Four Seasons Hotel at Sultanahmet Istanbul, Turkey

Four Seasons Hotel Istanbul At Sultanahmet may be one of the best places to stay in Istanbul now but in the first half of the century it was indeed one of the worst! This beautiful sunflower yellow, 4-story building with guard towers enclosing an elegant courtyard was once constructed as a jailhouse in 1918/1919, in the last few years of Ottoman Empire. It has a contemporary concept and housed inmates who were awaiting trial or serving brief sentences. The design of the building is Turkish neoclassical style and it was built in the beginning of the "First National Architecture" period. After housing many inmates, including famous Turkish political political dissidents such as communist leaders Mihri Belli and Hikmet Kivilcimli, poets and writers like Nazım Hikmet, Rıfat Ilgaz, Orhan Kemal , Aziz Nesin and Kemal Tahir, the jail was abandoned on January 25, 1969 and has been neglegted until 1992. The building was later renovated and opened in 1996 as a deluxe hotel of the Toronto-based Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts chain and is now one of the best hotels in Istanbul.

The hotel, which has just 65 bright and comfortable guest rooms and suites, it feels like a luxury and warm boutique hotel although it is a part of a large luxury hotel chain. Four Seasons Hotel at Sultanahmet is very centrally located in old city and is walking distance away from Istanbul's main tourist attractions like Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia,  Basilica Cistern and Topkapi Palace and offers great walks through the old city.  Hotel is famous for its rooftop bar called St. Sophia Terrace which has a stunning view of old Istanbul, its Ottoman cuisine at Seasons Restaurant.

Four Seasons Hotel at Sultanahmet Rooftop Bar (Hagia Sophia behind) - Source : luxecityguides.com

The only problem is that this hotel, with its price in the range of 800+ USD per night, is quite an expensive place to stay although it will save some taxi money and significant time for leisure tourists. And there is no swimming pool in the hotel. which may not a problem in winter but a quite nice to have in hot Istanbul summers.

Sultanahmet is the old city center and is home to many historic sightseeing of Istanbul. There are many hotels in Sultanahmet catering tourists but you can also choose to look at hotels in Bosphorus, which has a great view especially in spring.

You can check the room prices and availability in Four Seasons Hotel Istanbul at Sultanahmet here:

Other hotels in Istanbul Sultanahmet (old city) and Istanbul

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