Grand Hyatt Istanbul, the Hotel Review

This summer, we spent a few weeks in Turkey, visiting the Mediterranean coast, hiking to the ruins of ancient cities, and exploring Istanbul. Istanbul is a large city, but if you stay on points, you probably want to choose a hotel within your preferred chain. We, as Hyatt loyalists, decided to try out the best of the Hyatt brands the city has to offer.

For our first three days in Istanbul, we stayed at Park Hyatt Istanbul (you can read about our stay at Park Hyatt Istanbul – Maçka Palas here), then we ventured off on our road trip, and on the way back, we decided to try out another Hyatt hotel brand available in the city – Grand Hyatt Istanbul. It’s located in the heart of Istanbul, within minutes of Taksim Square, Istiklal Street, restaurants, and shops.

Booking

We booked a Standard 2 Twin Beds room (they only had 2 Twin Beds or 1 King Bed room available) for only 12,000 Hyatt Points per night (a total of 24,000 Hyatt Points for two nights).

The cash rate for a Standard room was $315.87 (including taxes and fees) per night. That’s 2.63 cents per point, a great redemption value!

Check-In

The original plan was to stay in Istanbul for just one night before heading back to California at the end of our journey in Turkey since we had already explored the city at the beginning of our trip. Eventually, we decided it was worth spending one more day in the city, taking it easy before a long-haul flight back to America. Long story short, we booked another night for 12,000 Hyatt points at Grand Hyatt Istanbul, making it two nights but on separate reservations.

Fast forward to check-in; the front desk had no clue we had two single-night back-to-back reservations. We informed the clerk that we intended to combine these nights into a single reservation and, ideally, get upgraded to a larger room (a complimentary upgrade is one of the great perks of being a Hyatt Globalist) since 2 Twin Beds for a family of four didn’t seem very comfortable, especially for two nights.

Unfortunately, we could only get a suite upgrade for the second night, and we kindly asked to swap out the 2 Twin Beds room for a 1 King Bed room with a roll-away or a sofa bed (for Sophia) for that first night. The clerk was kind of surprised that we wanted to change the room, saying something along the lines, “this is what you booked,” but nevertheless, they could find a 1 King Bed room for us.

At the end of the day, we never even got the roll-away bed after waiting for an hour and calling the front desk to inquire about it again. It was already 9 pm, and the kids were tired, so we just put Sophia to sleep on a chaise. We called the front desk again and asked for an extra bedding set, which they thankfully brought in within 10 minutes.

The following day (at about 11 am), we were upgraded to a spacious corner Grand King Suite that featured a large separate living area, kitchenette, walk-in closet, separate tub, and a rain shower.

Parking

Since we had just arrived in Istanbul back from our road trip, we still had the rental car we decided to drop off at the Istanbul Airport right before our flight. Globalists get free parking on award night stays (usually including valet parking if available), so we decided to park the car at the hotel.

Grand Hyatt Istanbul offered covered self-parking and valet parking, both for a fee. We opted for the valet parking option since we thought the Globalist free parking benefit would still cover it. At checkout, it turned out that the hotel had a policy where they would only offer complimentary self-parking for Globalists, but valet was NOT included. Luckily for us, they made an exception and waived the parking fee, so we didn’t have to pay a dime for it, which was very nice of them.

💡 Good to Know

Even though that Hyatt hotels are within the same chain, always check the hotel policy first as it may still vary from hotel to hotel, especially internationally.

The Room

The room we got upgraded to was an 860 sq. ft. (80 sq. m.) one-bedroom suite on the 8th floor, featuring a King Bed, living area, rain shower, workspace, walk-in closet, and a kitchenette. For reference, this was a Standard Suite.

The Living Room

The living room was spacious and had a lovely oversized couch, a chair, a workspace, and a little coffee/tea station.

There was a dining area with a complete dining set, a stove, a fridge, and a microwave. We didn’t get a chance to use it since it was only a two-night stay, but it’s very convenient to have a kitchenette when you’re staying with kids and great to have the option of dining in the room. The hotel staff kindly left us a fruit bowl on the counter so the girls could snack on some apples and bananas.

This was the view from our room:

The Bedroom

The bedroom featured one king bed, a sofa, and a walking closet. We loved that it had panoramic windows, so the room was filled with natural light.

The Bathroom

The bathroom was spacious and had a bathtub and a separate shower cabin with a rain shower. It also had complimentary full-sized toiletries and even sponges.

Dining

Dinner at 34

There was an onsite restaurant called 34 with indoor and outdoor seating options. The restaurant was open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (lunch and dinner from 11 am to 11 pm).

The outdoor patio was spacious but still cozy with fireplaces and surrounded by greenery. We had dinner there on our first evening in the hotel (we didn’t have a reservation, and there was no wait to get seated).

The menu had various options – from traditional Turkish and Mediterranean to a good seafood variety.

Breakfast at 34

Breakfast was served buffet style at the onsite restaurant from 7 am to 10:30 am daily.

As Globalists, we got a daily complimentary breakfast for 4 of us, and it’s one of our favorite Globalists’ perks.

There was an omelet station where you could order eggs in any style and a barista corner where you could get coffee drinks or a mimosa. Overall, they had so many breakfast options that you could literally choose anything you wanted, from pastries, eggs, cereal, and fruits, to traditional Turkish breakfast dishes.

Mezzanine Lounge & Bar, a Globalist Lounge

Grand Hyatt Istanbul also had a Lounge (on the 8th floor) with complimentary light fares such as snacks and drinks and a daily happy hour. To gain access to the lounge, you needed to be a Globalist or redeem a Club Access Award before check-in.

You could also have breakfast there. However, it’s worth noting that the breakfast at 34 had many more options.

The lounge had plenty of open seats while we were there, but it didn’t seem like a good choice for people with kids since the atmosphere was tranquil there.

Amenities

The hotel featured a large outdoor pool and a hot tub. We did not get a chance to use the pool, but the area looked relaxing and welcoming.

Bottom line

Grand Hyatt Istanbul is a nice hotel but is more crowded than the neighboring Park Hyatt Istanbul – Maçka Palas. The rooms are a little outdated, but still lovely and clean. You probably can’t beat the price of only 12,000 Hyatt Points per night for a Standard room and a complimentary breakfast that you get there as a Globalist.

On Points With Kids Summary

Two nights at Grand Hyatt Istanbul were booked for 12,000 Hyatt Points per night. The cash rate for two nights was $631.74 ($315.87 per night on average, including taxes and fees), which equals 2.63 cents per point, a great value, especially if you consider the Standard Suite upgrade that we got!

You can apply for the following credit cards to earn Hyatt points that can be redeemed at the Grand Hyatt Istanbul:

• Chase World of Hyatt Credit Card application
• Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card application (Chase Ultimate Rewards points can be transferred to the World of Hyatt program)