Renaissance Polat Istanbul Hotel = Great Airport Hotel For Layover

100   Recommended
Family Suite King
June 26, 2018 by

 Map | 1 Review | 100% Recommended
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Renaissance Polat Istanbul Hotel
 Map | 1 Review | 100% Recommended

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Family Suite King

Liked:
Location
Service
Food
Amenities
Room
Stats
Room
Family Suite King

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.  

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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. 

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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 it’s 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 it’s 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.

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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: don’t.  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.

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