The Peninsula Istanbul

Ferries to Kadıköy once pulled in at the quay where the Peninsula's garden now meets the Bosphorus. The Peninsula Istanbul opened in February 2023 at Karaköy on the Galataport development, the cruise-port scheme that returned a kilometre of waterfront to the city, with 177 rooms and suites spread across four buildings along the quay. Two of them are old: the Karaköy passenger terminal, built in the 1930s, and the Çinili building beside it. Two are new. Together they run some 300 metres along the shore, with the Galata Tower on the hill behind.

History

The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels company, owner of The Peninsula, had looked at Istanbul for years and signed in 2014 with the developers of Galataport, Doğuş and Bilgili. The scheme buried the cruise terminal underground so that the quay could be opened, and the Peninsula took the historic buildings at its northern end. Construction ran long; the hotel was announced for 2020 and opened on 14 February 2023, the first Peninsula in Europe after Paris and the company's eleventh hotel.

Architecture and design

The Belgian-Turkish architect Şefik Birkiye of Vizzion Architects designed the restoration and the new buildings; Peter Marino did the interiors. The passenger terminal, with its tiled Art Deco hall, became the lobby and The Lobby restaurant. Inside, Marino's rooms draw on Ottoman and Byzantine motifs in a modern hand: Iznik-inspired tiles, carved wood, brass and a large collection of Turkish art commissioned for the hotel. A garden along the water, planted with magnolias and plane trees, separates the buildings from the quay. The rooms on the Bosphorus side look across to Üsküdar and the Maiden's Tower.

Rooms and suites

The 177 keys include rooms in the new blocks and suites in the historic buildings, several with terraces onto the water. The Peninsula Suite, at the top of the terminal building, has a private terrace over the strait. Rooms carry the brand's usual fittings: tablets controlling everything, dressing rooms, marble bathrooms, a nail dryer in the dressing table.

Dining

Gallada, on the roof of the historic building, is the restaurant of Fatih Tutak, the Istanbul chef whose own restaurant Turk holds two Michelin stars; its menu follows the old Silk Road through Anatolia and Central Asia. The Lobby, in the terminal hall, serves all day and the Peninsula afternoon tea. Yali Bar and the Bosphorus-side terrace handle drinks. Private dining rooms in the historic building take small parties.

Wellness

The Peninsula Spa has a 25-metre indoor pool, a hammam of marble in the Turkish manner, treatment rooms and a fitness centre, with an outdoor pool in the garden for the summer.

Weddings and events

The hotel has a ballroom with a foyer onto the garden, several meeting rooms and the terraces for receptions on the water. Weddings use the ballroom and the garden, with the Bosphorus as backdrop; the historic hall of the terminal is used for cocktails. Capacities suit weddings and conferences of a few hundred.

Location

The Peninsula stands at Kemankeş Karamustafa Paşa, Karaköy, on the Galataport promenade, across the Golden Horn from the old city. The Galata Tower is ten minutes uphill on foot, and the Istanbul Modern museum is on the same quay. Tophane tram stop is at the door; Karaköy ferry pier is nearby. Istanbul Airport is about 50 minutes by car. Of the luxury hotels in Istanbul it is the one with the longest frontage on the Bosphorus at the city's heart.