INTRODUCTION

For several months this year, I found myself in Istanbul on business, holed up in a hotel on the Asia side of the city deep in the suburbs. This gave me the opportunity to get to know a lot of things about the hotel, as well as the time to make some observations. There is quite a long travel segment at the end of this review, but if you ever find yourself here you’ll understand why!

BUSINESS HOTEL TITANIC

Titanic is a hotel chain in Istanbul, with other hotels dotted around various locations in the city. This hotel is located some 20km from the historic centre of the Europe side, and on the other side of the water on the Asia side. It’s a very new hotel, having opened for business in June 2008, and looks quite incongruous in the immediate area, which looks a little tatty and is under development, with many large buildings springing up all around. It seems to me that this is a high class hotel built speculatively for when the area will be a commerce centre, and already it seems to be host to many conferences and weddings with its various facilities.

RECEPTION AREA

You might be shocked to see a metal detector and security guards on your way in, but I have noticed this to be normal in Istanbul, from businesses to hospitals and shopping malls, so don’t worry. In any case the guards are very friendly here.

This area is quite large, with the reception desk to the right, and entrance to the patisserie here also, which is easily missed. Past the reception on the right is entry to the restaurant and breakfast area. Opposite this are 2 comfortable sofas and low coffee tables. Straight on are the stairs down to the English Bar and business area. There is also a business area to the left here, behind the lifts.

LOCAL AREA

Let’s not beat around the bush; saying that this hotel is in central Istanbul is like saying that Guildford is a suburb of London. It isn’t. In both cases we’re talking about 20km out from the centre of the city.

If you walk out of the hotel turn right and walk round the back, past the nearest mosque and keep walking, you will arrive in a shopping area. It’s not particularly salubrious, but there are grocery stores and kebab stalls aplenty, as well as other interesting things like street fish vendors. At first sight, it’s not a particularly well off area, but after a while you come to realise that it isn’t so bad; the shops and streets are clean and the people quite well dressed. I have tried some of the restaurants and cafes in the area and some people seem to speak English, even if the vast majority don’t, but they are unfailingly friendly, polite and helpful. So you get to see a side of a big city you never would as a tourist, which is you ask me part of any experience abroad.

However, if you get into a taxi and ask them to take you to “Carrefour Maltepe”, at first you think you’ve arrived at a big French supermarket. But once inside and past the metal detectors, it’s clear that this is in fact a large shopping mall, complete with food court. There is Burger King, KFC, McDonalds and Starbucks in the mall to satisfy any home junk food cravings you might have, as well as many Turkish options. The taxi should be about 7 TL each way; there is a taxi rank just outside the mall so you won’t have any problems getting back.

THE BEDROOM

I have actually been in 2 types of room so far; the executive room, on the upper floors, and the standard room.

The executive room is bigger, with more storage space, a chaise lounge easy chair and, conversely, a quite small shower room. The standard room, which I was latterly located in, is smaller, but has a big shower room which also has a bath in it. My description will focus on the standard room, but I already took my photos in the executive room and they look nice so I’m using those!

The walls are light cream wallpaper. The bathroom is to the left, and there are a couple of windows from the bathroom with blinds; handy if you want to watch TV while shaving I suppose. Between the 2 windows is a piece of glass with images of old fashioned Istanbul, which looks quite nice. The air conditioning control is to the left of the room. The ceiling is pretty high on the room so even though the room is smaller it doesn’t feel claustrophobic.

The floor is a dark wooden laminate, the vicinity around the bed covered with a big green patterned rug that also goes under it. In the right hand corner, near to the side window, is a wooden desk with 2 drawers. Some kind of ornate iron section in a glass case hangs over the desk. The desk has a big leather place mat on it, and a tray with a kettle, 2 cups, 2 normal tea and 2 herbal tea bags, 2 Nescafe and 2 Coffee Mate sachets, several sachets of brown and white sugar and a bottle opener. There is also a bottle of water that is marked as complimentary. I thought this was a once only offer but I am told by reception that it is in fact valid every day, which is very handy, though you might like to check this when you arrive. A wooden chair is near to the desk, quite comfortable with green patterned fabric seat and back cushions.

