I wanted to spend my Bonvoy points on something special, and I achieved this at the Ritz Carlton Istanbul. It would have been very difficult to find a better use of my points than at this fantastic hotel. The first thing that impressed us was a small Bonvoy lounge near reception where guests can enjoy complimentary snacks while waiting for their rooms to be prepared if they arrive before the standard 3pm check-in time. Because the hotel had kindly offered us an upgraded room on the 12th floor which wasn't ready when we arrived, and we were slightly hungry, the lounge was a welcome amenity upon our arrival. We were impressed to be given Champagne (or sparkling wine) while checking in. Because I have gold status at both Hilton and Marriott, we had previously considered the nearby Hilton where gold status gives more benefits. However, I was delighted that the Ritz Carlton gave us benefits equivalent at least to titanium, such as late checkout at 4pm instead of 2pm, which made us delighted that we had chosen the Ritz Carlton. This was thanks in large part to Safa, the extremely professional, hospitable and friendly front office manager, who was so keen to ensure that our stay was perfect, even personally showing us to our room. The club lounge, which was conveniently located on the same 12th floor as our room, was excellent. When paying money rather than points, it would definitely be worth upgrading to a club room just for this enjoyable benefit. The food in the lounge is excellent quality, for example the beef medallions. Instead of the cheapest drinks brands that are often found in airport and hotel lounges, the drinks brands in the Ritz Carlton's club lounge are at least mid-range brands such as our favourite Tanqueray gin. Breakfast in the club lounge was also excellent and not at all crowded. Riham, a concierge at the club lounge reception, was extremely helpful and welcoming on our first day when we arrived, making us feel like very special guests. Fatih was the real star of the club lounge. He is quite a joker, but always maintaining true professionalism, and he entertained us with his sense of humour while simultaneously giving top quality service. The weather was good enough on our final day to use the pool for an hour or so before our departure, where we enjoyed lunch service. I was very impressed that the staff offered me suncream, but which I didn't need for our short time at the pool. Concerning the hotel's location, although some other hotels are slightly closer to Taksim, the Ritz Carlton is closer to the Bosphorus, making it a short walk to ferries across to the Asian side or for trams to the Fatih district. The hotel occupies up to the 14th floor (there is no 13th floor) of the 34-floor Süzer Plaza building. To walk to and from the Bosphorus, you can the lower Süzer Plaza building entrance that has Nobu above it, which reduces the walk significantly compared to using the main hotel entrance. There is airport-style security at all entrances to the building, but it is not as strict as an airport. This balances hospitality towards guests with reassurance that security is above average. The beds are extremely comfortable, giving very high quality sleep. The temperature in the room was ideal, and very responsive to any change to the configured temperature without any noticeable noise. Everything that we expected was provided in the room without having to ask - lots of towels, flannels, dressing gowns, slippers, bars of soap. Even better were the gifts that we were not expecting such as plenty of food - chocolates, macaroons, baklava etc. The turndown service was impressive. The wifi was around 22Mbps upstream and downstream. The television has BBC World and plenty of other international channels. The desk has copious power sockets including one type G socket (UK, Ireland, Cyprus, UAE, Singapore etc). The bathroom has a separate bath and shower with a good layout. It's the staff at this hotel who really make it special, as they are all consistently friendly and hospitable, delivering attentive luxury. If I had named every staff member who impressed us, the list would have been very long.

I would like to thank Bora Seckin for the amazing service. He helped me alot with visiting touristic places and what I valued the most is that he got me an entrance to the rooftop party. The breakfast services were also amazing and the cooks really know how to make an amazing omlette

Fantastic services, the team working there is awesome, starting from reception and endibg in the spa. I would like to thank Mr. Farouq and Mr. Barke in restaurant, and Mr. Rayan with Mr. Hassan in SPA, all of them are gentles, amazing and supportive.

This is a wonderful hotel with very pleasing views and outstanding service! One rarely needs to ask for anything - it is either already there - or will be ready in a few seconds - highly attentive concierge and Guest Relations Manager attend to one's every need! Beautiful Spa, nice choice of good restaurants, wonderful Club Floor - everything very, very pleasing!

The staffs always provide great support and service. They are polite and helpful. The location is slightly problematic due to traffic jam but the hotel is fantastic , feel spacious due to high ceiling. Particular we appreciate Seckin at front desk who helped to find upgrading my stay as a platinum member and Eylem at the lounge who provide great hospitality.