Hotels

In the 1980s and 1990s, and earlier this decade, visitors could choose among a sparsely populated category of hotels that included decrepit aging blocks, guesthouses with dubiously reliable electricity and plumbing, and the rare restored standout. Prices remained criminally low, as all but the most coveted rooms (such as those in the Four Seasons) sat vacant. But what a long way Istanbul has come lately. With tourism numbers soaring and room rates skyrocketing, hotels are popping up like mushrooms, while older properties are turning up again like shiny new pennies. Now you can expect solidly progressive and decidedly competitive amenities that more often than not include Wi-Fi, plasma TVs hooked up to satellite connections, and free airport transfers. It's also rare these days (but not altogether unheard of) that your morning shower runs cold or that the backup generator fails in a blackout.

Hotels in Turkey follow the international star-rating system and properties are classified according to amenities and services provided like fitness centers or conference space. Because the level and qualities of services can fluctuate wildly, a worn-out, old five-star with moldy bathroom tile might look better on paper than a brand-new, sky-lit gem with nothing to offer but basic clean rooms, stunning balconies, and a pool. In hotels rated three stars or lower, it is common for the bathroom to have a "Roman shower" rather than an enclosed bathtub or shower stall. This is usually a feature of budget level hotels and is essentially a showerhead on the wall and a drain in the floor. In some cases, you'll get a square, enamel stall basin and a shower curtain, in which case a practiced proficiency with the hand-held showerhead will eventually ensure the least amount of leakage on the bathroom floor. In the hotel listings, the presence of the Roman shower setup is included in the listing.

The category of hotels in Turkey designated as "S" or Special Class provides an added layer of confusion. Special Class hotels are typically restored historic properties or new boutique hotels. In this category, room size and amenities such as TVs are anything but standard, and even the use of the word "boutique" can be a bit of a stretch. One way to assess sight unseen what you are getting is to look at the rates -- higher prices often bring higher quality. The second and more effective approach is to follow the advice in this book. We've been to all of these and know what you're getting.

The earliest restorations of these "S" class hotels were completed by the state-owned Turkish Touring Club (the pseudo-equivalent of AAA). Now everyone has gotten in on the act. These small hotels can be owned by single men, single women, families, foreigners, high-rolling entrepreneurs, and carpet sellers with adjacent showrooms (how convenient for them).

The following are features and quirks that you can expect to encounter in hotels not affiliated with an international chain.

Most hotels in Turkey seem to have more rooms with twin beds than doubles, so unless you specify that you want a double, called a "French" bed, you and your partner will feel like a couple out of a 1950s sitcom. Fitted sheets seem to be an anomaly in Turkey, so if you're a restless sleeper, expect to get a view of the mattress in the morning, particularly if you're staying in a budget property (or in a twin bed). Ask for an extra sheet if there's nothing between you and the blanket, as bed-making habits vary from hotel to hotel, and some provide only the duvet (with clean cover). And not even the Four Seasons Hotel will spare you from the startling blare of the neighborhood's muezzin at sunrise. TVs are generally a standard feature in rooms, but even a TV with a satellite hookup will limit you to BBC World, CNN, and endless hours of cycling tournaments. Local programming is at least captivating, with reruns of Guys and Dolls or The Terminator in Turkish. Another interesting in-room feature that is regrettably being phased out is a built-in radio with centrally piped-in music. You will generally have a choice of up to three channels, and if you don't like the music, I discovered that calling down to the reception for special requests was effective.

Be aware, too, that an ongoing problem of not just the older hotels is the rapidity in which a clear drain will get clogged. I've kept recommendations of these hotels to the exceptional minimum. Many hotels rely exclusively on Mediterranean solar power, which sounds great until you get in a cold shower at sunrise. This is increasingly rare, however, as many establishments are installing backup generators for "24-hour hot water." Power outages are an unavoidable part of daily life in this growing city with an aging infrastructure, and because the water supply operates on an electric pumping system, there will be no water for the duration of the outage, usually only a couple of hours. As mentioned earlier, this is increasingly rare, but not unheard of. In the sweaty heat of the summer, this is where the neighborhood hamam comes in handy.

All hotels provide laundry and dry-cleaning services, seeing to it that they make a huge profit on the transaction. Depending on the establishment, expect to pay anywhere from 3€ to 7€ ($4.20-$9.80/£2.15-£5) per item for ordinary laundry. At around 15YTL ($13/£5.70) a load, depending on the weight, a local laundromat, called çamisirhane, is a cheap alternative, as long as you don't mind borrowing the hotel iron. One additional service offered by five-star hotels is babysitting, arranged by the hotel through reputable outside agencies.

Prices & Taxes

Unless stated otherwise, the price of hotel rooms listed here includes breakfast and tax, although a few higher-priced hotels charge for these on top of the room rate. It is imperative to note that except in rare cases (such as full occupancy), the room rates provided below are "rack rates," fictional prices that are almost never quoted -- not even to the most desperate last-minute walk-in. It is more likely than not that a rate will adjust itself anywhere from 10% to 50% (or more!) at the time of booking, depending on the season and how hungry the owner is. This doesn't mean that hoteliers have become market hagglers; it simply means that the prices listed for hotels are inextricably tied to the market. In addition, hotels in Turkey make rooms available at absurdly low rates to travel agents to receive business on a regular basis. Ironically, a recent, not yet pervasive, development has been for hotels to undercut these agents with their own web rates. Be sure to keep an eye out for these Internet deals. It's not uncommon, for example, for a room listed at 250€ ($350/£178) a night to sell for significantly less via the Internet. Therefore, it is up to the buyer to do the legwork. But buyer beware: Not all travel sites advertising cheap hotels on the Web are equally reputable, so I recommend that you stick to the local travel agencies listed in this guide (or those recommended to you by friends and relatives). If all else fails, ask nicely. For all these reasons, you may find fewer options under the "Inexpensive" or "Moderate" headings.

