Minimal to non-existent loyalty appreciation, odd and inconvenient location, and generally poor levels of service
If you are considering this property based on your status with All Accor, proceed with caution. As a Gold member, my stay was supposedly upgraded from a Fairmont Room to a Fairmont Gold Room. It is difficult to determine the difference, as access to the Fairmont Gold Lounge, which is typically included in the Fairmont Gold offering, was not part of the upgrade. The room allocated was on a lower floor with a view of a busy motorway. There was no welcome letter, welcome gift, or welcome drink—nothing that would truly differentiate this 'upgrade' from what was booked.
The room overall was nicely laid out with high-quality bed linen, etc.—something that almost comes by default in a hotel of this caliber. In the bathroom, large toiletry bottles are attached to the wall by the bath but not by the shower; to reach them from the shower, you do need to engage your acrobatic/stretching skills. Why not have a second set of these bottles installed in the shower wall—who knows?
There was no evening turndown service. No sweet 'good night' wishes from Fairmont.
The location is odd, remote, and inconvenient: the hotel is wedged between a busy motorway on one side and a densely populated and busy residential area—there's really not much around the hotel.
Service at check-in was underwhelming, with little information about facilities provided by the check-in assistant, and it took some effort to decipher what they were actually saying. The person taking you to your breakfast table was remarkably poorly trained: she first took me (and other guests, as I observed this happening several times) to the 'high tables'—the ones you need to almost climb onto—despite there being plenty of 'normal tables'. There wasn't much difference where you were seated otherwise since the restaurant is in the windowless basement. She would then take you to the table closest to the waiters' station where leftovers are cleaned off plates, etc.—does this need to be done in the middle of the room rather than discreetly taking it away for sorting elsewhere? Service at breakfast was patchy—no easy refills, cutlery taken away but not replaced, staff not letting you through but actually making you stop or move out of their way, etc. Some more effort would help food presentation – see a photo of my sloppily delivered /assembled eggs royale.
Overall, based on my experience, there is nothing that would compel me to consider this hotel the next time I’m in Istanbul. Any visitor to amazing Istanbul is spoiled not just with the sights and energy and splendour of the city but also with the choice of luxury hotels. This is certainly not the one to come back to. If you are Accor-loyal, I would consider better-located alternatives that may offer more recognition.