Orient Occident Hotel Istanbul, Autograph Collection

Orient Occident Hotel Istanbul, Autograph Collection

A short walk from the Spice Bazaar, past the crowds crossing Galata Bridge toward the Grand Bazaar, Orient Occident Hotel Istanbul, part of Marriott's Autograph Collection, sits in the Old City with forty rooms, a reception desk, and a terrace. Every room, from the Standard Double up to the Deluxe Grand King, comes with blackout blinds and soundproofing built in, useful this close to Nuruosmaniye Ottoman Mosque and the traffic of the Old City. The Deluxe Grand King is the one to book if you want a proper desk and room to spread out papers as well as luggage; the Standard rooms are smaller, each still fitted with a bathrobe, a safe, and tea things. Downstairs there is a bar, a restaurant, a sauna and spa, a gym, and a conference hall, enough to make this as workable for a business trip as for a weekend away. What it has that the aparthotels and suite hotels clustered nearby do not is a library, an odd, welcome thing to find in a forty-room hotel, and reason enough to spend an evening in rather than out. Families will find little made for them here, pets are not allowed, and anyone expecting breakfast folded into the rate should check first, since it is billed separately, by the person, and an airport transfer costs extra too. This suits a traveller who wants a historic address near the Bazaar quarter and does not mind paying a la carte for what she uses, not one after an all-inclusive stay. Ask about the deposit before arrival: 100 euros a day, cash, held against damage, a small sign this is a working hotel rather than a soft-focus retreat. Forty rooms in Istanbul's Old City, a short walk from the Spice Bazaar and Grand Bazaar, part of Marriott's Autograph Collection. Rooms have blackout blinds and soundproofing, and unlike its neighbours, the hotel has a library. Breakfast, transfers, and a 100 euro daily deposit are all extra.