Virtually all of the hotel's furnishings were custom-madeto Mr Topçu's requirements. Your eye catches this visual harmony throughout the hotel in glimpses of common motifs in guest rooms and public spaces: the dark wood mouldings on doors, windows and headboards; the creamy marble of the staircases, the dramatic stripedmarble in many of the bathrooms, and the handmade Turkish carpets in guest rooms and hallways.
In the lobby, the paintings and hand-made ceiling decoration were created by local artists inspired by Ottoman-era decoration. Along he hallways and stairways, and hanging on the guest room walls, are historic photographs of 19th-century Istanbul, when it was still known among Turks as Dersaadet, the "Gate of Felicity."
My favorite sitting place is the rooftop terrace, which has bowls of potpourri on each table, and exceptionally wide, sweeping views of the Sea of Marmara from both the open-air and enclosed portions.
An excellent Turkish breakfast buffet is served here, typified by the organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil that is produced expressly for the hotel in small family olive groves near Antakya.
Choose a Standard room and you'll enjoy a private bath with shower or tub-and-shower, TV, air-conditioning, fine furnishings, good space, and all comforts.
The hotel's standard rooms have either double or twin beds; some have an extra twin bed so a couple and another person (a child, for example) can share a room. For more space, the two Corner Suites are ideal.
Deluxe rooms and junior suites, all different, sleep three, and may have better views and/or a beautiful private private hamam (Turkish bath) which includes a rainfall shower. More...
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| Sultan's Penthouse Suite |
The suite favored by honeymoon couples is the Sultan's Penthouse Suite, a spacious, sumptuousOttoman vision of red velvet and gold lamé, with comforts the Ottomans never enjoyed, such as a whirlpool bathtub and remote-control TV.
Many guests comment that the hotel's short street is a "real" street, with normal neighborhood shops rather than the touristic shops found on nearby streets.
The hotel's owner, Mr Deniz Duyar, spent several years in New York City, speaks fluent English, and understands what visitors want, need and like. His family legacy of hotel hospitality has been made even more keen by university degrees in hotel management. It shows.
Dersaadet Oteli
Küçük Ayasofya Caddesi, Kapıağası Sokak No. 5 (map)
Sultanahmet, Istanbul, Turkey
Tel +90 (212) 458 0760
Fax +90 (212) 518 4918
—by Tom Brosnahan
| Dersaadet Oteli's Private Hamams |  |
Dersaadet Oteli Availability 