A superb location on Bosporus channel, beautiful buildings, large attractive rooms with views, memorable food with excellent service in attractive restaurants with views, a great spa and fitness facilities, including large pools, helpful concierges. The Ciragan Palace has them all.
We arrived after an exhausting twenty-seven hour home-to-hotel journey. After a quick, private check-in, we were led directly to the Hamam (Turkish bath) where we were drenched and scrubbed down in thick foam and soap suds for almost an hour and then rinsed in buckets of very hot water. This was followed by an hour's massage. What a way to ameliorate the ravishes of severe jet lag! Only then were we led to our large room on the top floor with a balcony looking over the channel. In the evening we dressed and walked over to the original Sultan's palace for dinner at the hotel Turkish restaurant looking over the Bosporus. The food, (Turkish) wine and service were superb.
The next morning and for the following two, we enjoyed the finest continental buffet breakfast we have ever experienced anywhere. Many types of breads, all the usual western pastries along with Turkish pastries saturated with honey, many types of fruits and juices. Cold meats and cheeses abounded. Turkish and Asian cold offerings filled a separate table.Full hot breakfasts all also available.
The restaurants and public areas are stunning with marble floors, columns,beautifully tiled walls, and Turkish carpets throughout. The shops are all interesting with enticing goods.
That's the good news.You must arrive fully aware that this is a temple devoted to unrestrained self-indulgence. If you feel guilty spending very large sums of cash on yourself, don't even think about reserving a room or a meal here. Our two hour spa experience cost us just less than a grand with tip, and our dinner was over $300. You can check the room rates for yourself.
This was our fourth visit. Would we come again? You bet!

For $500 dollars a night, it is everything you could image and more! I stayed here yesterday Nov 25th for my last day in Istanbul and it was such a joy! The service was impeccable! The hotel itself is situated right next door to the Dolmabahçe Palace. Hotel guest are allowed to visit Dolmabahçe Palace anytime of the day or night through a passage in the lobby.

My boyfriend and I got in rather late and wanted to relax a bit and we used both the indoor and outdoor heated pools. Swimming next to the Bospherus river and just enjoying the breathtaking view was a nice amenity! However, the only downside is the breakfast, and it is not cheap. The selection was small and the quality was just not up to par with what I thought should accompany a five star hotel.

Overall, an excellent choice and only a 15 minutes walk away from streets full of restaurants and bars to enjoy the nightlife!

we stayed overnight before our cruise at end of october & were given a very warm welcome from the reception to our room. it was on the 3th floor & had a balcony that overlooks the bosphorus. a walk around the hotel showed everything on a grand basis.
the free continental breakfast which we had was abit disappointing & the service was slow. on the way out, i asked for a newspaper to be delivered to our room but unfortunately this request was forgotten.
there is nothing much around the area & it takes about 15mins taxi ride to taksim square where all the shops & restaurents are.
it was still a wonderful experience to stay in this well known hotel as part of our package before the cruise.

We do recommend this hotel by all means - everything there was nice (bear in mind, we like Istanbul a lot :) ). It stands directly on the Bosphorus - you see the small waves, the water twinkling, the ships passing along, tranquil and dynamic in the same way. But - take a room facing the waterfront, although it is a bit more expensive...
The rooms are spacious and well furbished, the food is excellent and very tasty (good choice of oriental cuisine), service is perfect, and the outside laps pool is just fantastic.
So, everything is perfect, it might be just considered a bit too expensive, but at the moment, everything in Istanbul seems to be like that (especially compared to few years back in time).
Do not miss the main restaurant which is situated in the palace and serves a perfectly chosen meals from the Turkish cuisine