The W Istanbul Hotel is located in the historic Akaretler Row Houses that used to house the emperor’s staff in the old days. The hotel now is at the heart of the vibrant Besiktas neighborhood filled with restaurants, cafes, and design & art galleries.
Go-getting events and hospitality marketing manager Ilker Topdemir was so kind to show me around the stylish premises, come with us on tour!
Being nestled into the historic Akaretler Row Houses this W hotel doesn’t feature the usual W iconic building design. The row houses used to house the emperor’s countless staff members while his actual palace was conveniently located nearby at the shores of the Bosphorus.
Today the hotel can be found in the authentic and local area of Besiktas and the upscale shopping district of Nisantasi.
What you will find inside, though, is a completely different world that lives up to the usual W design and styling, this time around with an oriental edge… A stylish blend of modern and Turkish design runs harmoniously throughout the hotel, from decorative elements to the light settings.
The lobby and library come in stark color contrasts challenging the unused western eye. But yes, you do feel immediately at home despite the intense colors and opulent decoration items.
W Hotel Rooms – the “Usual” Wonderful, Spectacular, Fabulous and Wow Effects
W Hotel rooms come in the promising room sizes “Wonderful”, “Spectacular”, “Fabulous”, “Marvelous”, “Mega”, “Studio Suite”, “Fantastic Suite”, “Wow” and — “Extreme Wow“…
They tastefully combine both history and contemporary luxury such as marmara marble, Ottoman patterns, and lighting to experiment along with your mood.
Rooms and suites may come with gardens, terraces or cabanas depending on their location.
The usual W Hotel highlight is the obvious Wow Suite. (Yeah, sometimes they have an Extreme Wow, too ;-)
Designed by renowned Turkish designer, Mahmut Anlar, the WOW Suite comes in seven-meter high ceilings and tall windows with a separate mezzanine-level bedroom, customized living room, dining room, half kitchen, 1 1/2 bathrooms and modern luxuries with all the bells and whistles.
The exclusive bedroom overlooks the stunning living room and features skylights above the spa bath, an enourmous massage shower and a four poster W signature bed.
Restaurants at W Hotel
As per usual with this type of hotels you can choose from different restaurants.
Okka is master chef Tolga Atalay’s “local” offering including abundant mezes and twenty-five savory options of lamb, beef, and chicken Kebap.
Emre Capa is in charge of the casually contemporary Minyon bar and restaurant. His internationally inspired delights come with a Turkish twist. After some tasty starters I went for a traditional lamb shack.
Mind you, while choosing your dish you will need to know what food swims and which walks. Can’t remember the vegetarian’s designation, now. “Things that stand around” will probably not work ;-)
Many thanks to Ilker Topdemir for showing me around! BTW, besides from being a travel editor for Elle Turkey, Ilker is always interested in the latest trends regarding fancy hotel features. Please let him know in case you come across innovative hospitality services!
And thanks to Songül Altun Kalayci, director of marketing & pr, for joining in and discussing the latest on smartphone piles ;-)
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