The bed is pretty much set in the middle of the room, against another window. It is very comfortable and I usually got a good nights sleep. I found this to be the case right from the beginning, which I find unusual in hotels, so that was a nice surprise. It has 2 large green cushions on it in addition to 2 normal ones. To each side are wall mounted cabinets, which are a little low for my liking compared to the executive rooms, which are glass topped and have a drawer each. There are also cream wall mounted lamps with a round lampshade above each of these.

In front is the mini bar unit. This has some space in a drawer, as well as tins of pistachio, hazelnuts and mixed nuts for you to purchase. Don’t store any of your own food in the drawer though, as the heat from the mini bar fridge below affects this area. The fridge has a tall, narrow compartment to the left of it with 3 drawers. Inside the mini bar are 2 shelves, which contains 2 cans of Coke, ane one each of Coke Light, Coke Zero, Sprite, Fanta, Cappy Orange, Cappy Cherry, Nestea Peach and Nestea Lemon. The soft drinks are rounded off by 2 cans Red Bulls, 2 small Erikli still mineral water bottles, one Pellegrino sparkling mineral water and 2 Turk Kizillayi sparking waters. Moving on the the alcoholic options, there is one miniature bottle each of Gordons Gin, Smirnhoff Vodka, Yeni Raki, Efe Rake, Efe flavoured raki, Johnny Walker red and black label whisky an JB whisky. Finally, beers were 2 bottles of Efes Pilsen, a bottle of Miller Genuine draft and a small bottle of white wine. There was also some Schweppes tonic water for a mixer. There was a tiny selection of snack along with the afformented nuts, in the fridge; 2 small Toblerones and a packet of Milka Lilla Stars.

To the left of the unit is those collapsible wooden thingies that you can put your suitcase on. I have decided I am calling them that from now on until someone tells me what they actually are!

Above the unit was the wall mounted LCD widescreen TV, I think it is a 28 inch model but big enough in any case. Around the TV and unit are some mirrors, arranged in an “N”, which are quite smart. There are a few English channels such as CNN International, BBC World, and Euro News but not too many; there seems to be mostly Turkish channels with some one or 2 German, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Croatian, Polish, Arabic, Russian, Greek and Japanese and Chinese channels. There is also one from Azerbajijan, which only seems to have folk music played on it; fascinating in a I’m bored kind of way, which those of you who have had extended stays will be familiar with. Some of the Turkish channels like TNT, CNBC-E, e2 and 24 have subtitled films and shows at times, which is great, even if you’ve still a limited choice, but it’s better than nothing, believe me. The picture is good on channels such as BBC World but not so good on others, maybe due to the different broadcast standards used. There are services such as on demand TV and movies, but as these are charged for I have never used them.

To the right of the bed is a small glass topped round wooden table with a guide to Istanbul on top of it. This has a very comfortable green-khaki easy chair, which is perfect for sitting on to write long reviews like this. It also has a brown patterned cushion to add extra comfort.

To the left corner of the room near the entrance is the wardrobe. This has 3 drawers in it, the top one housing a safe where you can set your own combination, which is excellent. A top shelf has an extra pillow and bed cover. Over the top of the drawers extending over to the right is a clothes rail with some hangers. To the right is an iron and ironing board.

In many ways the room is actually quite simple, free of many adornments, which I like a lot.

THE BATHROOM

The bathroom is one of the best I’ve ever seen in a hotel with its brand new fixtures and fittings and classy appearance. The walls and floor are light marbled effect, which brings a lot of light. The wash basin is modernly concave, with a plush mixer tap. To the left is a light and small concave mirror, with a big mirror in front of the basin. To the right are 2 shelves separated by a glass partition and a hairdryer is fixed to the wall here. A small drawer is to the bottom left of the sink. The loo is tucked away around a corner and there is also a phone and small bin here. There are some toiletries provided; 2 shower gels and 2 shampoos, some cotton buds, a shower cap, a small bar of soap and 2 face towels. There are also 2 hand and 2 bath tiles provided, as well as a bath mat and a pair of complimentary slippers.

The shower depends on the room; it’s either a small shower unit or a shower and large bath. The shower is made by Grohe and is very powerful, with a huge shower head that probably pumps enough power, coverage and volume to wash a rhinoceros.

