Istanbul may 2015

[richardl]

Travelling to Istanbul for 5 nights (via London) in May 2015. Via London on QF 1/2 connecting with BA flight.
I am looking for advice on accommodation.
We are trying to decide between the Four Seasons Hotels.
Sultanahmet v's Bosphorus
Currently we are booked into the Sultanahment for 5 nights however thinking of splitting 3/2.

First time to Istanbul.
Any other advice tips / advice welcome.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

You may get some tips if you trawl this thread - http://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/community/destination-guide/istanbul-in-july-61283.html

 

[amaroo]

Travelling to Istanbul for 5 nights (via London) in May 2015. Via London on QF 1/2 connecting with BA flight.
I am looking for advice on accommodation.
We are trying to decide between the Four Seasons Hotels.
Sultanahmet v's Bosphorus
Currently we are booked into the Sultanahment for 5 nights however thinking of splitting 3/2.

First time to Istanbul.
Any other advice tips / advice welcome.

We're doing very similar - only a month earlier. QF1, connecting BA to Athens for a few nights and then Istanbul and Anzac Cove for the Dawn Service. We selected FS Sultanahmet due to location......we aim to avoid being stuck in traffic and stinky taxi commutes for our four night stay.

This TR is a good read http://www.australianfrequentflyer..../lost-venice-taste-turkish-delight-61183.html

 

[Nizar]

Agree re Sultanhamet, have never actually stayed at the FS there but was staying nearby last month and the location cannot be faulted.

 

[Pushka]

Definitely Sultanahmet. We stayed near Taksim Square and just didnt get the Istanbul Vibe at all. To the extent we didnt really enjoy the stay as much as we thought we would. We will know better next time.

17 million people live in Istanbul and the traffic shows that. Not an issue in the Old City but horrendous moving from there to Taksim during the morning and afternoon weekdays.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Why have you dudes who have been flitting around on TK kept knowledge of their on-board chefs to yourselves? Had 1st exp on TK July IST-ZRH - and this is what we experienced. Late posting cause I forgot I had these on my phone:



And:



Could not believe my eyes - an actual chef on-board preparing meals / serving drinks etc:



Don't mind if I do - whilst it's not Krug but then again TK aint SQ either!



But certainly a different and fun experience.

 

[dmitri]

Four seasons bosphorus has an amazing pool area with awesome turkish bbq for dinner and an amazing breakfast buffet. It is one of the best hotels I've been to.