Stay & Play
Timeless Elegance at Istanbul’s Pera Palace Hotel
by Nicholas Kontis
When the first travelers aboard the famed Orient Express railroad arrived at Istanbul’s Sirkeci Station in 1889, Turkey’s metropolis did not have a single hotel that could match the elegance of the rail cars. The sophistication and refinement the passengers had enjoyed aboard the train left them as soon as they stepped off the platform in ancient Constantinople.
Six years later, the Pera Palace Hotel thoroughly remedied the shortcomings. Today, the historic special-category hotel and museum epitomizes luxury, and comfort, and a pampering experience in the crossroads city.
Among the luminaries who have graced the iconic landmark include with rooms and suites named after them include Agatha Christie, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Mata Hari, Alfred Hitchcock, and Ernest Hemmingway,
Today, new arrivals are greeted to a colonnaded hall of white Carrara marble by an enthusiastic team of valets in dove-gray uniforms. Throughout the property, original 19th-century fixtures hearken to a bygone era. Exquisite Murano glass chandeliers accent the marble floors, handsome wood paneling, and wrought-iron details. The time-skipping Tarihi Asansor elevator is the first made of wood and cast iron in the country.
The property boasts 115 guest rooms, including 16 suites, all with antique furnishings. Thirty-nine rooms have balconies overlooking the Golden Horn; 44 deluxe rooms and nine studios have views of the surrounding Pera area. All are furnished with hand-woven carpets, Turkish and Italian fabrics, and artwork.
The British tradition of afternoon tea persists at the Kubbeli Saloon & Tea Lounge. Here, where sunlight glimmers through colorful stained-glass windows, sippers may socialize with Istanbul’s cultivated elite as pianists perform on the Schiedmayer grand piano. Patisserie De Pera is a solace private coffee house and lounge with an ambiance of a bygone era. The fashionable place to be seen, the Orient Terrace, is an outdoor bar and dining area.
A stay at the Pera Palace is like lodging at a magnificent museum. History is recalled in every nook and cranny.
immediately.
