Most waterfront hotels in Istanbul overlook the celebrated Bosphorus strait, which keeps the former Turkish capital divided east and west – European and Anatolian – on its course from the Black Sea south to the Sea of Marmara. There’s another waterway, though, entering the mainstream like the short left line of the letter ‘y’ to the long stroke, north-down, of the Bosphorus.
The infinity pool scene merging with the waters of the Golden Horn at Rixos Tersane
Here you’ll find the Rixos Tersane, a luxury check-in sprawling beside the Golden Horn estuary, described above, that feeds into the Bosphorus. It was, in old times, the focal point of the Ottoman naval command, although it began to fall into disuse with the post-Imperial, new republic of Turkey in the 1920s, finally becoming obsolete in the 1980s. Yet neighbourhoods either side of the Golden Horn, interestingly, have become hip havens in the way that Williamsburg, in New York, and Dalston, in London, have evolved.
Stay here for the sense of being in a real-feel district of Istanbul. Yes, the naval quarter is in the midst of a major renovation, of which Rixos Tersane is a key element, and the hotel is an otherworldly implant into what was previously a downtrodden area of the city. But make no mistake – this is a crucial part of Istanbul’s urban regeneration. There are museums, restaurants, bars and – if you take one of Rixos Tersane’s private launches west across the Golden Horn – the splendid, trad-turned-trendy neighbourhoods of Balat and Fener to explore.
Rooms and facilities
Rixos Tersane itself is a beauty, incorporating elements of the old Ottoman shipyard (see the enormous crane still in place beside the pool) to magnificent effect. The lobby is towering and glittery – almost airport-hangar-like – with gigantic spaceship-looking lanterns, while all manner of modern artworks – striking canvases and brilliantly coloured sculptures – fill the surrounding spaces.
Eyes peeled for covetable vases and sultan-worthy wallscapes, patterned with nature-like Islamic motifs.
Within its hulking shell, Rixos Tersane has 432 rooms of all variety, good-looking with bare wood flooring, beigely attractive bedding, marble-clad bathrooms and, if you pick upwards of entry-level, fine angled balconies overlooking the famous mosque-and-minaret-outlined Byzantine horizon, across the Golden Horn waters in Sultanahmet. In essence, you are guaranteed a good sleep, even though the night scene at the hotel is busy.
Many rooms have fine city views
Curiously for such a swaggering property, there’s no sprawling spa – even though Rixos prides itself on them in its hotels and resorts in southern Turkey as well as the UAE. That said, treatments are available here, in two pleasantly cocooning rooms, and include specials such as a de-stressing caviar mask and facial jawline sculpting. All in all, a cosy boon for guests when Istanbul’s weather, with grim predictability, turns wintry and foul.
On a differently indulgent note, Gowden Club is a cigar lover’s Eden, stocked plentifully with cognacs, whiskies, bourbons and brandies. Fire up a biggie and relax smokily into the night.
Food and drink
Velena Food Market at Rixos Tersane
Evening arrival? Make straight for the hotel’s fine dining restaurant, Josephine: all giant candles, globe lamps like mini waxy moons illuminating the bar counter, and elegant burners hung like lanterns high above. Guests sit inside and out, beside the water, in a mix of director’s chairs and rounded art-deco creations, and choose from a tremendous Turkish/Med-inflected menu…
There might be yogurt soup (yuvalama çorbası), a delicious recipe originating from Gaziantep in Turkey’s deepest Southeast. Served in a prettily patterned, lidded porcelain bowl, it’s flecked with dried mint and speckled with olive oil of a preternaturally intense green. There are chick peas and tiny bread-enriched meatballs lurking deep within.
You can dine right by the water
Another highlight: salad niçoise, tossed at your table; a wonderful blousy dish: big torn lettuce scraps, tiny garden-fresh broad beans, baby carrots, asparagus, a cartwheel of succulent tomato, pucks of crimson tuna, and a sweetish dressing of honey, vinegar, mustard, olive oil and coriander that simply >has< to be spooned up after the main event. All the while unlikely calypso and bossa nova renditions of rock hits (Terence Trent D’Arby, Rod Stewart, The Police) drift about, borne on the odd sax flourish.
Hungry on rising? Velena Food Market, on the ground floor, delivers – and how. A wander from station to station reveals a big wide world of irresistible breakfast dishes – everything from pideler (Turkish flatbread-pizza bites) to international cheeses, black and kalamata olives to gooey pastries to omelettes. And if you miss this? Lunchtime in the same space conjures Italian, Asian and Turkish dishes, so you could have lentil soup, followed by penne all’arabiata or dim sum prawns and tiramisu to finish.
Hotel highlights
The lobby as it approaches the entrance to Josephine restaurant
Apart from the serene setting beside the waters of the Golden Horn estuary? The spectacular views across it, of postcard-famous Sultanahmet, with its hazy domes and minarets against a pale-blue sky? The spectacular soaring lobby, strung with gigantic lanterns way on high – take a look at the cabinets of naval memorabilia as you approach Josephine restaurant for a special occasion dinner.
There’s also the spreading outdoor pool (affording those views), which is a real beauty: a grand, cubic lagoon, edged with smart loungers, that’s tailor-made for idle lengths, between cold beers brought by staff. Its presence is crucial in helping make Rixos Tersane a full-blown urban resort rather than a mere hotel.
Things to do nearby
Even if your interest in transport extends no further than flagging down the bus to work, you’ll be captivated by the exhibits at the nearby Rahmi M. Koç Müzesi (rmk-museum.org.tr; entry £16). It’s a fascinating museum filled with exquisite vehicles (among them submarines and small aircraft) collected by Koç over decades. Highlights include a 1908 Model T Ford, a sumptuous 1938 Rolls-Royce Wraith with white-wall tyres, and believe it or not a 1962 London Routemaster double-decker still with its signage on the front: the number 52 from Mill Hill to Hyde Park Corner.
The hotel’s private launch can take you across the Golden Horn to the increasingly hip quarters of Balat and Fener. In Balat, home to a remarkable, if discreet synagogue, buildings are coloured in pastel tones, like Mr Kipling Fondant Fancies. Along the steep, tumbling streets there are cafes, restaurants, bijou art galleries and boutiques selling preloved and vintage gear at every turn.
Heading across the Golden Horn in the hotel’s private launch
Adjacent Fener delivers more café living and is, importantly, home to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, spiritual HQ of the Eastern Orthodox Church, which guides Orthodox Christians worldwide. Attend a Sunday mass and experience the incense-laden, incantation-soundtracked beauty of this otherworldly holy place.
Best for…
Second- or third-timers to Istanbul, keen to discover the city beyond the postcard sights.
Rooms start from around £275 per night. For more information or to book, go to rixos.com
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