ANNOYANCES

The biggest problem is with noise from outside the hotel. If you have a room to the back, if you are a light sleeper you will be woken most mornings at 5am by the nearby Mosque’s call to prayer. There is also a mad dog barking at all hours. Slamming doors can be an issue, as the room doors are the type that slam shut unless you make an effort to close them softly.

Also during the summer there are a lot of weddings at the weekends which are hosted at the hotel pool, round the front of the building, and which go on until as long as 1am with thumping music, which is really annoying if you’ve been working all the time, 7 days a week and want some rest. I really think this is poor consideration for guests and is the main reason I am marking the hotel down in this review.

Local taxi drivers are almost invariably trying to rip you off and this shouldn’t be too much of an annoyance to the casual visitor, but for the long term guest it’s a huge annoyance. These days I have a zero tolerance of their habit of indicating they know where they’re going then getting lost and expecting you to pick up the full tab without a hint of embarrassment on their part. The best one was a guy with GPS who went mad when I refused to pay him what should have been half the price, as he’d got lost. Via the hotel security staff I made it clear that if he has GPS it’s his own fault if he gets lost!

THE RESTAURANT

I haven’t been a regular visitor to the restaurant, located in the same huge room as breakfast, which offers adequate but expense dishes that are curiously divergent for any Turkish theme and instead offer world staples such as pasta and grilled seabass. The dishes I have had are pleasant enough but with many restaurants a short taxi ride away (if the driver doesn’t get lost) then the motivation to eat in wasn’t very strong unless I was working late. This also hosts occasional buffets, usually for the benefit of the many corporate shindigs held here. You sometimes partake in these buffets if you are prepared to pay. Best to ask reception in this case.

THE TOP FLOOR RESTAURANT “COMPASS”

I did get slightly addicted to the seafood pasta dish that they offered, which was a pleasingly creamy concoction of salmon, prawns, squid and mussels, offered with penne, tagliatelle or spaghetti. This I can highly recommend, sitting on the balcony of the outside part of the bar in the Turkish sun. The menu is in fact more or less identical to that of the ground floor restaurant. Some of the menu is also available as room service, which is the option I took several times I'd been working late.

This also hosts a nice bar and you can site outside on the balcony and watch the passing cars, as fellow guest Jenson Button did on one occasion, looking very worried that I was going to talk to him as I made eye contact with him which I was scanning for a free table. However, driving a fast car in circles for 2 hours isn’t something that particularly impresses me so he needn’t have worried.

Rather amusingly a fancy model of the doomed ship The Titanic has appeared in a glass case in the restaurant recently. I did wonder if the hotel was named after the ship. But don’t they know it sank?

PATTISERIE

I have never used the patisserie, which is a fancy area to the right of reception in the window which now has a big sign outside saying “Titanic Coffee”. There is an impressive glass case full of cakes and pastries I have never seen anyone purchase, and if you look at the prices it soon becomes apparent why. You can also order coffee and tea there also, and it’s a nice area to sit in.

THE ENGLISH BAR

On the lowest level there is a windowless bar with a pool table and two LCD TVs, one large near the door, one smaller near the pool table, which is usually empty, apart from when football is on and then it can be quite full and smoky.

THE BUSINESS FACILITIES

To the left of the main entrance is a large annex where there is a big conference hall. I often see this either made up as a big meeting room with a stage, or with dining tables out for dinner. It looks very swish from the outside and appears to be used a lot.

SERVICE

Being here for a long time, I was very friendly with many of the reception staff. I know most of the bell boys, who are all helpful and friendly and mostly speak good English. The receptionists are also very helpful and friendly but the standard of English seems to be very variable here. The security guards don’t speak so much English but are also very friendly; I enjoyed some good banter with them using a lot of sign language.

In the bars and restaurants the main staff speaks very good English, and the waiters speak at least some. Of course, everyone is very friendly here too, although in the downstairs English bar at least one barman answers most queries with “I don’t know sir” which means he can’t be bothered to find out. In fact if you encounter this, the best way to get any kind of response is to ask if perhaps the manager might know; this usually has the desired effect.

I also know the manager now who is brilliant; I tried not to go to her with every little thing, but she always asked for me to come to her if I had any problems. When I did she literally dealt with them immediately and they were invariably fixed within 10 minutes. I don’t think you can beat that!

