In our post on Istaklal Caddesi, a famous street in the north-central part of Istanbul, we mentioned the Pera Palace Hotel as a cool place to hang out. But it really deserves more attention than that. So here goes.
This is one of those old beautiful hotels, lovingly restored, that evokes an era. In this case the era is fin de siècle Europe. The French-Ottoman architect Alexamder Vallaury finished it in 1895. The Pera Palace sits on the northern side of the Golden Horn. (Pera is the former name of the area now called Beyoğlu.) The building is mostly art-nouveau, but with some orientalising elements. It was built for the Orient Express train line. There was an overnight stop in Istanbul, and sedan chairs took passengers from the train station to this hotel, where they stayed for one night or several. Speaking of the Orient Express, Agatha Christie stayed in this hotel, and reportedly wrote Murder on the Orient Express in it (room 411).
But that’s not the only name-dropping we have for you. Not by a long shot. James Baldwin stayed here, as did Ernest Hemingway, Graham Greene, and countless major and minor royalty. Also, Alfred Hitchcock and Zsa Zsa Gabor. Ataturk had a favourite room (101, now a small museum). And now there’s a Netflix series, Midnight at the Pera Palace Hotel (based on a book about the hotel).
The Pera Palace boasts the second oldest elevator in Europe, and it was the earliest public building in Turkey to have electricity. The lobby remains stunning. We love hanging out here, sitting in the Orient Terrace or Orient Bar for a drink, or the Kubbeli Salon for tea. There’s also a pastry shop and a restaurant, so you can take care of all your major food groups without leaving the premises. There are even Saturday morning concerts during some parts of the year.
We don’t really like staying in hotels long-term. But if we came back to Istanbul as meandering millionaires, we might just make an exception for this place!
