The city saw a 16 per cent increase in inbound arrivals last year over 2011, fuelling the call for more capital investment in infrastructure, facilities, airline and rail networks as well as a range of accommodation options. Room demand rose 8.9 per cent in 2012 while supply increased at just 4.6 per cent, according to STR Global.
ISTANBUL – Hospitality industry experts scheduled to speak at The Turkey & Neighbours Hotel Investment Conference (CATHIC) next month, characterise Istanbul, the host city, as a rapidly growing destination where the hotel development pipeline rivals London.
Istanbul has emerged as the world’s fifth top destination, welcoming more than nine million of the roughly 25 million foreign tourists who visited the country last year.
The city saw a 16 per cent increase in inbound arrivals last year over 2011, fuelling the call for more capital investment in infrastructure, facilities, airline and rail networks as well as a range of accommodation options. Room demand rose 8.9 per cent in 2012 while supply increased at just 4.6 per cent, according to STR Global.
Elizabeth Randall Winkle, STR Global managing director, said there are more than 5,000 hotel rooms in the development pipeline. She is one of several industry experts scheduled to discuss hotel development in Turkey during CATHIC, which will be held May 29-30 at The Marmara Taksim in Istanbul.
“If we look at the number of pipeline rooms as a percentage of existing inventory, we can see that at 15 per cent Istanbul looks to be the front-runner, with London coming in a close second with 14 per cent,” she said. “However, London’s current room supply already stands at three times that of Istanbul for double the number of foreign visitors.”
Another expected CATHIC speaker, Defne Gezen, vice president of Jones Lang LaSalle, said Istanbul is on its way to becoming an important international financial centre, paving the way for a surge in business traffic, as well as a tourism capital and a destination for events.
Defne Gezen, vice president of Jones Lang LaSalle.
A third airport is planned for Istanbul, which is expected to further expand arrivals and, with it, more investment.
Ongoing initiatives including Istanbul’s bid to host the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games also has strengthened the city’s appeal as a new global destination. The city already is a favourite location for TV series, documentaries, commercials and movies.
Istanbul will be the subject of a panel discussion at this year’s CATHIC to discuss room supply and performance and whether current momentum is sustainable and returns are sufficient to support new supply, among other issues.
The Focus on Istanbul session will feature Elif Balci Fisunoglu, general manager of the Istanbul Convention & Visitors Bureau; Murat Yilmaz, senior director, acquisitions & development, central & Eastern Europe, for Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide; and Serra Arikok, coordinator of Tourism Investments for the Demsa Group.
CATHIC speakers also will include Marty Kandrac, Blackstone managing director; Eric Danziger,Wyndham Hotel Group president & chief executive officer; Geoffrey Breeze, World Travel & Tourism Council executive director; Wolfgang Neumann, The Rezidor Hotel Group president & chief executive officer; and Mehmet Onkal, BDO managing partner.
CATHIC is co-organised by Bench Events and Questex Media, which also manages the Russia and CIS Hotel Investment Conference, Arabian Hotel Investment Conference, International Hotel Investment Forum Asia Pacific and International Hotel Investment Forum Berlin.
The right hotel can make or break your Istanbul trip. Here’s how to be a made man (or woman)
By Gareth Rees, for CNN
In Istanbul, you’re never stuck for something to do, see, eat or drink — no matter what time of the night or day it is.
But even the most energetic travelers need somewhere to take a breather.
In a city packed with more hotels than you could visit in a lifetime, finding the best isn’t easy. But these eight — ranging from five-star palaces to quirky boutique retreats — are arguably the best the city has to offer.
Pera Palace Hotel
Luxury spanning three centuries.
If you’re an Agatha Christie fan looking for luxury and 19th-century grandeur, the Pera Palace Hotel is home.
Re-opened three years ago following a €23 million renovation, the hotel was originally opened in 1892 to cater to passengers who arrived in Istanbul on the Orient Express.
With 115 rooms (including 16 suites), a spa, Agatha Restaurant, tea lounge, patisserie and views over the Golden Horn, the hotel is a two-minute walk from the city’s main thoroughfare, Istikal Caddesi.
