What it is

A new waterfront retreat with 177 tailored rooms, an outdoor pool set over the Bosphorus (and another inside), a rooftop bar and subterranean spa.

What it isn't

Phoning it in on the design front. Even the hotel gym is stunning—a gleaming warren of Art Deco lines with topnotch Technogym equipment and even classes.

What we think

The new pride of Istanbul is unequivocally The Peninsula Istanbul, a freshly opened grande dame that has revamped three storied buildings and added another of its own…all right along the Bosphorus Strait. You can pull your yacht up to the private boat dock (and many guests do), then step into the sort of ornate fantasy that only the most visionary of hoteliers will create—a hotel where details span from wood and mother of pearl inlay surfaces to thick pile kilim rugs. Guest rooms are spacious, even in the “starter” room category of Superior Rooms, which have 431 square foot floor plans and windows that peer out on the Karaköy district. For the ultimate view of the water book a Grand Deluxe Bosphorus Room; they range from 667 square feet all the way up to 818, and have glass paneled dressing rooms and spa-like marble-sheathed bathrooms within their footprint. Or splurge on a Superior Suite with Garden which is exactly as magical as it sounds, with its sweeping private terrace stocked with verdant plantings…an ideal place for a linden flower tea at sunrise.

You're here because

You’re obsessed with the level of service at Peninsula hotels. Where else but here will you find flexible check-in and check-out and a 24-hour e-concierge so you can text the front desk?

The Moment

Afternoon tea is even more of a thrill than usual in The Lobby, a soaring-ceilinged restaurant that has all the grandeur of a Deco-era train station. Between sips of champagne, you sway to the live house band…and think of ordering more pastries. When in Istanbul, after all.

Restaurants & Bars

Gallada - Sophisticated Turk-Asian cuisine

The Lobby - Offers all-day Mediterranean-influenced fare and the Signature Peninsula Afternoon Tea.

Location

Set right on the harbor in the centuries-old Karaköy neighborhood, about a 44 minute drive from IST airport.