Radisson Blu Hotel, Istanbul Sisli — Hotel in Şişli

In January, I contacted a hair transplant doctor and we agreed on the dates. I reserved an executive room in the aforementioned hotel on January 26 with prepayment, with the check-in dates being February 20-23, 2025. I explicitly mentioned in the request that I would like two separate beds.||Upon our arrival at the hotel, at the late of the night, Mr. Ege /as it turned out later, a very recently hired employee and therefore assigned to the night shifts/ at the reception told us that there was no available executive room with two single beds, he offered us a room with one single and one rollaway bed, which we refused. And then suddenly Ege said that there was an executive room available.||The room turned out to be on the second floor, where the economy rooms are, in the elevator it is clearly marked that the executive rooms are from the 6th to the 8th floor.||We returned to the reception, and it was explained to us that the room was like the executive rooms, even nicer, because it had a carpet and the executive rooms had parquet.||The description of the executive rooms on the website says: "Start your mornings with a fresh cup of Nespresso coffee", but we could not take advantage of this fresh cup of Nespresso coffee because there was a hot water kettle in the room.||Again from the hotel website: "These stylish rooms feature upgraded amenities including a comfy bathrobe" but our room had the standard two large and two small towels.||The big bummer was the hotel's lounge, described as follows:||"Relax between meetings in our Executive Room - Lounge Access" – unfortunately we couldn't visit it because we didn't have access thanks to our accommodation by Ege in an economy room on the second floor.||By the way, again on the hotel website it says: "offer stunning city views" but from our window we could see a wall, and of course Ege explained to us that whatever the room was, this would be visible, after all it was in Istanbul.||We asked to meet with the manager, but the receptionist replied that he was in a meeting and they would pass it on to him. Unfortunately, no one contacted us again and only when we were checking out of the hotel did the manager come and say that he apologized for the inconvenience caused.||I chose this hotel because, as I mentioned at the beginning, I was in town for a hair transplant and the clinic was 5 minutes away from the hotel. I was hoping that by booking an executive room I would be more comfortable during the surgery, but in fact I had to deal with the aggressive reception staff who were clearly annoyed that I was demanding my rights.||I received an email from the hotel manager offering me 20,000 bonus points/As compensation, we would like to offer you 20,000 Radisson Rewards points, which are readily available to redeem on future bookings. If you are happy to proceed with our offer, please write back to us with your acceptance. I am happy to assist you in accessing your account to expedite the process/ for the inconvenience caused, but these points are equivalent to 36.64 euros, perhaps enough to sleep in front of the hotel's revolving...

2025 update: Staff for the most part (except management and front desk) are still friendly and nice. Quality of service has dropped, beer is triple the price compared to the market located in front of the hotel so do take advantage of that and don’t pay their ridiculous prices. Make sure you get breakfast (even though the breakfast quality has also decreased compared to years before), also make sure you get the executive lounge package to take advantage of free appetizers/deserts alongside wine/beer. Do ask them to refill the fridge if empty without hesitation as they tend not to if not asked. Oh and the rooftop bar is fake, upon request I was told “unfortunately sorry”. The furniture/appliance and tvs need a major update, feels like the early 2000s while we’re in 2025.

Overall, this is definitely the last time I’ll be staying at this or any other radisson blu location in Istanbul.

2024 Review: I'm going to start by saying the hotel staff are the most friendly and helping I've come across. English may be difficult but you'll get by. Great location, lots of spots nearby to walk or access w/ taxis or public transportation. The pool is nice too if you're going in the summer. Make sure you get breakfast with your room and lounge access, you'll thank me later.

Now let's dive into the negatives:

An early check-in was requested a week in advance for my elderly grand parents. They did respond to the email indicating upon availability etc.

Normal check-in time is 3 PM. My grand parents and parents arrived around 11 AM and were let into the lounge to wait until the rooms became available. I got there around 2:30 PM and when I tried to check-in, I was told I need to wait 10 minutes.

They checked us in at 3:30 PM, after many attempts on stalling with excuses such as final clean up is being completed, clean up inspection, double scanning the passports at 3:15 PM after I asked to speak to the hotel manager, who didn't know much English.

The hotel's customer relations manager tried to resolve the issue without much success. They offered us complimentary fruits and nuts in the room and that was it.

When someone asks for an early check-in, do check them in on time at the very least. Also, don't pester guests for 5 star reviews, it should come natural not by request.

Final item: The floor carpet (all floors) need to either be deep washed/cleaned or replaced. Hallways smell...

My recent stay at this hotel was deeply disappointing due to a series of issues that indicated a concerning lack of attention to detail and guest experience.

Upon arrival, despite having a confirmed reservation for a twin room, we were initially assigned a double. The receptionist seemed unaware of our specific booking, which is a basic expectation for any hotel.

The initial inconvenience was compounded by malfunctioning key cards. Neither card opened our assigned room, requiring a trip back to reception for a reset.

Once inside the room, we encountered a concerning number of maintenance issues: none of the electrical outlets were working, nor was the in-room safe. A technician was required to address these problems. Later, we discovered that the window handle was stuck, preventing the window from being fully locked. Adding to the discomfort, the bathroom intermittently emitted a foul sewage odor, making the room unpleasant. While minor issues can occur, the accumulation of these problems points to a systemic lack of thorough room checks.

A particularly frustrating aspect of our stay was the repeated need to have our key cards reactivated – a problem apparently affecting many guests. This required multiple trips to reception each day, disrupting our schedule and impacting our overall experience.

The convoluted and illogical route to the swimming pool was truly baffling. It involved multiple elevator rides, access control points with malfunctioning card readers, and a final set of stairs. This absurd design is inconvenient and poorly planned.

Finally, the condition of the pool area was subpar. Broken umbrellas were left unrepaired, and the towels provided were threadbare and damaged with holes, further reinforcing the impression of neglect and lack of care throughout the hotel.

Overall, the numerous issues we encountered, from booking discrepancies to maintenance problems, unpleasant odors, and poor amenities, lead me to believe that this hotel falls far short of acceptable standards. I would not recommend it.

The area is convenient in terms of public transport but otherwise there's nothing positive to say about this ugly, modern and noisy...