After publishing part 1 of this story, I asked my friend the frequently traveling CEO, for suggestions, but alas he had no other suggestions than only Istanbul’s most expensive and luxury top hotels. So there I go with my conclusion in part 1.
My lady friend who organizes the trip for “Art en Route” came up with a travel agency that suggested following hotels:
- The Hotel Arcadia Istanbul
- The Lady Diana Hotel. This is brand new and looks very promising.
- The Armada Hotel
and
- The Ibrahim Pasha , 16 rooms.
Finally, however, on suggestion of the travel agent, a reservation has been made at the Celal Sultan Hotel.
We will see what will happen and I will keep you posted later this year.
Just for now I would like to conclude that at least for group travel a travel agent still seems a better bet than a DIY reservation. Especially because various hotels put only a small number of rooms available through travel portals or even through their own website, or have no possibilities to book well in advance.