6 Things To Know About the Hilton Istanbul Bomonti Hotel & Conference Center

The Hilton Istanbul Bomonti Hotel & Conference Center is the city’s largest hotel and its flagship Hilton property.

On a visit to the city in February 2025, I stayed at Hilton Istanbul Bomonti and was blown away by how nice it was. It’s certainly not your average Hilton hotel, and is well worth a look if you’re looking for a place to stay in Istanbul.

Here are 5 things you should know about the Hilton Istanbul Bomonti Hotel & Conference Center:

1. This Hotel Is Not Like Other Hiltons

When you think of a Hilton hotel, your mind probably gravitates to, at worst, a dated hotel with paint peeling off the wall and stains on the carpet, and, at best, a hotel that is just average, especially if you’re talking about U.S. properties.

The Hilton Istanbul Bomonti Hotel & Conference Center blows any other Hilton I’ve stayed at out of the water. It’s on par with a good Waldorf Astoria or other higher-end chain.

The first thing you’ll notice about this hotel is the lobby — it’s massive, and it’s grand. With its marble floors throughout, chandeliers, and tons of plush, comfy seats, my immediate first impression was that I was at the wrong hotel, thinking this couldn’t possibly be a Hilton.

There’s a general grandness about this hotel. Under the front awning, several bellmen were stationed to assist with bags or grabbing a taxi. The check-in process seemed personalized yet efficient for the number of rooms, and the amenities were exceptional, including a sauna and club lounge.

Rates at this hotel are reasonable, at about $200 a night or 60,000 Hilton Honors points over my dates.

2. Wonderful Executive Lounge

The Hilton Istanbul Bomonti has a fantastic Executive Lounge, complimentary for Hilton Diamond guests or available as a paid upgrade with certain room types. Helping several nonstatus friends book rooms, I noticed the upgrade prices to an executive room (which included club access) were only about $80 more for the entire week, a true steal for what is offered. If you stay here and don’t normally have access, be on the lookout for cheap access, as it’s well worth it!

The club lounge offers breakfast from 6:30 to 10:30 a.m. daily (11 a.m. on weekends), a tea time from 12 to 5 p.m., and evening appetizers from 6 to 8 p.m.

During breakfast, the spread did not change each day, which I found frustrating since I was at this hotel for a week. For hot foods, there were potatoes, chicken sausages, eggs, beans, and a potato pastry. Like most restaurants in this region and many European hotels, this Hilton served runny eggs. I didn’t learn until several nights of my stay later that the hotel could make omelets on request, though the hotel never indicated this.

For cold items, there were cheeses, meats, smoked salmon, yogurt, vegetables, fruits, bread, donuts, croissants, and other pastries. It certainly was a fine spread, but it became old after a few days. In addition to bottled sodas and waters, there was a table with fresh-squeezed orange juice, grapefruit juice, and pomegranate juice. This lounge only had 1 coffee machine, so in the morning, there was always a backup of several people trying to serve themselves.

During the day, the lounge has a small table with cookies and cakes, and you can help yourself to coffee or nonalcoholic drinks at any time.

In the evening, the lounge served heavy appetizers that could easily suffice as dinner. For hot items, there was a rotating menu of meatballs, small sandwiches, egg rolls, and spanakopita. There was always at least 1 soup and a full buffet of cold cuts, cheeses, vegetables, dips, and breads. A bar area was set up with complimentary spirits, beer, and wine.

Servers were always milling around the lounge, cleaning up plates and offering to make coffees or teas for guests.

I flew Turkish Airlines business class to Istanbul and arrived in the late afternoon. The spread in the lounge that evening was absolutely perfect before heading to bed.

3. Executive Floors

The executive floors at this hotel are all rooms on floors 24 and higher. I was upgraded to the executive floor on account of my Hilton Diamond status, which comes with my Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card. These rooms include club access and are the typical upgrade for Diamond members who receive complimentary club access as part of their stay.

The information regarding the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.

These rooms are on higher floors with sweeping views of the city, but also include a pretty neat perk that I haven’t seen at many hotels. When you’re on the lobby level, you’ll notice the normal bank of elevators that take you to guest rooms near the concierge desk. But if you walk around the corner from this, you’ll see an entirely separate bank of elevators. I saw this the first night of my stay, but figured this was for staff only or went to a separate part of the hotel.

One of my colleagues pointed out to me that these elevators are express lifts to the executive floors, bypassing the majority of regular guest room floors. With this hotel having the most guest rooms in all of Istanbul, it’s no surprise that elevators here get quite a workout and wait times can be long. With these executive floor express elevators, you don’t have to worry about stopping on every floor up to your room, which I thought was really cool.

I was attending a conference, so there was a constant stream of attendees going up and down to their rooms. Using the executive elevators reduced the wait time drastically, and these lifts also served the executive lounge and conference level, which allowed me to go to all the places I needed to with ease.

