The Ritz-Carlton, Istanbul

Everything about the stay was completely quality from the moment we arrived to the moment we checked out, we felt entirely cared for. The staff at the front desk went above and beyond to help me locate a lost and very expensive piece of jewelry. There are many places in the world where that expensive watch would have been missing forever, but not at the Ritz in Istanbul. I’m taking the time to write this review because not only was everything about the day exquisite, but I am so impressed by the attentiveness, efficiency, honesty and integrity of the staff. Absolutely amazing stay, PS room service does not disappoint! :)

The hotel lives up to the name of Ritz-Carlton. The staff is courteous and helpful. The room is spacious with a great view of the Bosphorus Strait. The breakfast is exquisite with an excellent selection. The quality of the food in the couple of restaurants is also excellent. We had a wonderful experience during our stay and will go back again when we visit Istanbul.

Located about 15 minutes by Uber from the Grand Bazaar & downtown Istanbul. Spacious clean rooms with fabulous views over the Bosphorus & the Stadium. Lovely rooftop pool & deck area. Some members of staff had limited English & were a little new to the service industry.

The Turkish Hammam was excellent. Especially with Erna and Nisa both amazing. Just bear in mind with the extras they can creep up on you. Otherwise it was the best hammam ive tried here in Istanbul!

We had a good stay overall and were treated very well by the staff, but there were a few areas where the experience didn’t fully meet expectations. Lounge experience: I realize this part is 100% my fault, I forgot that my status did not include access to the executive lounge. While disappointed, I in no way hold that against the hotel. However, there is a separate Bonvoy lounge available for status guests, but it felt perfunctory at best and extremely underwhelming. The space was quite dark, zero windows, and not especially inviting. The main benefit was access to bottled water 24:7. Food offerings were extremely limited and often completely empty. Snacks (such as very small jars of sesame cookies and coconut crisps) were frequently empty, and breakfast pastries were put out in very small quantities (12 ish) and always gone well before midday. During a four-night stay, I only saw a croissant available once in the afternoon. Another bit about the lounge, one morning in the lounge, I was there early (around 6:30–8:30am) and about a dozen hotel staff members cycled in and out of the locked lounge to make their own morning coffees on the lounge machine. Only one of which acknowledged my presence and asked me about my day and if it was alright by me for them to get a coffee. Of course , it was fine! But none of the rest acknowledged my presence. It felt quite a bit awkward. So all that was insult to injury of not having access to the executive lounge (which I can’t complain about and didn’t) Housekeeping detail: I used the bathtub one afternoon and it was not cleaned afterward for the remainder of our stay (four nights). As someone who enjoys a bath after long sightseeing days, this was disappointing, and I ended up not using it again. Sunset cruise / hotel communication issue: We also experienced a significant miscommunication between the hotel, the staff of a sunset cruise the hotel arranged, and us. Prior to departure, hotel staff confirmed that the cost of the cruise could be charged to our room bill. Based on that confirmation, we did not bring much cash with us. However, halfway through the cruise, staff unexpectedly STRONGLY insisted on cash payment only. We explained that we had been told it would be billed through the hotel, but there was confusion between the cruise staff and the hotel. After about 15 minutes of back-and-forth, including staff stepping away to clarify internally, they ultimately agreed to accept a credit card payment. They were clearly reluctant to do so and preferred cash, which created an avoidable and uncomfortable situation during what was otherwise meant to be a relaxing experience. We just didn’t have the cash on us, so they had to take what we had. Totally avoidable. Private guide: We also arranged a private guide at significant cost. Unfortunately, this was a weaker part of the experience. While knowledgeable, the guide frequently became frustrated when we asked questions or deviated from his prepared narrative. He also spent time sharing personal opinions and tangents that didn’t always relate to the sites we were visiting. We would have preferred a more flexible approach that welcomed curiosity and discussion, and going forward will be more specific when requesting a guide style. Lastly, I have allergies and asthma. I am super sensitive to perfumes and this hotel uses a signature scent that, to me, was sprayed too liberally in the hall. The scent is also in all the soap and lotions. I really disliked the smell and it was so strong and everywhere. After a shower using it, I was super itchy that night. I asked for if they had any soap without scent that they could put in my room. They did not. I had to go buy my own. I’ve only had a negative reaction to signature scents once before, the Paris Park Hyatt, years ago. I wish I had known it would be sprayed so liberally. I would have chosen a different hotel. We really loved our room cleaning staff. They were so nice and friendly. However we couldn’t figure out when they would be coming by. There was no repeated schedule. And on the first day of the 2 robes was missing after the room was cleaned. It didn’t come back. 2 days later we called down and qsked for a second one. It didn’t show up that day. They following day we asked hr cleaning staff directly and they brought 2 robes. We then had 3 but not complaining. So, Overall, the stay was fine and the staff were kind, knowledgeable and great to work with generally, but these issues kept it from being as seamless or polished as expected at this level. And after a day in the fresh air coming back the hotel, that perfume smell hit me and just made for a suboptimal experience for me multiple times a day. So I short, Good but not great. Everyone treated us well but there were a few hiccups that shouldn’t have happened.