Would like opinions of the best area to stay in Istanbul and hotels.

You may get more help if you post this question on the Europe, rather than the US, board. Good luck!

and when you re-post over on Europe - it will help us a lot if you give us a bit of something to work w/

Like your budget? How many - single/couple/family?

Good information in this article: http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/g...els/index.html

My opinion is the best place for a tourist to stay in Istanbul is in the old city where most of the historical sites are. There is a vast range of hotels within easy walking distance of the Blue Mosque, Hippodrome, Grand Bazaar, etc, so what you would choose depends upon your budget.

Type Istanbul in the Search the Forums box near the top of the screen and or read previous posts and trip reports on Istanbul. You'll find plenty of information on hotels.

I reviewed the hotel we stayed in my trip report - http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ith-photos.cfm

If you have any specific questions I'd be happy to try to answer them.

Hi Traveldiva, Your tastes call for the following fabulous hotels:

1. Four Seasons Sultanahmet, in the old city and close proximity to all sites. Also very good restaurant.
2. Four Seasons Bosphorus, Seaside, Not too far from the thick of things. beautiful rooms and pool, the most expensive in istanbul.
3. Ciragan Palace Kempinsky. very nice rooms, on the sea side, palace has suites and excellent Turkish restaurant. better priced than the Four Seasons.
4. Radisson, Ortakoy. Sea side, smaller hotel but at fun area for easy walking. Lower price (do not know the rooms but i expect they may be smaller)
5. Park Hyatt. New, not much view but very nice rooms, personalized service and at the upscale Nisantasi area where many nice restaurants, bars and shops are.
6. W hotel. Quite popular. has good fusion restaurant. Locationwise not as good as others.
7. Swiss Hotel. Not too far from Nisantasi area. Large hotel with decent rooms and good views as well as several good restaurants.
8. The Hilton. The oldest chain hotel, restored many times. Nice spacious rooms, good views, good pool, several restaurants, about midway between Nisantai and Taksim Square.
9. The Marmara, at Taksim, very good views and terrific location, but rooms are smallish and may be going through refurbishment (my architect daughter is working on the project)
10. Sirkeci Konak, receives very good reviews on Trip Advisor, close to the sites.

we visited Istanbul this past March. I posted a report with the highlights of our trip. This is the link http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...stanbul.cfm?47 We loved Istanbul. It was our first visit and we stayed in Sultanahmet, the old city. You will definitely enjoy yourself.

Sultanahmet, could not be better. Major sights right there, easy access to everywhere. Of course it depends you, we don´t need night time fun, we were just glad that it was so quiet and peaceful in the evenings.

Another vote for Sultanahmet! You will be close to all the sights and there are many hotels to choose from. However there is not much in the way of nightlife, so I recommend heading to Beyoglu if you want an evening out. We stayed at Dersaadet Oteli which was charming, in a fantastic location just steps to Blue Mosque, and the staff was very helpful. Definitely a good value. More info and pics in our Istanbul post at http://patrinadoestheglobe.blogspot.com/

>

I did too. Loved the hotel and area.

Enjoyed the Hyatt very much!

I wish there was room at the four season in Sultanhamet when I was there. If you can afford, stay there.

Don't be so lazy. There are guide books full of information and discussion on a dozen travel sites.