4pm and fly out at 1pm the next day, which means due to the timing of my flights I'd miss all their tour times. I'd rather have the hotel anyway, as I'd need it, but are there any other tour options? I'd love to see some of the city, and am happy to pay for my own tour if anyone can recommend any.
May 22, 2018, 2:49 am
#775
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: PVG
Programs: BA Gold, TK E+, ex AA EXP
Posts: 510
Since the cruise is for a fee, is it possible to have the hotel and the cruise?
May 22, 2018, 2:21 pm
#776
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: SFO
Programs: OZ Diamond/*G, IHG Diamond Amb, Hilton Gold
Posts: 2,239
Has anybody had a recent experience with this?
This: https://www.turkishairlines.com/en-tr/flights/stopover/
makes it seem like you need a 20 hour layover now.
This: https://www.turkishairlines.com/en-tr/flights/stopover/
makes it seem like you need a 20 hour layover now.
May 23, 2018, 11:07 am
#777
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: DTW
Programs: TK E+, WY, Radisson R
Posts: 2,360
For those having to pay hotels on your own, if the flight is much cheaper and the trip becomes more comfortable, I'd just forgo free hotels.
Hotels are so cheap around IST these days, especially if you have hotel points with Hilton and Radisson. HH has Category 1 hotels for 5000 points - Hampton Inn Zeytinburnu, walking distance to Marmaray, compared to at least 20 to 30K points in US/Canada.
If you do qualify for free hotels, I'd say the best time to arrive IST is 4-6 am, I was able to once get off the wheel and land in the bed in 30 min (Polat). Arriving around evening rush hours may take much longer, in that case I usually just opt longer connections and arrange hotels on my own.
Hotels are so cheap around IST these days, especially if you have hotel points with Hilton and Radisson. HH has Category 1 hotels for 5000 points - Hampton Inn Zeytinburnu, walking distance to Marmaray, compared to at least 20 to 30K points in US/Canada.
If you do qualify for free hotels, I'd say the best time to arrive IST is 4-6 am, I was able to once get off the wheel and land in the bed in 30 min (Polat). Arriving around evening rush hours may take much longer, in that case I usually just opt longer connections and arrange hotels on my own.
May 23, 2018, 11:58 am
#778
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Chicago
Programs: Delta SkyMiles, IHG (Platinum Elite), Amtrak Guest Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors
Posts: 636
I'll be flying June 14th, so can certainly report back on the experience. They gave me quite the runaround with whether I qualify for a free hotel before saying that I do. Planning to have a backup hotel just in case, preferably somewhere in Old City - if someone has recommendations, they'd be appreciated.
May 24, 2018, 3:03 pm
#779
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: LAX
Programs: TK M&S, LH MM, Global Entry, Hertz Gold, Sixt Platinum
Posts: 1,087
I'll be flying June 14th, so can certainly report back on the experience. They gave me quite the runaround with whether I qualify for a free hotel before saying that I do. Planning to have a backup hotel just in case, preferably somewhere in Old City - if someone has recommendations, they'd be appreciated.
May 24, 2018, 3:13 pm
#780
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Chicago
Programs: Delta SkyMiles, IHG (Platinum Elite), Amtrak Guest Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors
Posts: 636
I emailed them to confirm that my route qualified for a hotel with the email address given, and they insisted that flights from the US to Belarus (which is firmly in Eastern Europe) don't qualify for the stopover program, even though they're listed in their stopover chart; I called the reservations desk and they said it does qualify, so I responded to the email and pointed out that I'd been told something different on the phone. Then they emailed to say that if i have a "forced connection" of more than 10 hours then yes, i get a hotel...which is exactly what I'd been asking in the first place. Of course, if then end up having an earlier flight I'm out of luck, obviously, but I'm guessing they don't have more than one flight a day between Istanbul and Minsk. It's not exactly a high traffic route.