Very Nice

I loved the Conrad. Don't pay the hotel's prices though, book on line and get a discount. The breakfast deals are the best, and breakfast is really good. The rooms are lovely, but the bathrooms could be updated. We would definately return.

Service very patchy

I have been staying in this hotel many times over the last 3 years and must say that service has been getting worse and worse. Staff seem to be confused and unsure about everything - reservations, rooms, breakfast etc.

The hotel is currently undergoing refurbishments and as a consequence getting a nice room has become somewhat of a lottery. There are non-refurbished standard rooms, refurbished standard rooms, business rooms, executive rooms and butler floor rooms. All can be with garden or Bosphorus view. Each of these combinations carries a supplement that you have to pay should you want to be "upgraded". Needless to say, the supplement amount seems to be applied randomly.

When 2 of my colleagues and I stayed in February (reserved at the same rate), one of us got a business room, and 2 others - standard rooms, one refurbished and one unrefurbished. The major difference, apart from furnishings, is ability to access high-speed internet. I asked to be moved and was told I could only do so for a $30 supplement.

When I reserved this time, for visiting in April, I specified non-smoking refurbished business room. I got what I wanted - except the construction works were happening right in the neighbouring room - with noise, dust and a lot of activity. I asked to be moved (I have asthma and the dust was too much), and was kindly upgraded to the executive floor for no charge (I have a Hilton gold card, so this nothing out of the ordinary). The reception staff "forgot" to mention that executive rooms have no smoking designation. This meant I was suffocating from smoke throughout my stay.

Quality of the refurbishment deserves a separate comment. The work is incredibly shoddy. The suspended ceiling in the bathroom was about 2 inches short from the wall, the tap always ran only very hot water and the shower water was room temperature. Smoke was pouring in from the most bizzar places, notably from behind the mini-bar.

High-speed internet connection was also somewhat of a mystery. It took 2 phone calls to get a cable (for a $5 deposit).

The room in the hotel contains virtually no information (remember those thick books in hotels listing all the services? Conrad does not have those). The new phones with buttons listing various services do not work - you have to dial an extention, which is printed in a tiny booklet that sits by another phone.

As I have a gold card, I am allowed to have free breakfast in the lounge. The trouble is, there is no Executive lounge in the hotel. Their Summit bar, which is open to public in the evening, serves as the lounge in the morning (very confusing to many people). So I witnessed a scene when several people came in asking for breakfast and they were turned away. One couple persisted, saying they would pay, but wanted to stay, but the staff were very rude. Only when the couple asked to see a manager, they were allowed to sit down and have their coffee. Things like that simply do not happen in 5-star hotels.

To add insult to injury, my points for staying in this hotel are never posted to my HHonors account, I always have to put in a missing stay request. What a pain.

As it has been mentioned here, there are plenty of great hotels in Istanbul (similarly priced), and Conrad management has to wake up and do something about this property and its service

Very nice

You can find great rates to stay at this hotel and it is very well located. It is nothing over the top remarkable but still good servcie and a very ncie hotel indeed. It's not the nicest Istanbul has, but a lovely hotel nonetheless. Just don't pay more than $200 per night and you will be satisfied.

Conrad Istanbul is Fantastic

I have stayed at the Conrad Hilton twice, the last time was August 2004. I am returning again next month with my wife, and I'm sure she will love it. The hotel has one of the best views of the city and the Bosphorus that you will find. The view from the Executive Lounge terrace is amazing. The service is great and the location is close to many of the wonderful attractions in the city. The hotel can also arrange many reasonably priced guided tours, which I also recommend, including boat tours of the Bosphorus. One of the nicest Conrad properties in the world!

One of my favorites.

I love the Conrad Istanbul hotel. I travel very often for business and this is one of my favorites in the world. The higher floored rooms are nicer, but the best thing about the hotel is really the service. I think their staff is one of the best prepared I've ever seen. Highly recommend..and as long as you're in Istanbul, have dinner at Vira Vira along the Bosphorous..one of the best restaurants in the world!

Stay at the Hyatt instead!

I have just completed my 58th trip to Europe (my 3rd to Turkey), and let me tell you - the Istanbul Conrad was a huge disappoint on so many levels. Not only are the rooms expensive, but the hotel 'nickel and dimes' you to death on nearly everything. The staff is rude and snooty. The rooms are nothing like advertised (as in the hotel brochure and their web site). And the staff lied to us on a number of ocassions.