Pera Palace Hotel, 52 Mesrutiyet Caddesi, Tepebasi, Beyoglu; +90 212 377 4000; from €160 (US$210) per night
W Istanbul
One couple’s overkill is another couple’s chic.
In a hipster neighborhood, the W Istanbul occupies one of the attractive Akaretler Row Houses, which were built in a distinctly Western style in the 1870s.
Here you’ll find 20- and 30-something hipsters taking advantage of free Wi-Fi in the lobby lounge, Sip, and downing cocktails before dinner at one of the many area restaurants.
A short taxi ride (depending on the unpredictable traffic) from Istanbul’s major sites, the W Istanbul is the focal point of a quiet and very European neighborhood.
W Istanbul, 22 Suleyman Seba Caddesi, Akaretler, Besiktas; +90 212 381 2199; from €180per night (US$235)
More on CNN: World’s 15 most expensive hotel suites
Georges Hotel Galata
Neighborhood cool with great Bosphorus views.
Forget shabby chic.
This 20-room boutique property with its high ceilings and exposed brick entry located on a cobbled alleyway is just plain chic.
Several of the rooms have balconies offering Bosphorus views and guests can enjoy in-room yoga sessions and massage.
From the terrace of the hotel’s French restaurant, Le Fumoir, you get uninterrupted views of the historical sites of Sultanahmet. The hotel is a short walk from the Galata Tower.
Georges Hotel Galata, 24 Serdar-I Ekrem Sokak, Galata, Beyoglu; +90 212 244 2423; from €135 (US$175) per night
The Istanbul Edition
Istanbul is hectic — your room shouldn’t be.
Trekking the streets of Istanbul can be tough on the feet.
With its color palette of light and dark woods, grays and golds, the Istanbul Edition is designed to help you rest and recover from your exertions.
A 15-story tower in the upscale Levent district, near luxury shopping malls, the property has 78 rooms, including a full floor penthouse suite, three-story ESPA spa, Cipriani restaurant, Gold Bar, nightclub and a screening room.
The Istanbul Edition is ideal for the visitor who has seen the sites and simply wants to enjoy the city’s many pleasures, from eating and drinking to shopping and nightlife.
The Istanbul Edition, 136 Buyukdere Caddesi, Levent; +90 212 317 7710; from €195 (US$255) per night
More on CNN: Meet the boss of the world’s most luxurious hotel
Ciragan Palace Hotel
Palatial. Literally.
A former Ottoman palace built by Sultan Abdulaziz, the five-star Ciragan Palace Hotel has lost none of its regal opulence.
The Sultan’s Suite is one of the most expensive in the world. Guests staying in any of the 11 Palace Suites can arrive by private helicopter to be greeted by their own butler.
On the shores of the Bosphorus, located between the quiet neighborhoods of Besiktas and Ortakoy, just a 10-minute taxi from Taksim Square, the property isn’t just for the super rich. There are a number of marginally cheaper but only moderately less luxurious rooms, many with views over the Bosphorus.
Ciragan Palace Hotel, 32 Ciragan Caddesi, Besiktas; +90 212 326 4646; from €570 (US$740) per night
Hotel Ibrahim Pasha
Location. Location. Location. And minarets.
The selling point of the Hotel Ibrahim Pasha is its location in Sultanahmet — the historic area of the city where most of Istanbul’s tourist sites are located.
On a peaceful side street, the boutique property puts you in the heart of the action while providing a cozy escape from the tourist hubbub nearby.
The four-story hotel, a combination of two turn of the century houses, operates a strict no-smoking policy. The guest-only rooftop terrace bar offers fantastic views of the Blue Mosque. In winter, you can warm yourself in front of one of the lobby fireplaces.
Hotel Ibrahim Pasha, 7 Terzihane Sok, Sultanahmet; +90 212 518 0394; from €120 (US$155) per night
More on CNN: Insider Guide: Best of Istanbul
Four Seasons Hotel Istanbul
Bosphorus calling.
Four Seasons operates two properties in Istanbul.