BREAKFAST

There is a huge spread of breakfast to cater for all tastes, one of the most impressive I’ve ever seen.

There is a hot counter manned by high hatted chefs. Big serving silver thingies vary what they contain but dishes include sausage in tomato sauce, garlic sausage, sautéed potatoes, small potato croquettes, boiled eggs, scrambled eggs, onion rings and sauté mushrooms mixed with red and yellow pepper pieces. To the right are some pancakes and waffles with their own selection of sweet sauces such as kiwi, chocolate, cherry and honey.

The cold counter is a big table crammed on all sides with food. There are some dried fruits in bowls, such as apricot, kiwi, sultanas and pineapple. Stewed fruit compotes include peach, pear, apricot and cherry (I was particularly addicted to this one). Fresh fruits include apples, oranges and kiwis, and some nuts are also near to the cereals. There is a good selection of fruit jams such as cherry, strawberry fig (I like this one, with big chunks of fruit), quince. There is a fresh fruit salad available too. There are several cereals such as muesli, corn flakes, some sort of frosties, chocolate flakes, coco pops. A big jug of milk sits to the right of the cereal selection. There are some meat pates which I didn’t really identify. On this table is a honeycomb, some of which has been emptied into little bowl, which really impressed me. There are also several cheeses on offer. Some cold meats are on another table, which have a big slicer sometimes manned by a chef to carve what you require. Another tables house the bread. Bread of offer includes baguettes, rolls and their bagel thingies. There are 4 big glass juice vats. There always seems to be water, orange and apple juice and the other one rotates with cherry or mixed fruit juice. Next to the juices is a soup vat, sometimes with a big bowl of croutons next to it, and I have seen tomato, spinach, broccoli and vegetable soups. The broccoli is particularly good.

Tea and coffee is brought to your table. The waiting staff are usually quite speedy to bring it. As they know me, I usually find a cup full of tea when I have returned to my seat from the buffet. As tea is served without milk, should you want some you have to help yourself from the cereal jug.

As this is a Muslim country, none of these contain pig products. I did ask just in case but the chefs assured me this was the case. Hooray!

LEISURE FACILITIES

A fair sized gym in on the first floor of the hotel, which has several exercise and running machines which all semm pretty useful. There is a very fancy spa in the hotel, which is quite luxurious. I had only been there once, but I was very impressed. There are several saunas, from Scandanavian to Turkish, a swimming pool and some sun loungers. There are also treatments available of all kinds which of course will cost you, but basic use of the facilities is included. There is also a squash court which I used a few times. This is also included; they even have raquets and a ball at no charge.

JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE CITY

There s building work ongoing to build a nearby metro station, which will make travel infinitely easier, and perhaps the hotel has been built with this in mind. In addition, a tunnel will be built under the water to link the Europe and Asia sides, which already have a couple of bridges linking them, but these are like driving in London at rush hour, so at the moment for the casual traveller boat is always the faster, cheaper and easier option.

But for now, it isn’t a simple matter to get to the Asia side shore or the Europe side centre from the hotel.

For those intrepid enough to travel to the city without a taxi (which could easily cost you 50 TL, if not much, much more), the hotel provides a shuttle bus several times a day. However, this isn’t very regular and the last one is a 6pm. As it doesn’t really leave you in downtown, it actually leaves you on the Asian side, near to a boat service that can take you over to the other side. This boat is part of the public transport system, so a boat, tram or train ride will set you back the princely sum of 1.4 TL.

The area the bus leaves you at, Caddebostan, is pretty nice. It has a lot of western shops such as Camper shoes and American junk food just like at home such as TGI Fridays, Starbucks, McDonalds and Burger King, should you not have had enough of them in the Carrefour mall. Apparently the Asian side near to the boats is quite young and trendy and not as traditional as the centre of the Europe side of town, so it’s quite a nice area to hang out in.

GETTING TO THE ASIA SIDE SHORE

Most tourist attractions are on the Western shore of the city, the Europe side, and the easiest way to get here without a car is by boat, so you will need to get to a ferry terminal. The most convenient one is Kadiköy, and there are 2 ways to get there.

