5 Beautiful Boutique Hotels in Istanbul: From Hip to Historic

It’s not surprising that exotic Istanbul, Europe’s largest city, is home to many deluxe hotels.

We’ve stayed at some of them, including the storied Ciragan Palace as well as the Ritz-Carlton Istanbul. (See our hotel reviews of these two luxury Istanbul hotels at the end of our post on the best Istanbul hammams.)

But we’ve also bedded down at several beautiful boutique hotels in Istanbul.

Whether you’re visiting Turkey for two weeks, starting in Istanbul – or perhaps just staying for a couple of nights in Istanbul before or after a cruise – have a look at the following 5 boutique Istanbul hotels.

5 Best boutique hotels in Istanbul

Tucked away in character-filled residential or embassy neighborhoods, these boutique places to stay in Istanbul offer a more intimate stay in a city which – with a population of 15+ million – can sometimes feel overwhelming.

And note, all the following boutique hotels have king-size beds, which we North Americans are used to, but which can be hard to find in a country where smaller European-size beds are more common.

1) Sumahan on the Water

Take the mahogany water taxi across the Bosphorus Canal to Sumahan on the Water, and you leave the cacaphony of Istanbul for another world.

The hotel’s complimentary boat service transports you in 30 minutes from Istanbul’s cosmopolitan European side, past ancient palaces and mosques, to the less-touristy Asian side.

The hotel

Book lovers will appreciate the hotels’ cozy water-view library, well-stocked with 800+ books on Turkish subjects, most in English.

A Turkish hammam offers traditional bath-and-massage treatments too.

Another plus: The hotel is expertly run and service is warm.

Rooms

The hotel has 13 rooms, all of which face the Bosphorus.

Dining

For breakfast (included in the rate), the terrace is open in warm weather – you can linger over cappuccino while eyeing ferries and tankers glide by.

For dinner, Sumahan’s Waterfront restaurant features fresh fish, along with Turkish food like mezes and an international à la carte menu.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a more romantic restaurant in Istanbul if dining alfresco.

2) Tomtom Suites

Fancy a stay in a former Franciscan nunnery?

The mod Tomtom Suites fits the bill.

Don’t be misled by the odd name, which is based on the hotel’s street name.

Tomtom Suites is one of the best boutique hotels in Istanbul.

The hotel

Once home to French nuns, the restored hotel building is a mix of the historic (polished hardwood floors, high ceilings and thick stone walls) and contemporary (sound-proofing, high-tech lighting, Bose sound systems).

Service is exceptional.

Front desk staff went out of their way to help us discover Istanbul on our own. (We wanted help catching the tram, a block away, that runs to the old Sultanahmet district and tourist sites.)

Rooms

There are 20 rooms and suites spread out in two buildings, connected by glass floor walkways and reached by a glass elevator.

Choose from garden or courtyard views; several room categories range from “standard” to “luxury suite.”

Light, bright and spacious, they feature marble bathrooms, handmade rugs, and colorful original ceramics and works of art.

Dining

Tomtom’s restaurant, Nicole, is one of the city’s finest (see TripAdvisor reviews).

It serves artistically prepared Mediterranean cuisine inspired by fresh local ingredients. You have a choice of four multi-course set menus, which change every few weeks.

The terrace has city views of the Bosphorus Canal and minaret-guarded mosques.

It’s a beautiful spot to sit on warm summer evenings!

3) Pera Palace Hotel

Quick! Where did Agatha Christie write “Murder on the Orient Express”?

Room 411 in the opulent Pera Palace Hotel, so it’s believed.

Book this storied hotel and you follow in the footsteps of Christie and other celebrities and royalty, including King Edward VIII, Mata Hari, Emperor Franz Joseph, Alfred Hitchcock, Greta Garbo and Ernest Hemingway, all of whom have been welcomed here.

Several rooms are even named after some of them.

Hotel

You can also see the velvet sedan chair once used to carry guests from the Orient Express train station to the hotel.

Indeed, Pera Palace is somewhat of a museum-hotel.

Room 101 – open to visitors – displays clothing, furniture, eye glasses, china tea cups, letter openers and other personal items belonging to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the beloved “Father of Turkey.”

Rooms

For purists, the hotel may not qualify as a “real” boutique hotel because of its size – it has 115 rooms, including 16 suites.

But the hotel feels smaller than other “grand” hotels, and because we liked it, we’ve included it here in our round-up of “Istanbul boutique hotels.”

All rooms feature historical furniture, Murano chandeliers and hand-woven Turkish carpets. White marble bathrooms have claw-foot tubs.

Tip:  Book the “Golden Horn” view rooms which come with a Juliette balcony.

Dining

Check out the pretty pink French-style patisserie serving handmade chocolates and French cakes.

Guests also love the English afternoon tea served in the Kubbeli Lounge. Think nibbling on crustless tea sandwiches and scones while listening to soft live piano music.

We were less impressed with the lower-level Agatha Restaurant, however.

It wasn’t very busy when we had dinner, and we would have preferred a more lively atmosphere.

This admittedly likely influenced our view of the dining experience.

4) A’jia Hotel

How would you like to lay your head down in what was once the grand mansion  of a Pasha?

A’jia Hotel has maintained its historic Ottoman-era outside.

But inside, it’s a different story. The 16 rooms and suites are spacious and modern, with dreamy bathrooms all done up in creamy marble and tile.

5) Romance Istanbul Hotel

Okay, so the above boutique luxury hotels in Istanbul all look wonderful.

But what you really want to know is where to stay in Istanbul that’s right in the thick of the historic quarter – just a short walk away from the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace and Grand Bazaar.

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Photo credits: 4 © Janice and George Mucalov, SandInMySuitcase | Remaining images courtesy of the respective hotels

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Sumahan on the Water, Tomtom Suites and Pera Palace provided us with complimentary media stays for review purposes. But as professional travel writers (who write for many magazines and newspapers as well as this blog), we always retain complete editorial control over our words.

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