Review: the Ciragan Palace Kempinski Istanbul hotel (Global Hotel Alliance)

This is our review of the Ciragan Palace Kempinski Istanbul hotel on the shores of the Bosphorus.

Turkey had been on our list for a family holiday for a long time – we had to cancel a previous booking during the pandemic. As we stayed in two hotels with a loyalty angle, and where status and points played a big part, we decided to cover them here.

We paid cash for our stay, albeit reduced using the method Rob described here, and the hotel did not know I would be covering it. As a result, the review might not be all encompassing but there is a lot to say regardless. We stayed here for four nights and then moved on to The Bodrum EDITION (Marriott) for another five nights which I will review tomorrow.

The Ciragan Palace website is here.

Arrival

We flew in with British Airways to Sabiha Gökçen Airport (the ‘old’ airport) on the Asian side of Istanbul. We booked a transfer via the Blacklane app which took circa 45 minutes. The entrance to the hotel from the road side is obscured by a wall and you don’t get much of an impression of what awaits.

Location

What makes this hotel really special is its location on a historical site directly on the shores of the Bosphorus Strait. It is a cheap 20 minute taxi ride from the key historical sites of Istanbul and 10 minutes on foot to the Besiktas ferry terminal.

The Kempinski caused quite a stir when it opened 30+ years ago – the first luxury hotel on the edge of the water, partially utilising a historical palace. It has since been followed by Four Seasons (literally next door), The Pensinsula and Mandarin Oriental, but arguably Kempinski has the best spot and the biggest footprint.

The hotel itself is an E-shaped building, clearly designed in the 1980s. Between the hotel and the Bosphorus are gardens and two large swimming pools. The photo above shows the hotel pier and the pool on the lower terrace. You can be picked up here for a private or semi-private boat cruise on the strait.

A brief history of Ciragan Palace – the old building

Adjacent to, but still part of, the hotel is the Ciragan Palace.

The history of Ciragan Palace dates back to the 17th century when it was an Imperial garden for the use of the sultan and his family. The Ciragan mansion was the most famous building on the Bosphorus in the 18th century and used extensively by the reigning sultans.

The palace of the present day was completed in 1871 and was visited by European royals such as French Empress Eugenie and German Emperor Wilhelm II. Imperial use ended with the death of an ex-Sultan in 1904 and in 1909 the palace was assigned to the Ottoman Empire’s first parliament. Unfortunately a fire a year later reduced the palace to a shell and the gardens became a well-known sports venue in Istanbul.

After that the ruins remained untouched for 77 years until 1987 when construction began to rebuild the palace behind the remaining facade. To make this project viable as a hotel, the main wing was built in place of the sports venue. The hotel opened its doors four years later in 1991.

What you don’t realise until you stay here is that the palace part is not heavily used by the hotel. There are two restaurants here, mainly frequented by non-residents, and a small number of hotel rooms, but reception, retail and the main restaurants are in the new building.

The main use of the palace seems to be as a very popular luxury party and wedding venue. We saw two weddings over our four day midweek stay – this can cause some noise disturbance, whilst also being an impressive spectacle. We had fireworks!

Hotel guests can wander freely between the two buildings via an arcade which is lined by shops and a museum giving details of the palaces’ history.

The interior of the palace is completely rebuilt and, in my opinion, has a tinge of 1980s about it:

The grand staircase is particular impressive:

Inside the new building

You enter the hotel via the new building, starting with a security check with any bags scanned. This is the case for all main tourist attractions in Istanbul these days.

The lobby is impressive with lots of marble, a big chandelier and oriental decor. Whilst there are 317 rooms, it certainly did not feel that busy during our August stay and I suspect occupancy was far lower.

From the lobby, heading right leads to restaurants and the shopping arcade with high end oriental rugs, jewellery and fashion shops.

To the other side are the lifts, more shops and a hairdresser at the very end.

Our rooms at the Ciragan Palace Kempinski hotel

We had booked two Ciragan Bosphorus view rooms, which have side views to the water. The building is ‘E’ shaped and these are rooms which directly face other rooms on the prongs of the ‘E’.

We have Titanium status in Global Hotel Alliance (the easiest hotel top tier status to earn as we wrote about here – just three stays required!) which is meant to get you a two category upgrade if available.

This is exactly what we got, upgraded to a Grand Deluxe Ciragan Bosphorus view room on the first floor. These rooms – at the end of prongs of the ‘E’ shaped building – have the most direct views of the water.