4. Location

The hotel is in the Bomonti area of Istanbul, and while perfectly fine, it was mostly a residential area with some scattered shops and offices. Within about a 20-minute walk, there were several streets with midtier stores, but the area didn’t scream uber-luxurious to me.

It was about a 20-minute (or more, in traffic) car ride away to most tourist attractions, including the Hagia Sophia and the Bosphorus River. Even with that distance, I found the hotel to be so nice that I would return there, even though it was a bit farther away from the tourist stuff than I would have liked.

The Hilton Istanbul Bomonti is approximately 45 minutes away by car from Istanbul Airport (IST). Public transit from the airport to the hotel is convoluted, requires multiple transfers, and is not recommended for most visitors.

Instead, the hotel offers private transfers for $120, where you receive a private car and driver to and from the airport. If you’re being picked up from the airport, the driver waits for you with a sign with your name on it for easy identification.

Taxis to and from the airport cost approximately $35, but you should note that Istanbul taxi drivers are notorious for scamming passengers. When leaving the airport, be sure to confirm the price of the ride with your taxi driver and pay by a credit card where possible so you can dispute any charges if necessary.

You can also book a fixed-price taxi for $35 to $50 via the Uber app. Meter fares are also available, and while they may appear cheaper, getting caught in traffic could cause your flexible fare to increase significantly.

Hilton says that all taxis leaving its hotel are legitimate and honest. They routinely do business with the hotel and wouldn’t be allowed back if there were reports of them scamming passengers.

Bottom Line:

My recommendation for transport to the hotel from the airport would be to book a prearranged ride with the hotel. When returning to the airport, have the hotel call a local taxi for you. The hotel only works with reputable drivers, and this will save you money.

5. Spa and Gym

The Hilton Istanbul Bomonti has some of the best spa and gym services of any regular Hilton I’ve ever seen, and it’s truly impressive. 

The spa and gym area is just off the lobby, behind the main bank of elevators. You’ll find a reception desk there that will check you in and confirm that you’re staying at the hotel. There’s a small shop that will sell you a bathing suit if you forgot one, as well as other essentials.

Beyond the reception desk are men’s and women’s showers and locker rooms, and past that, the large indoor pool area. There is 1 large lap pool and then a small kiddie pool in the rear (which many guests seem to mistake for a hot tub). Along the sides of the pool are plenty of lounge chairs to relax in, and an attendant replaces the towels here throughout the day.

Once you exit the pool, you’ll find the fitness center, which is enormous.

There’s a large weight and cardio machine area, and a separate studio for classes, boxing, and rowing. You’re sure to find any machine you could possibly need here, and there are tons of each kind, so you shouldn’t have to wait when you want to work out.

The Hilton Istanbul Bomonti offers a full-service spa, with treatments starting around $80 for a massage. In this spa area, there is a relaxation room where you can close your eyes after your treatment or simply get away from the hustle and bustle outside. I had several friends who used the spa services during my trip, and they raved about how thorough the treatments and massages were.

6. Unique Rooms

The Hilton Istanbul Bomonti has several oversized rooms meant for longer stays. I booked 2 of my colleagues in “2 Bedroom Family Suite with Bosphorus View,” which was later upgraded further to a “Bomonti Home Suite Sea View with Lounge Access.” Suites at this hotel include lounge access, so when I took the cost of 2 normal rooms and added them together, the suite was only about $80 more over the course of the stay and included the lounge access, making this a no-brainer for my friends.

The suite had 2 bedrooms, a living area, a full kitchen (including a stove, refrigerator, and microwave), and a dining room. It was absolutely enormous and a great place to entertain friends or have folks come over.

The 2 bedrooms were on opposite ends of the apartment-like suite. One had 2 double beds with a private bath, while the other had a single king bed and an en suite bathroom with both a tub and a shower. One nice thing about this room was that because both bedrooms were completely separate, you could come and go into the apartment as you pleased without disturbing your neighbor. 

The dining room had a large dining room table with 6 chairs, and the living room had a full-length sofa, 2 armchairs, an office chair with a desk, and a large television. I didn’t stay in this room, but we used the common space to meet several times throughout my week at the hotel. 

Interestingly, this hotel had even larger suites than this one, some with more bedrooms, and the Bomonti Home Suite was really a middle-of-the-road size. If you’re visiting Istanbul and need a residential-style experience, the Hilton Istanbul Bomonti might be the answer. Combined with the club access with each suite, staying here with a larger group is a no-brainer. 

Final Thoughts

The Hilton Istanbul Bomonti Hotel & Conference Center was one of the nicest Hilton-branded hotels I’ve ever stayed in, and I would not hesitate to return to this hotel. While I found it to be a bit out of the way from the major tourist hot spots in the city, the rooms were well-appointed, the club lounge was fantastic, and the hotel had a true sense of luxury. Those factors would likely outweigh my desire to be closer to museums or touristy areas.