Great water tour of Bosporus, Golden Horn, Marmara Sea, and Paradise Islands with breakfast,…read moresnacks, and drinks on board.  Yacht was clean and well-maintained, captain was very knowledgeable, and mate/server was very good.  I love seeing cities from their water, and this day on the water was a high point of our visit to Istanbul.

We highly recommend Byzas Tours. Had what turned into a terrific 1-day visit to Cappadocia. They…read moreorganized the flights, transfers to/from the airports (we flew early morning from Istanbul and returned that evening), and the tour itself. We had one snafu that was ultimately resolved very well - had a terrific tour by Ahmed. Wonderful person, very knowledgeable. One recommendation - look closely for you name on sign-boards - spelling and pronunciation between English to Turkish (and back) can result in some interesting changes...!

This hotel conjures up memories of the fictional city Amarganth in "The Neverending…read moreStory"...Amarganth is also called the Silver City and let me tell you this hotel is silverish through and through. In fact, I kind of find it a little bit overwhelming and truthfully quite gaudy. In fact, when I booked the hotel and showed the hotel's webpage to my interior-design friend, he suddenly aged by 5 years from crinkling his forehead. Looks like the Turkish idea of tasteful design is quite different from its Northern European counterparts. (Actually, this opulence reminded me of over-stylized hotels in Dubai or Abu-Dhabi.) Nevertheless, the amenities and the service here at the hotel were on par with my expectations. In fact, when I walked in to the hotel, I received the warmest welcome from the folks at the front desk. The hotel also features a well-equipped gym with all the machines that you can think of. It also has a decent-sized pool. Suggestion: skip the breakfast, especially when it's not included in your rate. It's nothing to write home about. Flip up the Yelp App instead and go find a nice breakfast place in nearby Karaköy or on Bagdad Street.

Rooms are beautiful and well equiped. Quiet. Very comfortable bed. Love the bathtub with the…read moresliding doors to the room. It's very romantic. View is stunning. Love the free spa and pools.

This is a very luxurious Hyatt property located inside the Maçka Palas in Nişantaşı. The building…read moreis gorgeous and was built in 1922 by Italian architect Giulio Mongeri on the former site of a Sultan's palace. The architecture is Milanese style and originally part of the nearby Italian Embassy before opening as a luxury hotel in 2008 after a long restoration. It's located a few blocks from a huge and beautiful park, in the most luxury shopping area of Istanbul, with lots of high-end shops like Gucci and Hermès nearby. But what I really like about the area is it also has many cool little indie shops, ice cream parlors, fruit stands and fun neighborhood coffee shops nearby as well, so it has a fun local character as well. The crowd in the surrounding neighborhood is young, upscale, hip and diverse. After waking around Nişantaşı (where the hotel is located), one of my local friends said to me, "Now you know what rich Istanbul is like." :D The staff make this hotel absolutely incredible and Ibrahim at the front desk is great. Also, Leyla Kiper with guest services is exceptional. She was so wonderful when she greeted me at reception and is funny and caring. Leyla is a real asset to the hotel. Some of the hotel rooms even have their own private hammam in the bathroom with a steam shower. The beds are extremely comfortable. Rooms also feature a special faucet with filtered water. The hotel gym is exceptional and is very glitzy and high-tech. I really enjoyed using the beautifully maintained equipment. Breakfast is one of the best hotel breakfasts that I've had in Turkey with traditional Turkish dishes offered as well as fantastic pastries, and healthy juices. Basically anything you could ask for. The pool is more of a lap pool and looks pretty but it's definitely usable. Overall, I highly recommend this hotel, especially if you enjoy upscale modern luxury hotels, like high-end shopping but want to be in an area that feels affluent and local but not very touristy.

The best hotel we have ever stayed at. We were welcomed by all staff. The concierge always helped…read moreus with recommendations for walking and dining. They were able to upgrade our room to a premium king suite - it did not fall short of its name! The room was spacious. The bed felt like I was sleeping on a cloud. The bathroom included a full steam room, hamam, tub, and shower. We were stocked with le labo products (the best)! Now on to the breakfast - where to begin. Everything tasted so fresh and fantastic. They have entrees to prepare for you as well as a large buffet spread. Fresh juice and coffees brought to your table! There is a lovely park just a block away that we walked through twice. If I'm ever back in Istanbul, I'm staying at the Park Hyatt.