The Four Seasons Istanbul at Sultanahmet is ideal if you want to be close to the city’s major tourist sites
In the calm but centrally located neighborhood of Besiktas, however, the Four Seasons Hotel Istanbul at the Bosphorus steals the show.
A converted Ottoman palace just meters from the shore of the Bosphorus, the hotel has everything you’d expect from a luxury property, from a fine dining Mediterranean restaurant to a spa and indoor and outdoor pools. With 24-hour babysitting services, a child-friendly attitude and everything a parent could require from strollers to cribs, it’s perfect for a relaxing family holiday.
Four Seasons Hotel Istanbul at the Bosphorus, 28 Ciragan Caddesi, Besiktas; +90 212 381 4000;from €370 (US$480)
The House Hotel Nisantasi
A novel hotel, at least according to Turkish author Orhan Pamuk.
The House Hotel Group is an extension of the popular chain of excellent House Cafes that frequent visitors may have enjoyed across the city. This 44-room boutique property — one of three House Hotels in Istanbul — has a faultlessly contemporary design.
The affluent district of Nisantasi is famed as the home of Turkish author Orhan Pamuk, and for providing the setting for many of his best-selling novels.
It’s also home to Istanbul’s most expensive shopping street, Abdi Ipekci Caddesi, and most of the city’s designer stores, as well as a vibrant night life.
The House Hotel at Nisantasi, 34 Adbi Ipekci Caddesi, Nisantasi; +90 212 224 5999; from €169 (US$220) per night
More on CNN: 6 insanely opulent hotels in the Mideast
Jumeirah has appointed designer Anouska Hempel to spearhead the renovation of the 120-year-old Pera Palace Hotel in Istanbul, Turkey.
Hempel will add pink taffeta, moire silks, lace curtains, velvet cushions and tiny tables, in silver and cranberry tones to the design of the patisserie
Renowned hotelier and interior designer Hempel will create new concepts for the public areas and two presidential suites of the luxury museum hotel.
Scheduled for completion by mid-2013, the project will aim to enhance the Belle Époque feel of the hotel.
Jumeirah said in a statement that Hempel aims to “display the feminine side of Patisserie de Pera’s Art Nouveau décor while complementing the more masculine characteristics of the hotel’s interior”.
She plans to add pink taffeta, moiré silks, lace curtains, velvet cushions and tiny tables, in silver and cranberry tones to the design of the patisserie.
Each area of the plan will be refurbished over a one-week period. As the project does not involve major construction work, hotel guests will not be impacted by the redesign.
Initially launched in 1892, Pera Palace Hotel, Jumeirah re-opened in 2010 after a refurbishment of the building.
The group said the redesign aims to enhance the hotel’s status among the luxurious grand hotels of the world, where guests can experience the glamour of a bygone era.
via Jumeirah hires designer for Istanbul hotel revamp | HotelierMiddleEast.com.
A place where you can stay for free in Istanbul, meet other travellers and exchange travel experiences?
The Serbia Travel Club made their crazy idea reality, and Istanbul’s Travel House was open for everyone. I paid them an overnight visit in Istanbul and rediscovered how enriching travelling can be. This summer, Serbia Travel Club established a temporary base in Istanbul, called the Travel House. It is a rented apartment in the center of Istanbul, whose doors are open to all travellers, from July 1 to September 1st. Staying in the Travel House was free for everyone. The goal of the Travel House is to provide a global meeting point for travellers, and thus be a small step towards building a global travel culture.
The idea of the Travel House comes from a Russian organisation called the Academy of Free Travels, and was thought up by its founder Anton Krotov. Istanbul is the first experiment of this kind by the Serbia Travel Club. If it catches on, a Travel Houses will be organized in a different place every year.
“Our free time is our most important commodity, so don’t wait to be rich to go on the road,” is one of Anton Krotov’s baselines, “and you can travel with a lot of money, or without any money. The less money you have, the more time you need for travelling. While you’re standing on the road, hitchhiking, you’re thinking how much money you could’ve made in the time you spent hitchhiking.”
Sounds simple doesn’t it?
