The Ritz-Carlton Istanbul

I cannot, for the life of me, understand how anyone can say anything even remotely negative about this excellent hotel. The location is amazing. It is not where all the tourists are, and that makes it that much better. Istanbul is a city that the inhabitants love and tourists usually are mixed. That is because the tourists usually do not get away from the old city and the tourist traps. This hotel is located close to the other great Istanbul hotels and offers a guest much more to see. Use the concierges, they are excellent. We had ours set... more

After getting off a cruise ship, we stayed at this 5+ star hotel. Not a bad thing to stay. Service and hotel staff were way above average. Room was excellent with a lot of nice "perks." We stayed on the concierge level and enjoyed the food/drink ammenities. We spent a lot of time touring, so did not have too much time to enjoy the hotel and wished that we would have stayed an extra day just to enjoy the things to do within the property. We had a FANTASTIC guide, Lale Kosagan, from (--) She really gave us a great overview of the... more

The trade-off for convenience is service and amenities. This hotel did not disappoint in either. It was the usual Ritz-Carlton standard in food, service and luxury. We were greeted at the entrance by name as our taxi pulled in. How do they do that? Everyone from the bellhops, front-desk, to the wait staff at the bar and restaurant were extremely friendly and helpful. The common areas were the most fresh and luxurious. We were given two standard rooms on the garden side, but I can imagine that rooms facing the Bosphorus were lovely, given... more

Expensive and worth it if you appreciate quality and attention to detail or simply want a quiet room where you won't be disturbed. The entire staff, especially the Concierge Desk, is exceptional. Attentive, accommodating, intelligent, friendly, efficient, excellent English - this hotel sets the standard for world-class service. Asked for and got a quiet, non-smoking room at the end of May 2006; 250 Euros (about $325) for Deluxe Park large elegant corner room with black-out curtains for daytime sleeping, and a beautiful large... more

Stayed at the Ritz ( and Ciragan Place) in October (05) and June(06). It ia wonderful. Granted the pool is not the best feature--no view and small but the service was great and I found the rooms comfortable and reasonably large. the best rooms face the Bosporus and have better beds than the Circagan(slightly!--Circagan is great). Out door space does not come near the Swiss Hotel but I don't usually have that much time to sit outdoors at my hotel. I was treated like a very special guest during my 2 stays. K.M. , Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Probably the least attractive building in a wonderful city of architectural gems. However inside this multi use structure hides a superbly managed Ritz with interior desing by the same person responsible for the Four Seasons. Expansive rooms, terrific beds with the best of Turkish linens, marble baths with double sink, shower and tub. Requests to housekeeping/laundry were met in 2 or 3 minutes. Take advantage of the club floor with 5 food and drink presentations a day-delightful. Enjoy the classical music with a panoramic view in the... more

Our initial reaction upon driving up to the hotel was....How Out of Place!!! The Ritz is a modern, black glass monolith that is completely out of place with the architeture and style of Istanbul. We were so surprised by this eye-sore since we have know the Ritz to try and capture the best architechtural elements of the locations they are in. Upon entering however, you knew that you were at the Ritz and we were treated with the attention and elegance that have made the Ritz hotels among our favorites. We had a room overlooking the... more

This hotel is not terrific. It's isolated, which is a real feat considering its location near Taksim and Besiktas. The hotel boasts of no facilities whatsoever, not even a newstand to buy a guide to Istanbul or a toothbrush. The hotel has done a poor job of using its outdoor space, and if fact, there really is nowhere to relax outside of one's room. The "pool" area was a pathetic concrete courtyard which was not officially open, despite the 30° temperatures. Getting a taxi at virtually any time of the day is an exploit, and the staff... more

this hotel was spectular in terms of service, facilties (I think our room was bigger than our NYC apartment) but not so convenient to the major sites in town and the staff constantly reminded us that they "did not recommend" walking up to the main drag after 9pm or go any way other than by taxi. we don't like to take taxis, especially with all the traffic so we insisted on walking everywhere. there were a group of kids who harrassed us briefly, no big deal, and it was a steep hill up to the main restaurant area around crossing highways.... more

Dont get me wrong - if business is picking up the bill and you are in Istanbul for work this is a nice hotel but it is very corporate and full of chintzy, gold, velvet grandeur which I guess, in fairness, many people like a hotel to have and this does it well...as well as can be done. You get a strong sense of security at the very start with as much bag checks at the hotel lobby as one might expect at an airport, but in truth - I'm not sure how necessary it all is and felt a little like it was for show. The rooms are undoubtedly of... more