CHOICE # 1 – hotel bus and train

Unfortunately the hotel isn't walking distance to any train station, but there is a shuttle bus operated by the hotel which runs 4 times a day, leaving the hotel at 10am, midday, 3pm and 5pm. You have to ask for the bus otherwise it doesn’t run. This can also pick you up on request for you way back. These times are about 40 minutes later than each drop off at that point (e.g. 3.40pm at Bostanci) . It doesn't take you that far towards the city but far enough for you to get further easily enough. There are 2 stops, although if you want to stop any point in between it’s not too difficult to persuade the driver to stop, as the bus isn’t usually used much. The first official stop is Bostanci (note that the “i” without the dot is pronounced "ou") which is a port area. Bostancı train station is nearby. The second official stop is Caddebostan. This leaves you on Bagdat Caddesi (Baghdad Street – note the “g” with the line on it is silent in Turkish if you’re trying to say it), and I always get dropped off near to the Marks & Spencers shop (ask for this and the driver will know where you mean). You can walk from one stop to the other by following Baghdad Street, which should

take about 10 minutes.

The nearest train station to the second bus stop is Suadiye. To find this, as you walk away from the city look for a TGI Fridays restaurant on the left hand side of the road. As you pass this, there should be a Zara shop across the road on the right. The station is down to street to the left opposite the Zara. You know you are there if you see a shop with a Sony sign to the left of the side road; simply follow the alley this shop goes down and go up the stairs, you should now be at the station.

You can find metro maps here:

http://www.istanbul-ulasim.com.tr/harita/IstanbulHarita.pdf

http://www.istanbul-ulasim.com.tr/harita/IstanbulRayliSistem.pdf

Trains cost 1.40 YTL for a single journey. You need to buy a small metal token (Jeton) from the station, which you place into a slot and enter the barrier after it beeps. Unfortunately this means you have no receipt for the journey with Jeton.

You can also by multiple tickets with a device called an AKBIL, where you can get a receipt. You can also use this between several people, i.e. press it against the reader for the number of people who are travelling. The AKBIL can be used on buses, trams, suburban trains, metro, local ferries, etc.

Take the train to the terminus stop, Haydarpasa. You can actually get a boat from here but it might be better to walk to Kadiköy, as they are more frequent there. To walk to Kadiköy, as you get off the boat walk to the right past the train station and follow the road around the shore, past the mosque on the right. You should pass a huge bus station of blue buses and will reach the ferry terminal after about 10 minutes.

CHOICE # 2 – hotel bus and Dolmus bus.

Follow the same route to Baghdad Street on the hotel bus and from there, get a Dolmus bus. These are big yellow mini buses, the same colour as taxis, which will stop when you hail them, if they have enough space. Look out for Kadiköy as the destination. The buses terminate to the left of the port but it’s easiest to get off just before. When you get on, pay the driver 2 TL. If you’re at the front it’s common for people further back to pass on their fare via you to the driver! One tip is to get on towards Bostanci as they tend to fill up the further you go down Baghdad Street. The Dolmus route starts just outside Bostanci train station so once you've worked out where this is it's the best place to get on.

There are also Dolmus buses from here to go to Taksim square, but I have never used them, as I imagine they can be quite slow.

CHOICE #3 – taxi and train

If there is no bus you can take a taxi to either Maltepe or Kartal train station and continue your journey from there by train to Haydarpasa.

CHOICE # 4 – local bus

There are also blue minibuses going past the main road near to the hotel which you can use. They beep anyone who looks remotely like they want to use it, so just hail it and it will stop. The one you want will have Kadiköy as the destination. Just get on that and get off at Kadiköy port. These buses are about 2 TL.

GETTING TO THE EUROPE SIDE

At Kadiköy terminal, you can also use an AKBIL or buy a Jeton from the station, but first you have to pass the metal detector as the ticket office is inside the building. As with the train, tickets are 1.40 TL and are tokens you use at the barrier. From Kadiköy you have 2 choices of ferry to get you across. Eminönü is the most convenient terminal for Aya Sofya, The Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace. Karaköy is better for the Galata Tower and Taksim Square. In fact they are only a 10 minute walk from each other across the Galata Bridge (quite fun if you pass underneath past the bars and restaurants) so it isn’t that important.

