After 15 years, this hotel is still freshening up whenever it needs to, and getting more and more skilful at giving the business traveller rest, recognition and a thoroughly professional and warm welcome. Have your shoes shined by the great guy that does it, and proceed to your room knowing that all will be top notch. Shan't bother to go anywhere else in Istanbul and I've tried all the big chains there - divan, Conrad, Hilton, Swiss etc. Can't beat this Intercon.

Very good hotel in center of İstanbul. Have stayed only for 2 night, and found all completely ok. Service was excellent, staff very professional, friendly and good english spoken.

it used to be a perfect place to stay in Istanbul. They do care much more the money they spend: breakfast is poorer and the fitness closes before 23.00. So if you come back late from a dinner or a business meeting, forget about it. The carpet in the room is dirty and I hope they will update all the hotel as they did with the hall. Otherwise, you feel like in a shiny and gold environment from other times. Reception staff is not so nice and kind as the rest of the staff.

This is Istanbul’s version of a 5 Star hotel and all things considered, it was classy, centrally located, and of course, super expensive.

I stayed for five nights for a conference. I prefer hotels like a Marriot Courtyard as the rooms are just as nice, but without the high price frills that come with a place like the Intercon. On arrival, even though I only had one bag, the doormen practically mugged me for my it. I prefer to carry my own bags, but lost this battle, meaning I was forced to tip the baggage handler who brought the bag to my room. I had to wait for this guy to arrive with my suitcase, and all in all I considered it a waste of my time.

You receive a few minutes of free Wi-Fi a day, or can buy a contract for a better deal, though still pricey. Internet is censored. Each night, room service would come down to my room and turn down the bed, and put out a bathrobe and slippers (I usually don’t use either). At night I like to either relax or get some work done, and found the evening interruptions to be distracting and even annoying. I asked the Front Desk to stop with this service, but it continued.

The gym is good, but the spa is expensive. If you go to the top floor of the hotel there is a really nice lounge with a good view of the city, but a local beer costs $12.00 US.
One great tip: In the hotel lobby there is a small bakery on the opposite side of the entrance. At about 6 PM, all the remaining sweets, breads, etc, are reduced by 50% in pricing. These deserts were awesome if you have a sweet tooth, and you could not beat the price.

The food and service was good. Our conference provided breakfast and lunch, and both were suburb. I never ordered al a carte. You cannot, by the way, drink the tap water in the hotel, but they provide free bottled water. Most nights I went out for dinner. Stay away from really close restaurants as they will really rip you off with high prices. I found the wait staff at one nearby restaurant had padded the bill. The nearby shopping district has many restaurants catering to locals and side street outdoor restaurants for tourists, staffed by aggressive staff members trying to drag you into their restaurant; seek out places for locals and not the places geared towards separating tourists from their money.

I’m somewhat old fashioned and like to send post cards to friends. Get your stamps in the hotel. I ended up paying a 200% mark up on stamps at a local ship, and when I realized I’d been had, I went back for a refund and received a long and emotional dissertation about how there were special prices for foreigners. I was only out about $10.00 US, but after living overseas for so many years, I still felt sheepish for letting the merchant/bandit slip this by me. While we were waiting in line to get tea from a cart vendor, I noticed the prices locals were paying. When I went to pay for my tea, the merchant tried to demand double.

Istanbul is a very European city (traffic is a nightmare!) and it has lots of old world charm; just be wary of the tourist traps and what seemed to be a penchant for fleecing visitors.

Give yourself pleanty of time to get to the airport when it's time to go.