Having a base where people who travel cheaply can bump into each other, and exchange stories is an important step to establish a new travel culture. The Travel Club’s Lazar Pascanovic used the “House for all” The Academy of Free Travels set up in Southern Kirgizistan, and found it very useful.
In this apartment in Osh travelers could take a pause and help each other. Going from Kyrgyzistan to China is not evident, and Lazar learned a lot from the Russian travelers he met in Osh, the advantage of using small border crossings for example.
The focus of the Club is on independent travel with a research and creative dimension, and the guest’s creativity often reach high levels.
Denis and Gregory, a father and a son from Perm in Russia used their 24-day hitchhiking trip to write the word “Turkey” on the map of Turkey using GPS tracking device. And closed borders made travelers use their creativity to surpass these obstacles, Valentin from Germany, came by ship from Beirut.
The Travel House is also used to exchange musical culture, a lot of its guests carry their instruments with them.
Louis, an American music professor, traveled by bicycle from the UK to Georgia. He dropped by for one night only, and bought a melodica in Taxim, Central Istanbul, just to jam along.
And of course traveling can turn out unexpectedly, and what is a travel culture without solidarity? Mowaheeb from Aleppo, unable to return home to his Syrian hometown Aleppo, is staying at the Travel House and is excellent company.
The Academy of Free Travel
The Serbs didn’t need to reinvent the wheel but largely follow the example of their Russian counterparts.
The Academy of Free Travel, is one of Russia’s many hitchhiking clubs and was founded in 1995. They try not to arrange their own transportation and normally don’t use hotels, commercial campgrounds or airlines, but instead welcome everybody who is going in the same direction and agrees to give them a lift.
But saving money is not their goal. “We don’t mind spending if we wish to do so, and never mind losing money: the world is plentiful, and we’ll always find what we need on the road”, their website tells.
“We try to avoid touristic areas. Instead, we live, eat, travel, and communicate with local people, trying to experience their life as it is, not as it can be seen through specially arranged tours or politically correct guidebooks.”
“In our trips we found that the world is kind, that people are compassionate and hospitable everywhere, that our planet is open for everyone and belongs to us all. Life is wonderful; coming back from remote lands, we better understand people around us and try to be worthy of being a part of humanity.”
They organized large-scale hitchhiking expeditions through most countries in Eurasia and Africa; publishing and otherwise distributing useful information for independent travelers.
During their largest expedition ten of them covered more than 30,000 km in Russia, Georgia, Middle East, Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana, and Namibia. Some participants also visited Angola, Mozambique, Malawi, Yemen, Congo – Brazzaville, Cameroon, Chad, Niger, Mali, Mauritania, and other countries, spending up to 1.5 years on the road between 2000 and 2002.
And they tried to give the word adventure a new meaning. During their winter trip to Nenets Autonomous Okrug, a place I never heard about, the 18 participants were the first travelers in history to hitchhike to the Arctic city of Naryan Mar. This expedition included many hours of riding in open trunks at -25 degrees centigrade, and hitching a ride on a small cargo plane from Naryan Mar to Rybinsk in North-Central Russia. Some of them used unconventional ways of travel: long-distance cross-country skiing and trekking, hitching rides on reindeer sleds, snowmobiles, and helicopters.
For them it is also a way to replace the stereotypes they have about a country with first-hand impressions. In 2002 their one month-long hitchhiking trip to Afghanistan and back from Moscow made them discover a very friendly country. Doris Shida of the Serbia Travel Club, made a similar trip toMogadishu when fighting between Al-Shabab and the government forces was at its height.
In the Travel House, there are no guests. Everyone is a host. “If you see something broken, you should try to fix it. If you see something lacking (soap, toilet-paper, cooking oil, drinking water, detergent etc), buy it. If you see something dirty (toilet, bathroom, kitchen, floors, balconies), wash it,” reads one of the rules.
And their organization has a funny approach, they document close to anything, both the most challenging and suprising moments. And that’s what makes this so valuable. You just read and learn. Their struggle to find an appartement inIstanbulfor example, is very helpful for those travelers with bigger plans to settle down a little longer inIstanbul.
