Most Romantic Hotels in Istanbul
Introduction
Istanbul was where the great Byzantine emperor Justinian courted then married circus girl Theodora (too much ‘tut-tutting’ from a scandalized public) and where languid Ottoman sultans presided over their beautiful concubines in the mysterious harem at the Topkapı Palace. It remains a romantic city today, especially when viewed at night from a swanky rooftop or Bosphorus-front restaurant, with the city lights of Asia twinkling across the strait. Whether you choose one of the well-appointed waterfront places listed below, a place in the heart of the historic quarter or the hotel where Zsa Zsa Gabor, Mata Hari and Greta Garbo once laid their heads, here’s a run-down of the most romantic getaways in ‘The City of the World’s Desire’.
Glamour Hotel
A few blocks west of Topkapi Palace, near the Golden Horn, stands the Glamour Hotel. It’s within walking distance of most of the city’s top sights and features modern rooms dazzling with white décor offset by blue pops in curtains, bedspreads, and headboards. Many rooms have sea views of the famous Golden Horn and the Bosphorus. There are more expansive panoramas from the rooftop lounge and restaurant, where you’re encouraged to dine like locals and indulge in shisha.
- 3-night accommodation with breakfasts and private roundtrip airport transfers from 255US$ per person.
Romance Istanbul Hotel
Romance Istanbul does not pander to the hip and ephemeral but trades on good, old-fashioned comfort and top-quality service. Harking back to Istanbul’s imperial Ottoman past, each room has its talisman shirt on display, of the kind specially made for each sultan to bring good luck and protection (Room 105 has a replica of the talisman shirt worn by Süleyman the Magnificent). All the fittings and fixtures of the hotel have been custom-made to give a definite sense of traditional style, with an emphasis on ornate, period gilded-wood furniture, heavy drapes, floral wallpaper, and velvet or satin upholstery, chandeliers, and glass pendant lighting fittings and wrought-iron work.
- 3-night accommodation with breakfasts and private roundtrip airport transfers from 355US$ per person.
Sumahan on the Water
Formerly an Ottoman-era distillery, its discerning Turkish-American owners converted it into an award-winning hotel. As the hotel is situated on the Asian side of the Bosphorus Strait, guests arrive from Europe at the hotel’s launch. There are a few finer ways to begin a visit to Istanbul. But one of the best things about the Sumahan is that all rooms have magnificent views of the strait itself, and you can either lay in bed or sit in a comfy armchair and watch the sun play on the water outside. Light floods into the carefully designed rooms through floor-to-ceiling windows, illuminating the stylishly contemporary, but never austere, interiors.
- 3-night accommodation with breakfasts and private roundtrip airport transfers from 765US$ per person.
Sura Design Hotel and Suites
It would be hard to choose a more centrally located property than the Sura, which sits close to Istanbul’s prime monuments and sights. Housed in a stately, four-story mansion with tall arched windows and decorative iron railings, its interiors are conspicuously bold without being brassy. For a romantic dinner with spectacular views, head to the Deraliye Terrace Restaurant. The Secret Garden is also worth visiting for its festively-lit pergola, adorned with jasmine and wisteria.
- 3-night accommodation with breakfasts and private roundtrip airport transfers from 535US$ per person.
Ciragan Palace Kempinski
This five-star hotel is a palace. Constructed on the Beşiktaş waterfront by Sultan Abdülâziz during the 1860s, Cıragan Palace fell into ruin in the 20th century before it was restored to all its baroque glory by the Kempinski Hotel group in the new millennium. The result is one of Istanbul’s most mesmerizing luxury hotels, with 310 extravagant rooms and suites occupying this gorgeous marble palace. Ciragan Palace Kempinski has six mouthwatering food and drink locations, including Laledan in the palace gardens and fine-dining Tuğra on the first floor, plus an authentic Turkish bath and an al-fresco pool nestled against the shore of the Bosphorus. The jewel in this glistening crown is the lavish Sultan Suite, the ultimate romance for those with deep pockets.
- 3-night accommodation with breakfasts and private roundtrip airport transfers from 925US$ per person.
Régie Ottoman Istanbul
The Régie Company used to enjoy a lucrative monopoly over Turkey’s tobacco trade in the dying days of the Ottoman Empire before a chic boutique hotel breathed new life into the 150-year-old tobacco factory and company headquarters. More moody than magnificent, Régie’s 34 rooms celebrate the original texture of the building – the wooden floors, the patterned brick ceilings, and the sunny arched windows – while adding cool contemporary décor, tiled private balconies, modern white bathrooms, and atmospheric lighting. Only a block or two from the Eminönü ferry terminal on the historic peninsula, this intimate hotel also provides a gym, a sauna, and the upscale Hayal Kahvesi restaurant.
- 3-night accommodation with breakfasts and private roundtrip airport transfers from (Hot Deal) 425US$ per person.
Pera Palace Hotel
The Pera Palace fits perfectly into an area that was, in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, home to the city’s Christian and Jewish minorities and European bankers, diplomats, and traders. The seven-story building’s elegant, restrained Neo-Classical façade does little to prepare you for the luxury of the perfectly preserved interior. It looks like it must have been done in the 1920s when Agatha Christie stayed here en route to Aleppo. The Kubbeli Lounge on the ground floor is a real focal point, with its six glass domes, a grandiloquent crystal chandelier, Moorish-style arches, and walls clad in bands of marble of contrasting colors.
- 3-night accommodation with breakfasts and private roundtrip airport transfers from 475US$ per person
Celal Sultan Hotel
With a series of flower-lined balconies covering the façade, the family-run Celal Sultan Hotel would seem more at home in Paris than in the most ancient quarter of Istanbul. But this Sultanahmet stay offers a little flavor of France in the shadow of the minarets belonging to Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque, with a scenic cocktail bar and a terrace capitalizing on the prime location. The 55 rooms are quaint and old-fashioned – this is where your towels are folded into the shape of a swan by the attentive housekeeping staff – but represent excellent value for couples.
- 3-night accommodation with breakfasts and private roundtrip airport transfers from 175US$ per person.
