The return of an icon
The refreshed Four Seasons Hotel Istanbul at Sultanahmet will have you returning time and again
By Nicola Chilton
It’s hard to believe that the Four Seasons in Sultanahmet has only been a hotel for 27 years, so instantly recognisable are its yellow walls and witch’s hat-roofed tower. You’d also never know, when tucked up in your cosy bed or sat at a low table on the rooftop terrace, that this building has been “hosting” visitors for more than a century—first as a detention centre for those awaiting trial in the next-door (and now defunct) courthouse, and subsequently as a prison.
Having closed its doors for two years during the pandemic, the hotel is back, following a renovation by Goddard Littleton, a London-based interior design company that may seem an odd choice for a quintessentially Turkish property, but one that has worked wonders with a light and sensitive touch.
There are plenty of things to look forward to. There’s a new bijou spa and Turkish hammam, along with Anatolian cuisine at the new Avlu restaurant, and pretty cakes and piles of Turkish delight at La Pistache patisserie. The central courtyard is still the hotel’s heart, but it’s now filled with more foliage and flowers than ever, along with new seating areas dotted between the agapanthus and lavender beds.
But as much as the new features and refreshed rooms bring a sense of renewed relevance to the hotel, it’s the staff who will have you coming back time and again. Their genuine warmth, confident friendliness and almost telepathically knowing what you want or need, perhaps even before you do, makes this one of the best hotels you’ll find, anywhere.
