I was fortunate to stay in some great hotels in Istanbul, all with excellent service, convenient locations, and cool interiors.
The Fairmont Quasar Istanbul is a design hotel knockout with two soaring, modern towers make is presence known on the skyline. Pulling up to the lobby in my taxi, the outside pillars were graphically painted by local graffiti artists. I later learned the hotel sponsors a special program committed to showing the work of Istanbul artists.
As I waited for my room to be ready, I toured the lobby, bar, tea salon, and restaurant. All of them were so chicly designed and inviting, I wanted to sit in every last chaise, chair, ottoman, and sofa. Soft palatable colors of cream, taupe, chocolate brown, were accented with bold orange accents.
My room was sleek and sexy with cool electronic features, including a digital control panel to manage the lights, temperature, window blinds, and television. A tufted, dark leather headboard gave the room a masculine feel but was softened with white cotton bed linens. The room is on the 16th floor with unobstructed, outstanding views of Istanbul; I spent a long time gaping at the thriving metropolis below. The shower room has ability to turn into a steam bath but I didn’t make time to try it. An appetizing selection of nuts, dried fruits, and olives was a perfect late afternoon snack.
Breakfast was quite an extravagant buffet with three stations, way too much to choose easily from. American and Chinese cuisine plus Turkish specialties such as yogurt, white cheese and pastries and homemade breads were served
One afternoon I made an appointment for a gommage treatment and massage. I had requested a male masseuse but at the last minute he wasn’t available, so as an apology, the hotel extended my initial 30-minute massage to 60 minutes.
I sat in a huge tub while the masseuse gently washed my body repeatedly and then briskly rubbed with me with a cloth to exfoliate my dead skin. I went into a coma-like sleep during my massage, as my tired and overworked muscles from miles of walking the past few days were worked on. When I woke up I was totally relaxed and spent about 30 minutes cozied up in my thick, terry robe in a chaise lounge in front of the soothing swimming pool.
That evening I had dinner at Ukiyo, an Asian fusion restaurant in the hotel. Located on a high floor with aerial views of the Bosporus, the dramatic interior was dark and trellis paneled walls were decorated with leaves and flowers. The highly flavored but light Asian cuisine was a nice alternative to the Turkish food, I had eaten all week.
I was sad to leave this design heaven, but alas I had other territory to cover.
After my stay at the incredible Four Seasons in Florence in 2016, I was psyched to stay at the Four Seasons Sultanahamet. The location was ideal, just steps away from the tourist sites of Sultanahamet, which I wrote about last week. The scale of Four Seasons Hotels is usually vast, and the setting for the Istanbul branch was a former prison. I was impressed with the courtyard formal garden surprisingly still lush with flowers, herbs, and plants in the end of November. My room was more than oversized, with two king beds and over comfortable mattresses that made me want to spend the day and night sleeping. I spent more time than usual pampering myself in the cavernous bathroom suite, treating myself to the L’Occitaine bath products.
The public rooms and the salons on the lobby floor represented stylish but classic Turkish décor with turquoise walls (did you know the word turquoise is originally Turkish?)
As usual with Four Season Hotels, the floral arrangements were works of art with sunflowers overflowing in stainless steel vases.
Breakfast was in a pleasant domed room surrounded with glass panels overlooking the lovely garden. Besides the extensive breakfast buffet, there was an omelet maker who made the fluffiest cheese omelets, the type I could never master at home, every morning. One evening I was so tired from my daytime activities, I decide to have dinner at the hotel. Funnily enough, I avoided kebabs all week for more exotic Turkish dishes, but I decided I couldn’t go home without having one. It’s a good thing I did, because this was one of the better kebobs I’ve had in a long time; the meat was succulent and spicy served with a flavorful, scented rice.
When I left my Four Seasons nest, I headed to the Amira, a small family owned boutique hotel. The staff of the hotel could not have been warmer, always helpful and honest. I saw an attractive restaurant across from the hotel and I asked the doorman if he knew about it. He tactfully replied that it wasn’t the best restaurant in the area plus it was known the Mafia owned it. A genial server at the restaurant kindly wrote down a half-dozen phrases in Turkish to get by with, including good morning, hello, please, and thank you. Karin, the owner’s daughter went out of her way to make sure I was happy with my time at the hotel. My room was small and ornate, like a little jewel box. I took the elevator to the top floor to discover the rooftop lounge and bar, which unfortunately was closed for the season. I imagined what it would be like in summertime, sipping a chilled aperitif while scanning the panoramic view. A special part of my stay at the Amira, was on my to breakfast every morning, there was a woman seated on cushions making flatbreads from filled with various spices and herbs from scratch on a table on her lap. The flatbreads were warm and delicious, a far cry from croissants in Paris.
My last night in Istanbul, I had to stay near the airport. As we all know, most airport hotels are not very stylish, pretty much standard and bland. I was surprised when I checked into the Pullman Airport Hotel, with a slick modern décor. My room was spacious and thankfully the bed was ultra-comfortable, giving me a good night’s sleep before I returned to Paris the next day. A complimentary shuttle bus from the hotel whisked me to the hotel in five-minutes.
Later in the week I will share about my other fantastic Turkey adventure.
Fairmont Quasar Hotel
Büyükdere Caddesi, 76 B Mecidiyeköy Mecidiyeköy, 34394
https://www.fairmont.com/istanbul/
Four Seasons Sultanahmet
Sultanahmet, Tevkifhane Sk. No:1, 34122 Sultanahmet/Fatih
https://bit.ly/2H99SGA
Amira Hotel
Küçük Ayasofya Mah, Mustafa Paşa Sk. No:43, 34122 Fatih/İstanbul
https://www.hotelamira.com/
Pullman Istanbul Hotel
http://www.pullmanistanbul.com/tr/
