All in all a great stay, beautiful hotel, the rooms are a bit outdated and could do with some refurbishing. The pool area is very nice and the breakfast is great.

First of all this is one of the lower end "Leading Hotels of the World" properties I have been in. Staff is exceptional and tries very hard to please. The buffet breakfast is one of the best I have ever experienced (see my review of Shangri La Cebu, Philippines for the other). The rooms are getting a little tired, but if you have a Bosporus view you can overlook that part. Location is okay depending on your needs. Istanbul is a huge and fantastic city to explore and this place makes a decent hub to do that. It's fun to have breakfast in Europe and take the ferry across to have dinner in Asia. However there is not a lot of bang for your buck here. For the same money I am going to try Shangri La next time.

Having just returned from a week's stay at the Swissotel The Bosphorus, I was really surprised on a number of accounts...

The Swissotel The Bosphorous is five stars and part of the Leading Hotel of the World collection... Couldn't help but wonder if the hotel is holding on to these ratings for posterity's sake or the 'judges' have seriously changed their criteria.

For the amount of money you pay at this hotel (rack rate quoted at 400 EUR!) we had it for 200 EUR, you would expect so much more. Instead, the hotel gets you at every turn. WiFi at 19.95 EUR a day. Really?! The bar drinks averaging 15.00 - 20.00 EUR for a mixed drink.... And the food - apart from the delicious breakfast, we literally saw the same food everyday on the buffet. This included desserts! Unacceptable for a five star hotel.

I stayed in an average room in the West Tower on the 12th floor. The rooms had an 'antique feel' - I'm sure the carpets and fixtures were expensive at some point, but now they seem outdated in need of repair. The bath products were nothing special either (never heard of the brand) and didn't even include hair conditioner. Thank goodness there was turndown service... (with a bottle of complimentary water included!)

The spa and its assortment of saunas, the indoor pool was really nice - worth a visit - but terribly annoying that they try to sell you products after a treatment. The concierge staff were very helpful - though you couldn't help get the feeling they were sending everyone to the same places (as we discovered).

Highly ironic that there are a couple high end jewel and dress shops, along with a florist specialising in beautiful orchids, but there is no drug store or gift store. "It is closed, finished," was the standard response. Forget your toothpaste? the savvy owner of the 'bookstore' has a small stash.

Honestly, I was expecting so much more from such a hotel by its name and ratings. If you want to stay in Istanbul there is a wealth of small boutique hotels - more centrally located next to historic Istanbul that will look after you, while giving you superior service and value for money. The Swissotel The Bosphorous - been there, done it and won't be going back.

Fantastic, luxury hotel with extremely attentive staff. The hotel has a grand scale from the moment you enter the lobby and lounge which cascades down to the restaurant and the floor to ceiling glass that gives you lovely views of the Bosphorus. You feel like you're staying in a very luxurious hotel very quickly. Very helpful staff, i was on a tight schedule and overnight they were able to print off the boarding passes for our party and deliver them personally to each of our rooms. Nothing was too much trouble. Excellent quality food and drink, the breakfast buffet was very comprehensive and beautifully presented and served. We didn't do it justice. Rooms (mine was just a standard "classic") were good size, very clean (as was all parts of the hotel) and had everything you needed. Colleagues used the swimming pool and spa and said it was excellent. All members of the party i was in said they would come back to the hotel and explore Istanbul properly. Would definitely return. You can't go wrong with this hotel for a splendid stay.