Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sleeping
Every accommodation style is available in İstanbul. You can live like a
sultan in a world-class luxury hotel, doss in a hostel dorm or settle into
a stylish boutique establishment. The secret is to choose the neigh-
bourhood that best suits your interests, and then look for accommoda-
tion that will suit your style and budget - there are loads of options to
choose from.
Accommodation Trends
Despite what certain members of the EU may think, İstanbul is a European city and accom-
modation styles and prices here are similar to those in most major European capitals. Re-
cent trends have seen customers moving away from the small midrange and budget hotels
that dominate Sultanahmet towards pricier boutique and designer choices that have been
opening in Beyoğlu. Many of these are suite or apartment hotels offer Nespresso machines,
iPod docks, French toiletries and other trappings of the international designer lifestyle.
Accommodation Styles
The boutique and suite hotels in Beyoğlu and along the Bosphorus are hip rather than his-
toric, even though many of them occupy handsome 19th-century apartment blocks or man-
sions. Most have been fitted out by architects versed in international modernism, and have
interiors that would suit Stockholm, Sydney or a host of other cities as much as they do
İstanbul. In most of Sultanahmet's hotels, the decor is different. These places are often
owned and run by locals who are originally from the east of the country and have a resol-
utely Anatolian aesthetic - you'll see lots of carpets and kilims, silk bedspreads and
nazar
boncuks
(the blue glass beads that Turks believe protect against the evil eye). That said,
there are a number of Sultanahmet hotels that seem to have melded the best of both worlds,
delivering quietly elegant interiors with Anatolian or Ottoman flourishes. We've recom-
mended many of these in this topic.