In rare cases (and only once in this guide), the currency of operation is not specified by the hotel on its website. This leaves the hotelier some wiggle room to take advantage of the stronger currencies. For example, say I contact the hotel for the price of a room. Before I get a response, I'll be asked where I'm calling from. If I say the U.S., the quote will be, say, $300 (345YTL). The price quote in euros by contrast would be 300€ or 536YTL. Get it? This can be quite a shock when you go to pay and you have no written confirmation of the rate quote. Always get it in writing, as this scam is becoming sadly more prevalent in the smaller hotels. Note: Sometimes the hotel will simply ask you where you're calling from in order to quote the list price in a currency convenient to you. Again, best to do this type of business in writing.

Parents with kids will be pleased to learn that children 6 and under, and in some cases 12 and under, stay free. While this is almost universal, it is wise to double-check when you book.

Choosing a Neighborhood

For someone new to the sprawling mass that is Istanbul, one of the first questions to ask is "where's a good place to set up base camp?" I used to unreservedly direct my readers to the historic bulls-eye that is Sultanahmet, where old dilapidated homes converted into "Special Category" hotels created the perfect gateway to an authentic past. But three very important developments in the past few years have caused me to change my mind.

First, because of unrelenting demand, hotels -- the majority of which are run by people with absolutely no experience in hospitality -- formerly charging $20 (£10) for a room now charge 150€ ($203/£107) and up, for absolutely no added value. Let me put this into perspective: The luxury five-star Ceylan Inter-Continental has advance purchase Internet rates from 176€ ($238/£126) with a Bosphorus view. Second, given the enormous profit margins that a hotel can bring in, it seems as if everyone has gotten in on the act -- transforming what was a market of family-run houses into a sea of mass-produced, soulless "boutique hotels." Finally, and most disappointingly, the hassling by carpet salesmen and their ilk has reached new levels; last time I stayed in town several hotel guests opted for the safety of the hotel lobby rather than brave the irritating and stressful storm of harassment by salesmen flooding the streets of the tourist areas. It is therefore with a heavy heart that I recommend this neighborhood only with the admonition to book through a reputable agent, stay vigilant (for formal and informal crime), or preferably, base yourself in Beyoglu, where hotels are managed by people schooled in hotel management (and not carpet sales), and the food and nightlife are better anyway. Plus, with the new, efficient transport system connecting Taksim and Sultanahmet, you can spend the day wandering around the Old City, and in under 20 minutes, be back in time for a decent meal.

Pera Palas Hotel -- In its heyday, the Pera Palas (Mesrutiyet Cad. 98-100, 80050 Tepebasi; tel. 0212/251-4560; www.perapalas.com) represented the Francophilia that had taken hold over the Ottoman Empire. It was built in 1892 as lodging befitting the exclusive passengers of the Orient Express, and accordingly the hotel's very own Orient Bar became a meeting place for drama and intrigue. The star-studded guest list includes Agatha Christie (who wrote Murder on the Orient Express in room no. 411), Atatürk (room no. 101, where he spent the days preceding the Gallipoli campaign, should remain intact), Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Greta Garbo, Edward VIII, Josephine Baker, and Mata Hari. This well-worn and beloved time capsule is currently under wraps as it undergoes what will be a 2-year process of renovation and restoration. Completion date is expected to be late 2009.

Where to Stay Along the Bosphorus -- Those who choose to stay along the Bosphorus area are generally not the type of people concerned with price tags. These are the deluxe properties of Istanbul, offering staggering views, staggering meals, and staggering prices. Plus, the location isn't very central. Recognizing this, many of these properties offer shuttle boat service to the key points of the city (or anywhere you want to go, if you're willing to pay). If you can manage it and don't mind sitting in a little traffic (you can't go everywhere by boat, after all), the trade-off of convenience is more than balanced by the serene and spectacular experience of staying on the Bosphorus.

Where to Stay near the Airport -- Frankly, there's really no need to stay near the airport, no matter how early or late your flight is. The only potential exception might be if you're flying on a holiday, if it's snowing, or in the event of unexpected delays both on the road to the airport and at the gate. Road tie ups can drag a drive to the airport from Sultanahmet from 10 minutes to up to an hour. Traffic will be worse if you're staying around Taksim, along the Bosphorus, or on the Asian side.

Where to Stay On the Asian Side -- Similar to staying in the hotels along the European side of the Bosphorus, by choosing this part of Istanbul as your base, you will be trading both convenience and cost savings. But if staying along the Bosphorus (on the European side) is serene and spectacular, the hotels of the Asian side are even more so, because they benefit from the slower pace of this primarily residential grouping of neighborhoods, and because from this side of the Bosphorus, the views include many of the first tier sights you came here for. All of the hotels listed also provide scheduled boat shuttle service to the European side.