You can find timetables here:

http://www.ido.com.tr/en/index.cfm

GETTING BACK AGAIN

This is a bit trickier! The last ferry from Eminönü to Kadiköy is at 8pm (8.10pm on Saturdays) in the winter timetable, so be sure not to miss it unless you can work out the buses across the bridge (which I haven’t yet).

CHOICE #1 – boat, train and taxi

Get the boat back from Eminönü which stops at Haydarpasa and Kadiköy – make sure both destinations are shown on the boat. Also be ready to get off quickly as the boat doesn’t stop long at Haydarpasa before continuing on to Kadiköy. You can then get the train back. You have 2 choice of where to get off. Maltepe station will leave you a 15 minute walk from the Carrefour shopping centre or a taxi back to the hotel which will be about 10 TL. Kartal station will be about the same price back by taxi. Of course you can also get off at Suadiye to go to Baghdad Street before continuing back to Kartal or Maltepe, then get a taxi back to the hotel.

CHOICE # 2 – boat, Dolmus, train and taxi

This time, get off at Kadiköy from the Eminönü boat and walk to the Dolmus terminal, a 5 minute walk to the right as you get off the boat. Make sure the destination is Bostanci on the bus. Then get off wherever you please, but note that the road will follow the water as both this and Baghdad Street are one way, so it might take some time to be familiar with the bus route back. If you get off where there is a Migros supermarket to the right and a Starbucks and Café Nero to the left of the road, you are towards the bottom end of Baghdad Street, which you can reach via one of the side roads to the left. Get on the train at Bostanci or Suidiye. From Kartal or Maltepe, get a taxi back to the hotel.

Again you could skip the boat and get a Dolmus from Taksim Square but I have never tried this so can't comment on it.

CHOICE # 3 – boat and local bus

The reverse trip to the previous local bus one, i.e. get off the ferry at Kadiköy and take the blue bus marked with the destination Gebze or Harem.

I must admit I’ve never got the hotel bus back, but if you get the train to Bostanci or Suidiye the bus can pick you up, though I’m not entirely sure where, due to the one way streets.

THINGS TO SEE BEFORE YOU REACH THE CITY

Before you reach the shore to get to the other side of the city, there are several things to see if you don’t want to travel that far every time you want to get away from the hotel for a while.

You can go by taxi to 3 other areas, Maltepe, Pendik and Kartal. All offer a range of shops and services. Maltepe seems the slightly nearer option, Pendik, by the sea, probably the nicest. This should cost about 10 TL for any of these destinations.

There is a nearby shopping mall on the way to Maltepe which you can get to by taxi for about 7 TL. When you get into the taxi ask for “Carrefour Maltepe”. Here is a big Carrefour supermarket and shopping mall with lots of shops and a food court with several different culinary options. There is also a Starbucks on the middle level. You can find a pharmacy there which may be important to know.

From a port in Maltepe, you can also travel to the touristic islands nearby, which are a big hit with the locals in the summer. There are several islands to visit and the main advantage with the hotel is the proximity to them.

Just past Maltepe is Sureyeplayi, an area by the water full of shops, bars and restaurants, which is a good way to get out and about in the evening without straying too far from the hotel, and this is a very popular area with the locals.

There are a lot of Western style shops, cafes and restaurants on Baghdad Street and this is the best area I have found on this side of the city for cafes and restaurants, with even Chinese & Japanese restaurants.

If you get off at the stations Bostanci, Küçükyali or Idealtepe there is a nice walk along the Marmara sea, as well as many cafes and restaurants and another shopping area. You can also get boats across to some of the islands from Bostanci. One I can recommend is that to the Princes Islands, though get there early as they are usually quite full!

CONCLUSION

I got to know everyone and everything and I must say I did enjoy my stay there, the onl quibble being the noise from the weddings. After working 12 hour days the least you’d expect is a decent nights sleep; however, if you can look past this issue, you will find an excellent hotel with some fine facilities. Shame about the location, though.

HOTEL CONTACT DETAILS

Titanic Business Hotel,
Barbaros Hayrettin Pasa Street No:43
Kartal 34880
Istanbul,
Turkey.

Phone ;
+90 (216) 309 68 68
+90 (216) 453 50 50

Fax ;
+90 (216) 309 84 84

E-mail ;
business@titanic.com.tr

Website :
http://www.titanic.com.tr/titanicbusiness.asp?lang=EN