Pera Palace Hotel

Description

The hotel, located on the western fringes of the bustling entertainment quarter of Beyoğlu with its myriad shops, bars, restaurants and cinemas, is ideally placed for visitors who value eating out and enjoying Istanbul's vibrant nightlife. That said, it's just a five-minute walk to the historic funicular, Tünel, which links in with the tram system at Karaköy to whizz passengers across the Golden Horn to the old city and Sultanahmet in a matter of minutes.

Just as close is the M1 metro at Şişhane, which also runs to the old city. It’s around a 20-minute taxi ride to the old city. The downside is that the hotel is close to busy Refik Saydam Caddesi, and there is inevitably some traffic noise.
The Pera Palace fits perfectly into an area that was, in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, home to the city’s Christian and Jewish minorities as well as European bankers, diplomats and traders. The elegant, restrained NeThe Pera Palace fits perfectly into an area that was, in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, home to the city’s Christian and Jewish minorities as well as European bankers, diplomats and traders. The elegant, restrained Neo-Classical façade of the seven-storey building does little to prepare you for the opulence of the perfectly preserved interior, which looks very much like it must have done in the 1920s when Agatha Christie stayed here en-route for Aleppo to visit her archaeologist husband, Max Mallowan (her usual room was 411).

The Kubbeli Lounge on the ground floor is a real focal point, with its six glass domes, a grandiloquent crystal chandelier, Moorish-style arches and walls clad in bands of marble of contrasting colours. The original lift, installed in 1892, still works and is a masterpiece of wrought-iron and mahogany. French bronze figurines dot the lobby, along with potted palms on ebony plant stands, and one downstairs room is preserved as a museum to the founder of modern Turkey, Atatürk.