This is also how they developed this ideas. “Before we came toIstanbul, Anton Krotov from the Russian Academy of Free Travels posted in his blog detailed data on expenses for their apartment (which ended on June 1st). A 60 square meter apartment, in a neighborhood of Yedikule, costed 660 euros a month. That seemed very expensive to us, having in mind that it was a rather small apartment (and especially since, at one time, they had 34 persons staying there!), and also judging by the prices we had seen online earlier. However, we knew that Krotov is not a man who wastes money, which got us quite worried.”
So they estimated that they needed to collect at least 800 euros in donations to start with the project. At present they collected 1345 euro.
The Travel Primer
Apart from having hitchhiked about400,000 kmin Eurasia and Africa, the Academy of Free Travel’s president Anton Krotov has also published 17 books in Russian about free travel, and the Academy of Free Travel is continuously building their online Encyclopedia of Free Travel.
Similarly, once their house in Istanbul closes, the Serbian Travel Club would like to make a book called the Travel Primer, “a travel scrapbook of tips and tricks, stories, anecdotes, illustrations, photos, scraps, and so on, outlining not only the most important techniques for and approaches to this style of travel, but also exploring possibilites of using travel as a tool for expressing creativity and adding quality to the world.”
They invite their guests to leave them their your favorite travel or hitchhiking tips, or write down a short interesting anecdote or drawing about something that happened to you on the road.
Arriving at night, I flung open the French windows in my room at the House Hotel Bosphorus and stepped out on to the balcony for a stunning view of two continents: European Ortakoy’s bustling harbour, the neon-lit Bosphorus Bridge and, across the shimmering water, the twinkling lights of Uskudar in Asia.
The third venture from Istanbul’s dynamic House mini-chain has transformed a 19th-century waterfront mansion into a contemporary boutique hotel. The elegant Simon Kalfa building – he was part of the Balyan dynasty that left Istanbul with an impressive Ottoman-era architectural legacy, including Dolmabahce Palace – had fallen into disrepair but now, like the city itself, it’s a well-thought-out combination of old and new.
As in the other House hotels – House Hotel Galatasary in a 19th-century Ottoman mansion in the up-and-coming antiques district of Cukurcuma, and the Art Deco House Hotel Nisantasi, perched above Prada in the city’s most upmarket shopping district – the renovation has been sympathetic to the building’s origins. The original lofty ceilings, ornate plasterwork and parquet floors are complemented by luxurious interiors from the award-winning Turkish design duo du jour, Autoban, making good use of their signature materials of marble, brass and oak.
The hotel has five floors topped by the enormous Penthouse Bosphorus Suite, with 180-degree views. On the ground floor, the trendy House Café serves traditional Turkish and international dishes, along with potent cocktails. It spills out onto a patio overlooking the Bosphorus, the bridge and Buyuk Mecidiye Camii, a magnificent neo-Baroque mosque. One floor up, the open-plan Lounge houses a formal restaurant, lounge, library and bar and is decorated with muted tones, a marble fireplace and sleek, low-slung cream leather sofas. Turkish dishes are presented with a contemporary twist, served with good local wines such as Sarafin, Corvus and Sevilen 900. This is also the place to sip raki, a potent anise-flavoured spirit while you people-watch – Kevin Spacey and Monica Bellucci are recent guests.
A leisurely breakfast is also served in the Lounge – a top pick is menimen, scrambled eggs, with feta, tomatoes and parsley.
Location
Cosmopolitan Ortakoy, “Middle Village” in Turkish, is one of Istanbul’s coolest districts. The Buyuk Mecidiye Camii sits on a platform next to the iconic bridge; fishing boats bob in the harbour and the muezzin vies with beats from the city’s glitziest super-clubs, including Reina and Anjelique.
Ortakoy’s cobbled alleyways and squares heave with people at weekends, drawn by its street market, chic boutiques and waterfront bars and restaurants. The café culture of Bebek, one of the Bosphorus villages, is a stroll away, and you’re only a short taxi or tram ride from historic Sultanahmet and the nightlife of Beyoglu. The coast road can get gridlocked in rush hour, but it’s about 45 minutes from the main Ataturk airport and 60 minutes from the no-frills Sabiha Gokcen Airport.
