The Ritz-Carlton, Istanbul at the Bosphorus

We booked one night at the Ritz-Carlton Istanbul after our plane broke down, causing us to miss our connecting flight to Tokyo. We hoped this stay would be the one good part of a long and frustrating ordeal of 15+ hours of waiting and dealing with airport bureaucracy, but we were so wrong.

It started well—we booked via the Bonvoy app and messaged the hotel to confirm that we’d be checking in around 22:30. Upon arrival, we received the usual warm greetings and welcome. We had booked a room with two beds, but at check-in, we were informed that we had been upgraded to a suite ‘because it was just one night.’ We thanked them, but when we got to the suite, we realized it only had one bed.

We immediately raised the issue, reiterating that we had specifically booked a room with two beds and needed two beds. The staff member called reception but told us they would prepare the sofa bed. We repeated that we had booked two beds for a reason. He asked us to come back downstairs with him to explain because they were not understanding. We told him that if there were no rooms with two beds available (which seemed unlikely), we would prefer to cancel and go to another 5-star hotel.

When we went back downstairs, the receptionist reiterated that she had upgraded us because it was just one night, but her tone suggested we should be grateful and accept it regardless of our booking. If we had known the upgrade involved a downgrade in the number of beds, we would have declined it from the start. This was our first time at this hotel, and we had high expectations, and all of them fell short. It was almost 11 pm by this point, and we were too exhausted to go through the hassle of canceling and moving to another 5-star hotel, so we reluctantly stayed for the night and i wish had cancelled. The room was old and not well taken care of. I’ve stayed at 2 and 3 star rooms better than this. The breakfast was disappointing as well.

This is so NOT a 5-star hotel. The point of staying at a 5-star hotel is the service. Every guest and every room is a 5-star treatment.

Having stayed at multiple Marriott properties around the world, I don't think this property is a good representation of the Ritz nor the overall Marriott brand. The rooms feel outdated, the service is impersonal, and the location lacks accessibility. In our case, we experienced a loud concert across the street for 2 nights and another loud rooftop party hosted by the hotel. Both were loud enough to keep us up late into the night. The property failed to inform us of these events prior to arrival and dismissed our concerns without even a simple apology. It seems that loud concerts are a recurring issue for this property. We wish we knew about this ahead of time so we could have stayed elsewhere. Instead, the property sent us daily emails asking us to confirm our stay. Additionally, the front desk staff seems careless and have an attitude that makes you (the guest) feel as if they're doing you a favor by allowing you to stay there. They're either not trained properly in hospitality or they're misrepresenting the brand. In my opinion, if you're looking to stay at a Marriott property in Istanbul, you're better off staying at the JW Marriott.

My wife and I are here on a European vacation. We were excited to visit Istanbul. It's a lovely place and the people are lovely too. That said, I experienced something from RC front-line staff I though I would never see. I've been loyal to the Marriott brand for more years than I can count and am now retired. We were disappointed to learn on the one day we wanted to use the outdoor pool (since the weather was going to be so nice) that it would be closed for the entire day. And we learned this with less than 24 hours notice, in fact with only a few hours left in our day. So we went downstairs to further inquire. A lady at what I believe is their concierge desk told us that yes the pool was going to be closed for the day for an event, and the only other outdoor space was part of their restaurant Nobu. That seemed odd as an alternative suggestion. Regardless, that's not why I am leaving this review. Upon leaving the desk, I noted that one of the staff in the lobby and the lady we had been speaking with were apparently smirking, laughing as a result of our misfortune. I've been to my share of RC properties, and I've never seen anything like this from front-line staff. Makes one want to rethink their loyalty to the brand, particularly the higher end of the brand. And it's a shame too, the staff in the club and elsewhere have been lovely. Incredibly surprised and disappointed by this behavior.