Smart spending in Istanbul / notes of Lale about hotels:

Not like, lets say, London & NewYork, Istanbul is not a central city. The city streches along the coast-line on the European and the Asian side. As a result, it is hard to point a location to be the center of the city.

There are 3 main areas of the city where hotels are grouped around:

• The Bosphorus -
Hotels along the Bosphorus have excellent setting, great view and naturally, charge high for this !
While Kempinski Summer Palace Hotel and Four Seasons the Bosphorus are large 5 star chains, there are some other smaller boutique type of hotels such as Les Ottomanes (on the European side) or Sumahan (on the Asian side).
All are beautiful hotels having excellent service mentality, however, the problem with Bosphorus hotels is: 'location'.
When staying at these hotels, it feels like you are in the center of the city (because of the activity along the Bosphorus). In reality, you are quite a bit far away from the attractions... baring rush hours in mind, you may waste appx 1.5 hours in traffic to visit Blue Mosque, St. Sophia, etc.
Solution to beat traffic is to start your tour at 8am and finish before 5pm.

• Old City -
Old City, with its local name; Sultanahmet Area is where the classical highlights of Istanbul are... such as Topkapi Palace, St. Sophia, Blue Mosque, Grand Bazaar, etc... all in walking distance to each other.
So staying at a hotel in Old City area, you are able to cover all in one day, doing a walking tour.
There are many small/boutique type of hotels in Old City area, mostly converted from old houses to small hotels, some offering 5 star comfort in their rooms, nearly all accepting on-line reservations.
Some of these hotels are:
Sirkeci Konak / www.sirkecikonak.com
Sari Konak / www.istanbulhotelsarikonak.com
Millenium Suites / www.themilleniumsuites.com
Ottoman Imperial / www.ottomanhotelimperial.com
Please note:
- Standard rooms of classical Old City hotels are much smaller than American/Canadian standards. A good idea may be checking their 'deluxe' or 'superior' rooms for a more spacious accommodation.
- Down side of staying at an Old City hotel is: you are not in 'true' Istanbul since no locals live in the Old City area anymore... this, unfortunately, is more like an artificial city.

• Taksim Area -
This is now, Istanbul... the 'true' city... and, is where you get Istanbulian.
What we normally do is: if guests stay in Istanbul for one night, then, we suggest a hotel in the Old City area, however, if guest are in Istanbul for a few days, then, we, clearly suggest a hotel in Taksim area.
This is where most of the 5 star hotels of Istanbul are located... such as Hilton, Hyatt, the Ritz, Inter Continental, etc.
Siding with 5 star hotels, there are some other 4 star or boutique hotels and some of these offer 5 star comfort in their rooms.
A good example is:
Central Palace / www.thecentralpalace.com - a small hotel this is, offering very nice rooms.
To give you an idea, a standard double room of Central Palace Hotel is appx 160 Euros, per night, including breakfasts & all taxes.
Executive rooms of Central Palace offer 5 star comfort and rate per night is around 200 Euros, sharing a double room.
Central Palace may be slow in replying your reservation requests... in such cases, please get in touch with us, we will reserve your rooms. This is just a call for us.

Ladies & Gentlemen, names you find above are the hotels we well-know. Many of our guests stayed at these hotels, giving us great feedbacks. You are most welcome to make your reservations to these hotels or, if you like, we will do so for you.