This is one of the most unique hotel experiences I've ever had as there are several categories of the hotel I would rate a 10 out of 10 while others I would rate a 3 out of 10. A number of sections in the hotel live up to the modern, high standards of the W brand while other amenities fall very short for a 2023 version of a W hotel. Naming the things that I felt amazing about hotel, the hospitality was easy a 10 out of 10. Each and every staff member was amazing and made sure to cater to my every need. There was even an employee who went above and beyond to help me with public transportation by loaning me his transport card. That type of service sets places apart. They even set up communication through WhatsApp. I would have to say the interaction with the staff might be one of the top 3 experiences I've had with a staff in my entire history of hotel stays. One of the negatives associated with that was the communication method. WhatsApp was extremely convenient but that shouldn't be the reason that the in-room telephone doesn't work. Not only does it not work, it has a digital display face that remains lit so to sleep at night I literally had to turn the phone upside down. When it comes to reaching out, making a local call, or anything that typically requires a phone, not having one work in the room is extremely inconvenient. Another 10 out of 10 category is the location. It is the perfect location for traveling to Istanbul. A 3 minute walk from a popular bus stop that goes to several recommended places was such a convenience. Also, there might be around 20 restaurants within a quarter mile radius to the hotel. There's also a supermarket steps away, as well as a beauty supply store, etc. Pretty much everything you need. However............... I would also give the location a 3 out of 10 on the weekends in the event you need to sleep and your room is facing the popular street. You will hear loud music on some nights close to 3am. The windows do drown some of the noise but it is still loud enough to keep you awake. It was unbelievable, especially when I had to be up early for excursions. Another 10 out of 10 was the daily buffet style breakfast. For W hotels that wasn't something that is commonly found from my experience but it was so good. The spread included options for all types of diets and I doubt there is anyone who won't find something to satisfy that. Now, I have to go to something that was a 1 out of 10 and that was the accessible outlets and charging stations in the rooms. The room I occupied, which was a suite, had a single outlet next to the bed with no USB ports typically found in most 4 and 5 star hotels. There were actually no USB ports in the entire room and the only other accessible outlets were in the bathroom vanity. That made it very inconvenient when numerous devices had to be charged. Another low scoring category was the lighting in the room. I'd say 6 out of 10. Just not bright enough. Overall, I really did enjoy the hotel and the positives I mentioned. I would just expect the negative things I touched on to not be an issue at a W hotel. read more

1 star for staff (concierge and breakfast staff were helpful and nice) 1/2 star for an ok breakfast (decent offerings and some healthy options) We spent a few weeks traveling throughout Turkey and the breakfast was average in comparison to others. 0 stars for location unless your idea of a great location is where the neighborhood night clubs will have a dj pounding bass until 4am (including the W bar which stays open late). 0 stars for the amenities as the gym equipment is so outdated that it's rendered unusable. Cabanas are poorly located and too near to the rooms so the noise from people hanging out til 4am outside your room will keep you up as well. 0 stars for cleanliness as the room was a bit dusty We have stayed in many W's throughout our travels and this one in Istanbul is by far the least kept up. The rooms are also very dark even when you open the curtains and turn on all lights. W Istanbul earns 1 1/2 stars rounded up to 2 as 1/2 stars are not allowed. And that's being generous. read more

W İstanbul - First Turkish coffee of the day. Beautiful presentation. - Hotels Near Me - Istanbul, 34

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I had a Very nice experience here. The location is superb as it's located in what I consider the coolest neighborhood In Istanbul. We had one of the suites and I really liked our room, it had some interesting features including a daybed that overlooked the street. The best part of our stay, hands down was the staff. They were so friendly and professional. Special thanks to Sammy, the night manager for taking such good care of us. I for sure recommend !! read more

After a long Transatlantic flight with a stop in AMS to IST via KLM. I got pretty lucky finding my uBer driver once I got outside the airport. The ride from the airport was under an hour on Saturday traffic along with a soccer match starting at Vodafone arena. Upon arrival at Europe's first W Hotel, I was glad there was security checks to get inside the hotel. The staff was friendly and concierge was helpful. I checked into my room and thought it was fairly dated. The room did come with a 4G device to use as a hotspot during my stay in Istanbul similar to the Hong Kong hotels like the Hyatt Regency in TST. I stayed at the hotel Saturday night for the Mixcloud - Future Rising party on the property. The next morning I had a good breakfast and enjoyed the views onto the continent of Asia. The hotel is located in upscale part of Istanbul called Besiktas and there's a hop on hop off bus stop in front that will take up you to Taksim Square and the Blue Mosque / Taksim Square. Good hotel and location in a beautiful city. read more