Internet access is $2 USD per minute.

The hotel bar, The Summit, is outrageously expensive (glass of wine and a double shot of scotch were over $100 USD) and the place is swarming with prostitues by 10 pm every night. How do I know this? First, it was obvious. Second, several Turkish patrons warned me.

The hotel breakfast buffet looks lovely - until you realize that only the Continental breakfast comes with your room, and the Hot breakfast is $32 USD extra. How did we find this out? There were 9 of us in my group of co-workers, and NONE of us were told our room only came with the Continental breakfast. (Our reservations stated that "breakfast" came with our rate. No other distinction was made. The first morning we go down for breakfast, grab plates and order omelets. AFTER the omelets were on our plates, and we were heading back to our table, the restaurant staff YELLED at us for not getting the correct breakfast. They then demanded that we pay for the Hot Breakfast. Each one of us handed our plates to the restaurant staff and walked out. They treated us like we were 5-year-old children and did their very best to humilate us in front of the rest of the guests.

One of the guys in our group lost his luggage, and it took 2 nights to catch up with him in Istanbul. Did the hotel offer an amenities kit? No. Instead, they sent him to the hotel gift shop, where the cost of a toothbrush was $7 USD, and a cheap disposable razor was $5 USD.

Our group had to attend a meeting at a military facility a few miles north of the hotel. Three different members of the staff told me the site was a 10 minute taxi ride away. HA!!! With the suffocating gridlock that is Istanbul traffic, it took us 45 minutes each and every day. Of course, the first day we were late - and once again we were humiliated due to the hotel staff's inadequate knowledge.

One of my co-workers brought his girlfriend with him on the trip. She had the unnerving experience of being stalked by one of the other hotel guests ... to the point of him placing explicit sexual notes under her hotel room door and calling her in the middle of the night. This was reported to Hotel Security (twice!) who did nothing. After the second request received no action (not even a room change), my coworker moved hotels. And none of us blamed him.

One night there was a wedding in the hotel ballroom. The music was so loud that it woke me (and I can sleep through ANYTHING - including a fire in my college dorm). The music was so loud that it was vibrating through the walls and into my mattress. The ballroom was on the second floor, my room was on the eighth floor. When I approached the front desk about this - at 2:30 AM - nothing was done, no concern was shown, and they accused me of "fabricating the noise level".

The rooms were another disappointment. When I told the front desk that my room was far less than pictured on their web site, once again I was met with total indifference. I was then told the rooms pictured on the web site on are the Executive Floor and that I could upgrade to that floor for an additional $85 UDS per night.

And if you want to have a complete heart attack, take a look at the Room Service menu. One cup of coffee - $7 USD. One plate of pasta - $32 USD. One Hamburger - $28 USD. And their mini-bar prices were twice what I've seen anywhere else.

Any one of these complaints is something a seasoned traveler would not expect to find at a hotel which advertises it's self as a 5-star hotel ... but all of these complaints added together is absolutely unacceptable.

My next trip to Istanbul, I'll return to the Hyatt (where I have stayed before) - a truely luxorious experience.

A fantastic view...and very good service

Just back from the Conrad Istanbul for the new year Celebrations and had a fantastic time. The view from the hotel is just amazing. the staff cant be faulted. They will always try to do everything they can to help you, especialy the staff from the excutive lounge.

Fantastic

I have stayed at The Conrad twice and am about to stay there again over xmas. It is absolutely fantastic, service is second to none and although pricey worth every penny.

I am getting married in Istanbul next year and although the wedding will be taking pace at Swissotel (where we will be staying for two nights, so review to follow), our guests will be staying at The Conrad at our recommendation. Location is great, hotel is great - need i say more just absolutely fabulous!!!!!!

Expensive but beautiful.

This is a really beautiful, elegant hotel. It's quite expensive but if you can afrord it, go for it. Classical but modern decoration, close to the Bazaar and other shopping places. Great bakery.

What a fabulous view! But the service?

Located in a nice upmarket area with FABULOUS views of the Bosphorous. We booked a suite (suites & executive rooms get Free drinks in the exec lounge).

The room was superb - the finest I have ever stayed in (& I have stayed in 3 other Conrads & many 5 star hotels).

Only problem was the really poor service from waiters serving drinks. Slow, sullen & not up to the friendly service we got elsewhere.

But hey, just give them your order, sit down & enjoy the view of a lifetime!