I'm an American staying 1.3 miles from innpera but it was the only gym that popped up on my yelp search prior to my 2 week trip to Istanbul, so even though I found a closer gym once I got here (just west of galatasaray high school on the north side of istiklal) I decided to stick with the plan and didn't go inside to check that one out. My Turkish is pretty mediocre but I sent an email prior to my trip hoping innpera would confirm weekly rates were available. I was surprised they actually did reply in English to confirm and were quite friendly!
The gym itself doesn't really look like the photos on their website, it's really not thaaat nice... But it definitely is nice! This is based on the gym and locker/sauna area. The pool is separate somehow and I never used or saw it. I've gone at different times of the day over 12 of the last 14 days and can't predict the busy times, but even at its busiest there are always cardio machines open. It's fairly compact but mirrors everywhere so it feels more open, and it's fun to look out the windows to see passers by during your workout. It's located right around the corner from taksim square. Appx 7 treadmills, 5+ ellipticals, 4+ stair steppers, a recumbent bike, couple upright cardio bikes, and a whole bunch of spin bikes. Nice free weights area, good selection of fun extras like a bosu ball, kettlebells, ballast ball, jump rope, ab crunch things, mats, decline ab benches, oh and a whole set of weight machines! And wifi!! Oh also they have towel service (hand towels for working out, big shower towels, and plaid wraps to use in the sauna area if you want!) The only thing missing is a row machine, but you can mimic that with one of the weight machines, saw someone doing that the other day.
The women's locker room has two toilets, three showers (only soap: no shampoo/conditioner), two sinks, and a bunch of lockers with electronic locks (nice!) Both locker rooms open into the steam room/dry sauna/Turkish bath area. Every day, the hours switch (men night/women morning or reverse). Weekends I think are shared. Anyway, I love the fact they have these. The steam room smells like the tap water unfortunately but you get used to it if you want to use it! Also, it's a newer hotel so everything you know is at least pretty clean. I'd say the locker rooms are very clean, the gym itself is pretty clean but they don't have spray cleaner or wipes available (once I asked for them and the guy came to clean the machine after i used it, I didn't intend for that!) The mats do need to be replaced or deep cleaned soon (one stunk a little), but put some towels down you're golden :)
The clientele is great! You kind of get the sense you're always being looked at when walking down the street, so you'd think it would be amplified in a gym setting but this was actually the opposite! The men working out seemed focused on fitness and didn't gawk or hog equipment with me or other women nearby. Huge plus. It's a diverse group of people who have memberships and people staying at the hotel, Turkish, American, European, mainly young but sometimes a little older too. Once I was there when someone was doing personal training! It was interesting to see! (Boxing-based, hearing queues and counting in Turkish was cool :)
It has really been a highlight of my Istanbul vacation, and I even met a friend there who I've hung out with since! You'll feel muscles you normally don't just walking around doing tourist things here because it's so hilly but you don't really see people jogging or working out outside in this area so this is a great option. Highly recommend :) read more