Stayed here for 4 nights and felt the hotel was a mixed bag of good and bad. ++ Service. They really fantastic particularly Turgay who greeted us on arrival and helped dirt out our rental car return. He also lent us a spare subway cards. The other staff downstairs were also very helpful. + and - location. The hotel is in a new and trendy neighborhood. There are tons of restaurants and shops nearby which was great. On the downside you're a good distance from old town where most of the tourist attractions are. We spent a lot of time walking back and forth from the light rail stop about 15 mins away. Because the road back often had horrible traffic taking a taxi actually took longer than walking. - rooms. Our room had a nice patio but just seemed a bit worn. There were also a gazillion light switches and it was always a pain figuring out which was the room vs color led bed lights. An international multi socket electrical port was also sorely missed. + fitness room. Surprisingly good and always empty. It even had a pilates machine. + value. We paid about 140 euro a night not including a 4th night free from my citi prestige card making the rate pretty reasonable. read more

During our first trip to Istanbul, we booked a 9 day stay at the W hotel, which is the primary tenant in the recently remodeled historic row houses that make for a unique feature. Cafes and shops line the building on either side of the long tenant building. Just around the corner from the hotel is an exciting and bustling neighborhood that seems little frequented by tourists. Only 4 stories tall, some rooms include balconies, others a patio and some just a window. As the first W hotel in Europe, the rooms appear a little worn, although signage in the room indicated that a renovation was in the works. The location is convenient, where you can take a bus to the T1 tram line into Old Town or other parts of the city that have the majority of attractions. The various concierge staff that we spoke with were quite helpful and assisted with all the questions we had. The front desk staff was equally helpful. Unlike other W hotels, where guests tend to hang out in the lobby, the lobby space at this location is quite small and does not lend itself well for this. read more

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From the first moment I arrived this hotel experience was superb. The room was comfortable and luxurious and the views were beautiful. Nothing was too much trouble for this wonderful team of staff both personally and also at the event I was working at. I would sincerely coming back and recommend this hotel to anyone. First Class. read more

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We pre-paid for this hotel sight-unseen (and by "sight-unseen", I mean "without reading any reviews") because we generally trust the SPG brand collection; however, when searching the reviews later as an afterthought, we did get a little nervous in advance of our stay and chose to lower our expectations since the room was pre-paid. Luckily, we did not have to keep our standards low for long. We were greeted warmly upon arrival. It's amazing how much the simplicity of welcoming and gentle smiles can energize you after long and stressful travels, and we continued to receive friendly and speedy service throughout our 3-night stay. While all of the staff was prompt, pleasant and informative, we would like to include a special mention of "Tour-Guy" (sincere apologies for the ignorant, phonetic spelling). He was helpful, kind and playful, and made us feel comfortable and relaxed throughout our stay. He was also critical in collaborating with our amazing taxi driver in the execution of getting us back to the airport in a timely manner after my husband's last business meeting ran long. We made our flight to London just in the knick of time! The location in Beşiktaş is definitely the best feature of the hotel. The brick-paved street is gorgeous and charming and we often opened the windows to enjoy the sights and sounds of Istanbul. We loved all of the coffee shops and cafes just outside of the main entrance. While some guest reviews complained of both street and party noise, we were relatively unaffected at night by any outside sounds with the windows closed on the 3rd floor ... but we are also New Yorkers -- so we inherently find comfort in the hustle-and-bustle. While the stairs throughout the main common areas of the hotel can be cumbersome for travelers with small children (e.g., strollers), the staff went out of their way to make accommodations as comfortable as possible (e.g., providing a rollaway crib upon request, rushing to help with the stroller when I approached a set of stairs). And the staff was diligent about ensuring that we would never have to manage any luggage ourselves in any of the common corridors. The property could use some improvements: 1. We know that the W's vibe is generally a dark and seductive mood, but it would have been nice if the "Work" lighting setting in the room were a bit brighter. Also, I wished there were a brighter lighting setting in the bathroom (particularly as a woman trying to put on makeup). Also, the very dim lighting in the foyer, which didn't have much of a higher setting, made it difficult to see in the closets. 2. The shower is very smelly. We had anticipated this flaw based on the other guest reviews about poor bathroom ventilation, but one truly cannot prepare for how bad it can be on some days (hold your nose!). The grout in the showers could use a heavy-duty mold & mildew remover spray and a strong scrub, particularly in corners. And the fixtures would benefit from a little updating (the shower head, for example, had some rogue lateral sprays that one might not appreciate if not wearing a shower cap). Thankfully, the floor tiles did not feel dirty, and we were able to exit the shower feeling fresh and clean despite the smell. 3. A waste basket under the vanity in the bathroom would be helpful. 4. The carpet was not dirty (to the naked eye), but it felt like it was probably time for a routine shampoo. Same with the sofa. 5. The furniture and decor is probably due to be freshened up, but the outdated atmosphere did not take away from our experience. It was the excellent staff, who truly made our initial impression of Istanbul -- and our overall stay -- so wonderful. Thank you so much! (This review was written for TripAdvisor in December 2017.) read more