Comfort
There are 23 rooms divided into six categories, ranging from superior to the penthouse. Almost all have river views – four suites and four rooms have full waterfront views, other rooms overlook Ortakoy Square with side views of the strait – with small balconies perfect for a post-sightseeing wind-down while you watch boats ply the water. The interiors are cool and calm, mingling the traditional with the hi-tech – king-sized beds with crisp white linen, gleaming white walls, polished parquet, original mouldings offset by Autoban’s signature funky light fittings, remote-controlled curtains and a large flatscreen TV.
My deluxe suite’s separate living area came with a streamlined sofa and dark-wood furniture, as well as a second TV and Nespresso machine. The marbled-tiled bathrooms have powerful rain showers and L’Occitane toiletries, while the penthouse suites have large Jacuzzi tubs, and wraparound balconies. There’s free Wi-Fi throughout the hotel and a small gym.
House Hotel Bosphorus, Salhane Sokak 1, Ortakoy, Istanbul, Turkey (00 90 212 244 3400; thehousehotel.com).
Rooms *****
Value ****
Service ****
Double rooms start at €159, including breakfast.
via 24-hour room service: House Hotel Bosphorus, Istanbul – Hotels – Travel – The Independent.
Jumeirah Group, the Dubai-based luxury hotel company and a member of Dubai Holding, has signed a management agreement with Demsa Group, a leading Turkish company specialising in the luxury and fashion retail industry and representing 13 global brands, to operate the Pera Palace Hotel in Istanbul, Turkey. Jumeirah Group will assume management of the luxury museum hotel from 1 May 2012 and the property will be known as Pera Palace Hotel, Jumeirah.
Pera Palace Hotel originally opened in 1892 as the destination hotel in Istanbul for discerning travellers on the Orient Express train. Its elegant, understated design reflects art nouveau, neoclassical and oriental styles, complete with white Carrara marble, exquisite Murano glass chandeliers and hand-woven Ousak carpets. Known as the longest established luxury hotel in Istanbul, Pera Palace boasted the first electric elevator in Turkey and its rooms have hosted many of the world’s most significant figures, ranging from the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, to European royalty and cultural figures such as Agatha Christie, Greta Garbo, Alfred Hitchcock and Ernest Hemingway.
The room where Atatürk preferred to stay – room 101 – has been registered as a museum by the Ministry of Culture; visitors can see some of his personal belongings and many artefacts dating back to his visits to the hotel from 1917 until his death in 1938.
Located in the culturally rich and dynamic Beyoğlu district of Istanbul, within easy reach of the Golden Horn, the Bosphorus and the airport, Pera Palace Hotel, Jumeirah has 115 rooms including 16 suites, the majority of them with balconies. The hotel underwent a major refurbishment resulting in a grand re-opening in September 2010; in late 2011 the hotel’s usage rights transferred to Demsa Group, who has now selected Jumeirah Group to operate the property in line with the Jumeirah brand promise of STAY DIFFERENT.
The hotel has a 380m2 spa and four function rooms. Its main restaurant, Agatha, is named after the famous British crime writer Agatha Christie and serves French, Italian and Turkish specialities, paying tribute to the three major stops of the former Orient Express. Orient Bar is a well-known meeting-point for the intellectuals and the high society of Istanbul, as are the Kubbeli Saloon and Tea Lounge, Patisserie de Pera and Orient Terrace in summer.
The addition of Pera Palace Hotel, Jumeirah brings the number of luxury hotels, resorts and residences currently operated by Jumeirah around the world to 19. From the start of 2011 to the end of 2012, the Group will have more than doubled the number of hotels it manages and almost quadrupled the number of countries in which it operates. In the coming six months Jumeirah expects to open Jumeirah Port Soller Hotel & Spa in Mallorca, Spain; Jumeirah Bilgah Beach Hotel in Baku, Azerbaijan; Jumeirah Messilah Beach Hotel and Spa, Kuwait; and Jumeirah Creekside in Dubai, UAE.
via Jumeirah to operate Pera Palace Hotel in Istanbul.