The rooms were very comfortable with oriental furniture and a lot of attention to detail. We were walked to our room, given a tour and then asked which sort of pillows housekeeping should bring!

The bathroom is fully marble and was very impressive. There is no ban on single use toiletries yet in Turkey and surprisingly large individual bottles were provided. The products are crafted exclusively for Ciragan Palace by Turkish brand Atelier Rebul.

In the corridor to the main room were plenty of wardrobes.

The room itself was very spacious with two seating corners, a welcome bottle of sparkling wine, fruit and sweets.

Our second room was very similar but had a slightly different lay-out and a slightly larger balcony but was technically the same category. The bed here did not directly face the water but a larger balcony was compensation.

Whilst we loved our rooms the best part was the view from our balconies. In the far distance we could see old Istanbul with the Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace.

The Bosphorus Strait is an important waterway connecting the Mediterranean and Black Seas with small and large merchant vessels passing in close proximity. As a former shipping banker I couldn’t help checking each vessel’s ownership, origins and destinations on the Marine Traffic app …..

This photograph from our balcony also shows the larger of the outdoor pools, which sits a level above the pool you can see in the photo on the very top. Note the original palace off to the right.

Food and drink at the Ciragan Palace Kempinski hotel

Due to its size and location the hotel is a eating and drinking destination in Istanbul with five restaurants to chose from and two bars.

Below is the Gazebo restaurant which has afternoon tea and dinner:

You can sit here for coffee and cake during the day if you wish:

We had dinner twice at Gazebo, sitting outside on the terrace. The menu is informal and good for families with sandwiches, soups, appetizers, various mezze and burgers. Below is a picture of burrata with tomatoes, avocado and grilled zucchini on the hotel’s custom-designed peacock china.

On another occasion I had a tuna tatare and various dips. The food was delicous.

Breakfast

Breakfast is served at its own dedicated restaurant on the ground floor offering indoor ….

…. and outdoor seating.

The buffet was one of the most extensive I have seen, easily on par with a Middle Eastern luxury resort hotel. It was more of a brunch buffet with many cooked dishes and huge amounts of choice – I counted ten different olive varieties to choose from, for example.

There are also à la carte dishes which can be ordered.

There are international and Turkish breads and pastries, constantly refilled.

Here is the display of sushi, dips and salads.

Turkish coffee is freshly prepared in front of the guest.

The selection of smoked and pickled fish and seafood is plentiful.

Another evening option is The Bosphorus Grill which has a great position right next to the strait. The view from here is fantastic, especially at night when the suspension bridge and the opposite embankment are illuminated.

Right next to the Bosphorus Grill is the C bar, also looking good.

Spa

Whilst we didn’t have time to use it, the hotel has a lovely spa and a gym. Treatments such as Turkish bath rituals are available.

Conclusion

The Ciragan Palace may now have strong competition from Four Seasons, The Peninsula and Mandarin Oriental, but the owners have continued to invest and the hotel is in great condition. Having cruised past the other three hotels, it also appears to have the largest grounds.

Unless you need the highest level of personal service, the Kempinski can probably offer you more, for less, than any of the above – not that there is anything wrong with the Kempinski staff, who were very considerate and friendly. I have to praise the excellent service from the concierge team after we were (genuinely accidentally) overcharged for a semi-private Bosphorus river cruise they booked for us (€200 for four).

The rooms we originally booked (side view of the Bosphorus) were €700 per night and this seems fairly standard for peak season. The rooms we were upgraded into and are shown above are around €1,700 per night in peak season – it’s well worth getting Global Hotel Alliance Titanium status for that double upgrade! You will pay more if you book within a couple of weeks of arrival.

PS. You won’t find this in your guidebook yet, but Yildiz Palace has just reopened after several years of restoration. It is a beautiful place with lovely gardens, a great cafe and steeped in history. Yildiz Palace is in walking distance from the hotel but as it is on top of a steep hill I would go by taxi out and walk back. It is still a bit of a secret and was an excellent recommendation by the concierge team.

How to book

The Ciragan Palace website is here. You should also check pricing via the GHA Discovery / Global Hotel Alliance app.

If you are booking a flexible rate, you should also consider booking via our luxury hotel booking partner Emyr Thomas. Bookings via Emyr come with:

• Upgrade on arrival, subject to availability
• Complimentary breakfast for two daily for duration of the stay
• $100 equivalent Food & Beverage or spa credit once per stay
• Early check-in / late check-out, subject to availability

You will pay the standard Best Flexible rate on the Kempinski website and pay at check-out as usual. You can contact Emyr via the form on this page of HfP.

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