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Istanbul's Sirkeci
Konak Hotel is
a splendid new hotel tucked down
a side street just steps away from
the Gülhane tram stop on
the Zeytinburnu-Kabatas
tram line,
and right beside the walls of Gülhane
Park, the pleasure
ground of the Ottoman sultans
(Google
map).
Attractively faced with wood, it consists
of 52 guest rooms, all of them decorated
in a style that mixes Ottoman influences
with up-to-the-minute luxury. Big,
comfortable beds come with a menu
of pillow types to suit the most unexpected
allergies.
Tea and coffee-making facilities by the bed are a nice touch, as are
the foreign-language television
channels on the plasma-screen TV. But it’s
the little details – the magazine
on the table, the Turkish
delight on
the bed – that really mark this
out as a hotel which goes that extra
mile to please its guests.
The bathrooms, with
tubs and underfloor heating, come equipped
with a range of luxurious toiletries,
including olive oil soap. All the rooms
have Wifi Internet access and
some are designated for non-smokers.
Breakfast, served in the ground-floor
Neyzade Restaurant, is a veritable
banquet of hot and cold dishes, regional
cheeses, home-made jams, etc. You’ll
even be served the hotel’s own
Sirkeci Daily Express which gives you
the weather forecast, warns you of
museum closures and suggests a few
helpful Turkish phrases to learn during
the day.
Afternoon tea is
served in the ground-floor sitting
area between 17:00 (5 pm) and 18:00
(6 pm) daily. It’s
a great chance to meet your affable
host, Mr Faruk Boyaci, whose family
originally came from Cappadocia.
This is a hotel which provides everything
you need in the same spot. The basement
houses a small swimming pool with a
bar, right beside a luxurious private
hamam whose walls are lined with marble
interspersed with imitation Iznik
tiles.
There’s also a small sauna.
In the evening the Neyzade
Restaurant serves
an excellent selection of Turkish
regional cuisine in stylish surroundings.
In summer the restaurant migrates to
the roof terrace which
offers great views into Gulhane
Park. An elevator/lift links all the floors.
The attractions of Old
Istanbul—the
Topkapi
Palace, Aya
Sofya, the Blue
Mosque and Hippodrome—are
a 10-minute uphill walk away in Sultanahmet,
while the ferry
docks for
the Bosphorus, Haydarpasa
Station,
Üsküdar and Kadiköy are
just a short stroll downhill in Eminönü.
The Sirkeci
Konak Hotel is part
of the Sirkeci
Group Hotels which includes
the nearby Erboy
Hotel and Orient
Express Hotel. It
prides itself on its service and
its welcome. It’s
a great new addition to the Istanbul
hotel scene.
When you make a reservation, please
mention
TTP. Here’s why.
Sirkeci Konak Hotel
Taya Hatun Sokak No. 5 (Google
map)
34120 Sirkeci, Istanbul, Turkey
Tel +90 (212) 528 4344
Fax +90 (212) 528 4455
info@sirkecikonak.com
www.sirkecikonak.com
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