We had a great time at this hotel. The location was prime, with restaurants and bars right around the way. The staff was wonderful, specifically the breakfast staff. Farouk was our favorite as he engaged my son every morning which made our breakfast more enjoyable. Romeo sizi çok özledi!!! Tesekkürler Farouk and friends :) read more

The hotel is very clean and the design is interesting. They have a spa on the top floor. Some rooms have private garden. The area around the hotel is so live day and night. read more

Stayed here for 2 nights in June. I had read lots of reviews on Tripadvisor that there were some problems with the place, outdated, brown water, etc. Happy to report that we didn't have a single problem! We stayed in the Wonderful Room, which I think is the standard. It was a decent size, had a little enclosed patio, very clean, and with a good-size bathroom. The only weird thing was the shower. It was one of those hand-held shower heads. But usually you can hook it to the pole and then adjust height/angle so it'll turn into a normal shower. Not with this one. For some reason the hook doesn't adjust angles, so you couldn't point the shower-head down. It hooked so that the shower-head was shooting water perpendicular to the wall, or your face. It was odd. So that's when you turn on the rain-shower. The hotel is also very close to an area that had lots of bars, restaurants, and some shops. Very lively. We also thought there was going to be a ferry nearby that would take you to the Old Town (that's what I read), but it was either not running or there's no such thing anymore. We couldn't understand the front desk. Communication issues. But he kept telling us to take the tram, which was very easy but at least a 20mins hike from the hotel. Be careful when crossing streets! We had the pedestrian walk sign, but lots of cars were speeding and turning right into us! Insane. The hotel's breakfast buffet was also pretty good. And it was nice to have when you're jet-lagged and nothing else is open at 7am. One "bad" thing with the hotel is that the elevators are small, slow and very dark. I understand that probably a lot of elevators in old buildings will be small, but if you are claustrophobic, I suggest the stairs cause it's so slow and sometimes feels like it's not moving! And cause it's the W hotel and their shtick is to be "hip and cool", the elevator is dark with weird lit gems on the mirrored walls.......it would be cool if you haven't been out in the sunlight all day and you suddenly get to the little hallway that leads to the elevator that also has "hip and cool" lighting and you can't see a thing and often feel like you'll trip down the stairs, and then you get trapped in a super dark box with dim-lit gems on mirrors and trippy music playing. You'll feel like you're spinning in a house of mirrors! Yea, take the stairs. read more

i've come back here for another trip to istanbul and need not be as annoyed as i was when i first wrote my review over a year ago. the hotel has undergone renovation which for the most part does address some of my concerns. the updates include a larger gym, spa treatment facilities, an updated lounge. the ongoing remodel also includes a new restaurant which will hopefully open soon. rooms do remain unchanged for the most part. still, be wary of the slow moving drains. still like the cabana rooms, though there is an odd phenomenon of mosquitoes outside i'm a loyal spg member, and the changes would convince me to come back. it is not as comfortable a hotel as the ritz carlton, but then again, you can theoretically wear flip flops in the lobby if you wish. it's a younger and better looking vibe read more

W Istanbul is a great base for your adventure in this amazing city. Unique touches throughout the hotel and 5 star service made our stay a true pleasure. The Besiktas bus is stop just around the corner and it takes you to the T1 Tram, which will drop you off at many of the sights while allowing you to retreat from the tourist zone for a relaxing evening. The Fantastic Suite does not include separate rooms, but offers a nice daybed from which you can watch the neighborhood rise early each morning. read more