Four Seasons Istanbul at the Bosphorus

This is an exceptional hotel. The location is amazing - right on the bosphorus with a gorgeous pool and rooms that were part of the original palace. Our rooms have 20' ceilings. The service is outstanding - they could not be nicer to myself, husband and two teen boys. The breakfast and brunch buffets are the best we have ever seen. I would stay here again in a heart beat. Istanbul is a fascinating place but you would also be happy just hanging out at the hotel!

I was only here two nights but I think that was enough to demonstrate that this is not worth the time or money. I was told that the hotel was far from the best in Istanbul but it was very near my meetings so I ignored that advice. The room - on the top floor - was quite large although it had a slightly weird ceiling due to the sloping roof. It was quite dark with one small dormer window that I could just see teh Bosphorus out of if I peered hard and had a very nice tub (for one!). The service was where this hotel fell down - the bar and restaurant appear to be run entirely separately from the hotel itself so as a resident you get no special privileges and have to fight s-=for the very limited space with walk ins. Not only that but by splitting the bar area and restaurant area that further erstits seating if you want - and everyone should want - to have sundowners by teh Bosphorus. Having been lied to by the bar staff about table availability by the Strait ("all booked by residents Sir") I demanded to see teh General Manager but he refused to see me and I had to contend with the F&B manager who was very nice but by tenth damage had been done. I had my sunder (table was not of course booked by residents - but why lie to me so obviously?) Not the best example of Four Seasons to say the least - but since they have another facility in Istanbul maybe I will try that next time - or maybe the Mandarin Oriental or the Penisula instead the next time I am in town. There is no shortage of excellent competition in Istanbul - try them instead.

This is a beautiful property right on the waterfront with an outstanding spa. The steam room and indoor pool are presently closed but they opened the steam in the hammam for us instead which was great. Excellent massage and nice spa relaxation area. Nice spacious rooms and good housekeeping. Concierge was excellent and helpful. FS is an international brand and has to however live up to that brand and this hotel falls short in my view. I do not like the fact there is only one restaurant open for lunch and nothing else suitable nearby. In the open air people can chain smoke in that restaurant air and there is only one non smoking area which today had a table of five men all on full blast speaker phone calls. It felt like a circus and not a relaxing break. I appreciate people cannot tell others how to behave but I believe if you are at a FS restaurant for lunch you should behave respectfully to others or otherwise managers should control the culture and behaviour in communal spaces. Returning to the pool there are more chain smokers. You move and someone else sits down and more smoking. I think there should be designated smoking areas for people and communal spaces like the pool should be non smoking or otherwise certain areas for smoking only. There has been a whole group of people right next to the water chain smoking cigars and it’s really unpleasant. You move to the other side and the lifeguard is listening on his phone on full blown speakerphone music of his own which I don’t want to hear either! I think this is probably a hotel mostly for domestic Turkish tourists rather than international tourists, and so many won’t be bothered about that, but it’s not for me so I won’t be back.

The Best hotel in Istanbul! Having Diner o de looking the Bosphorous is unique! Service is impeccable. Housekeeping brilliant. Great stay!

Four Seasons is always a consistent experience, this hotel was no different. We had a delightful stay here, albeit very short. Our room was large and comfortable, perhaps a little dated, but clean tidy and well maintained. The team were extremely friendly, warm and welcoming. We managed to squeeze in a visit to their bar and Aqua restaurants both were very good and we would recommend.