Hotels in Istanbul

This article describes and gives brief information on the most important hotels in Istanbul, Turkey.

History

Contemporary hotel management in Istanbul started in the second half of the 19th century. Along with the efforts of minorities and levantines of Istanbul and with the partnership of Wagons-Lits company, Hotel Pera Palace was opened in 1892. Shortly after, a series of hotels including Tokatlıyan's hotel and the Bristol hotel were opened in Beyoğlu district.

While the new hotels were being opened in the Beyoğlu district, Sirkeci quarter within the old city quickly adapted to the new tendency and the old inns in the neighbourhood were gradually transformed into hotels in the beginning of the 20th century. The other districts of the city followed the trend and the number of hotels in Istanbul was more than 50 in the year 1910.

Similar progress applied for the cities İzmir and Ankara in the following years, while the development of hotel management was relatively slow in the rest of Anatolian cities.

In the Republican era, in 1950s, openings of hotels of various types gained speed. The most important event of this period was the opening of Istanbul Hilton in 1954. As a result of the development of transportation and domestic/outbound tourism numerous new hotels were opened in 1960s. The same situation applied for 1970s and 1980s as well, along with the openings of 5 star hotels such as Sheraton or Etap Marmara (later Ceylan Intercontinental and The Marmara hotels, respectively).

In 1990s and 2000s, along with the rapid progress of different types of tourism, such as conference, health and religious tourism sectors, a new wave of hotel openings took place in the city. Among the hotels opened in this era, Conrad Hilton, Maslak Sheraton, Four Seasons Hotel and Ritz-Carlton et al. could be mentioned. There are several ongoing and planned hotel projects for the years to come.

Brief information

Every possible accommodation style is available in Istanbul, from hostel dorms and midrange hotels to world-class luxury hotels. Although reasonable compared to European standards, the rates are more expensive than the rest of the country.

While the majority of the 5 star hotels concentrate within the modern districts like Beyoğlu, Şişli and Beşiktaş, 4 star hotels are generally located within the historical peninsula. The most number of hotels generally congregate in the vicinity of Sultanahmet and Hagia Sophia areas. Numerous hotels occupying historical buildings are situated in this district. Budget hotels are generally found both in modern and historical districts.

As of 2006, the total number of tourism operation licenced hotels in Istanbul is 283. While 28 of them are 5 star hotels, 63 hotels are four star and 81 are three star hotels. While two star hotels count 91, only 20 are one star hotels. Additionally, there are 55 other accommodations in the city, mainly consisting of special licenced hotels, motels, campings, boarding houses, apart and boutique hotels etc.

5 star hotels in Istanbul

The following table gives brief information about the 5 star hotels in Istanbul:

{|class="wikitable"HotelLocationRoomsNotesAllstar Çınar HotelYeşilköy224One of the oldest hotels (1958).Bosphorus Palace HotelBeylerbeyi14Boutique hotel in a yalı.Barcelo Eresin TopkapıTopkapı249Recently renovated.Conrad Hotel IstanbulBeşiktaş590Beside the Yıldız Palace.Çırağan Palace Hotel KempinskiBeşiktaş599Beside the Çırağan Palace.Dedeman IstanbulŞişli335Member of Dedeman hotel chainsDivan HotelTaksim175Close to the business districtEresin Crown HotelSultanahmet59Boutique hotel in the old city. Four Seasons HotelSultanahmet65In the heart of the city.Hotel Ceylan InterContinentalTaksim380Former Sheraton hotel.Hyatt Regency Hotel IstanbulTaksim360Near business and financial district.Istanbul HiltonŞişli498One of the oldest 5 star hotels. Mövenpick Hotel Istanbul4. Levent249Within the business districtRadisson SAS Bosphorus HotelOrtaköy120On the banks of the Bosphorus.Radisson SAS Conference & Airport HotelSefaköy326Close to the airport.Renaissance Polat IstanbulYeşilyurt416Close to the airport.Sheraton Istanbul Maslak HotelMaslak305Within the Maslak business district.Sultanhan HotelSultanahmet40Located in the historical center.Sürmeli Istanbul HotelGayrettepe205Member of the Sürmeli hotels.Swissôtel The Bosphorus IstanbulBeşiktaş600Over the Dolmabahçe Palace.The Marmara Hotel IstanbulTaksim377In the center of the modern city.The Ritz-Carlton IstanbulŞişli244Close to Taksim and the Bosphorus.The Sofa Hotel & ResidencesNişantaşı82World Park HotelEminönü172Within the historical city.

Other notable hotels

The following list gives brief information about several other notable hotels in Istanbul.

* Allstar Lamartine Hotel
* Antik Hotel
* Armada Istanbul Old City Hotel
* Best Western Eresin Taxim Premier
* Best Western The President Hotel
* Divan City Istanbul
* Hilton Parksa Istanbul
* Hotel Istanbul Conti
* Hotel Villa Suite
* Hotel Yaşmak Sultan
* Nippon Hotel
* Orient Express Hotel
* Pera Rose Boutique Hotel
* Pera Palace Hotel
* Ramada Kaya Plaza
* Seven Hills Hotel
* The Marmara Pera
* Valide Sultan Konağı
* Yusuf Paşa Konağı

Gallery

References and links

* Istanbullife.org - [http://www.istanbullife.org/all-hotels-in-istanbul.htm "All Hotels in Istanbul"]
* Istanbulhotelreservations.com - [http://www.istanbulhotelreservations.com/fivestarhotels.htm "5 Star Hotels in Istanbul"]
* Whiting, Dominic. "Turkey Handbook". Footprint Travel Guides, 2000. [http://books.google.com/books?id=1Cz4zG73sHgC&pg=PP1&dq=dominic+whiting+turkey+handbook&sig=8TiWDS61hgmQmlhCMcD5cKsWgZU "web page"]
* Büyük Larousse Ansiklopedisi "Grand Dictionnaire Encyclopédique Larousse" (Turkish edition). Gelişim Yayınları, 1986.
* Gayrimenkul Türkiye ("Real Estate in Turkey") - [http://www.gmtr.com.tr/index.php?action=displayAnalizNode&ID=168&pID=57 "New hotel projects in Istanbul"]
* Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism - [http://www.kultur.gov.tr/TR/dosyagoster.aspx?DIL=1&BELGEANAH=209899&DOSYAISIM=belgelitesisist2006.rar "Statistics of Accommodation Establishments in 2006"]