The Stay Nisantasi

The Stay Nisantasi

The lift at The Stay Nişantaşı opens one floor above Istanbul's Prada flagship, and that address is the one thing no other hotel in the neighbourhood can claim, since only one building sits on top of the store. From there, Gucci and Louis Vuitton are a short walk, and so are Osmanbey, Dolmabahce Palace and Istiklal Avenue, though the historic city center itself is five kilometers off and needs a taxi rather than a stroll. Across seven floors and 44 rooms, the property runs small enough that the front desk speaks English, German and Turkish without missing a beat, and a doctor and first aid kit are on call rather than theoretical. Deluxe King Rooms measure 409 square feet with mini bars, bathrobes and slippers, while the suites stretch to 484 square feet and add terraces, useful if you're staying long enough to want a table outside rather than a window seat. Pets are welcome here for a 75 EUR deposit. A library sits among the amenities, an odd, welcome inclusion for a hotel this size. This suits the woman who wants Nişantaşı's boutique quarter as her base and treats the old city as a day trip rather than a doorstep; it suits less anyone who wants to walk to the sights rather than book a car. Extra beds run 60 EUR a night, and a 100 EUR room deposit applies, details worth knowing before you book rather than after. Check-in from 3pm, check-out by noon, standard timing that asks nothing extra of you. What stays with you is the location: shopping without leaving the building, essentially, in a city where that's rare. One floor above Istanbul's Prada flagship, The Stay Nişantaşı puts 44 rooms inside Nişantaşı's designer shopping quarter, steps from Gucci and Louis Vuitton, and lets pets stay for a deposit. It suits shoppers more than sightseers, since the old city is a five-kilometer taxi ride away.