Lonely Planet İstanbul Guide

Rates & Reservations Hotels here are busy, so book your room as far in advance as possible, particularly if you are visiting during the high season (Easter/May, September/October and Christmas/New Year). Recent years have seen significant fluctuations in tourist numbers in İstanbul, so most hotels use yield management systems when setting their rates, meaning that in quiet times prices can drop sometimes by as much as 50% and in busy times they can skyrocket. As a result, treat our prices as a guide only – it is possible that the price you are quoted will be quite different. Note that most hotels in İstanbul set their prices in euros, and we have listed them as such here. In-Hotel Dining Breakfast is almost always included in the room rate. A standard Turkish breakfast buffet includes bread, jams, yogurt, sheep’s milk cheese, boiled eggs, olives, tomatoes, cucumber and tea/coffee. Often cakes, cereals and böreks (filled pastries) are added. Most of the city’s luxury hotels and many of its boutique choices have a bar and restaurant. The best of these are found at the Four Seasons Istanbul at Sultanahmet, Karaköy Rooms, Marmara Pera and the Four Seasons Istanbul at the Bosphorus.