Typical bed installation in a suite - separate lounge, bathroom with whirlpool bath andseparate massage shower hits all the right buttons.

Layout of the bedrooms is fairly standard but the scale of the rooms is larger than is normal and enables the bedroom to carry a larger desk, and the operator majors on this as a working surface by placing all the hotels own publicity materials etc. inside a drawer. To enable the guest to find the telephone book, or see how to contact room service, this drawer is topped with glass so that contents can be seen without having to open it, leaving an unobstructed work area.

This large surface is all the better for those of us who carry our laptop, cell phone charger, charger for the digital camera and all the other gear with which a mobile office fills our carry-on, enabling multiple activities to go on without having to spread to other areas of the room. Electrical sockets are also well positioned at the desktop height and easily accessible from the adjustable business chair provided.

lobby to the bedroom with window intothe bathroom. Rollover for the Business lounge

Rooms are comfortable and contemporary with the location referenced through the artwork, which features original dramatic black and white photographs of architectural details of old Istanbul. The bed itself is high and the fine white linen adds to the feeling of quality. The large armchair and footstool enhance a luxury feel engendered by the interior designer’s use of dark timber, limestone and marble. Lighting is well worked with adequate task or reading lights, whilst generally high lighting levels are also achievable. Windows are large and admit plenty of light but the night-time blackout is effective enough to stop the early morning sunlight.

Fabrics are neutral but warm and patterned giving a relaxed but clean and uncluttered feel and harmonising well with the natural materials used, such as the dark timber of the desks and the marble of the bathrooms.

The bathrooms use a large window though into the bedroom, presumably a device to allow the TV to be seen from inside (an idea rendered redundant by new waterproof televisions with remote handsets that float, giving new meaning to watching the soaps). Privacy is gained by twisting the control for the integral jaluzzi blind. Executive rooms have a separate shower from the tub. Marble predominates in the bathrooms as it does through many areas of the hotel, but the spaces are again generous.

The lift lobbies pick up on the artwork theme with images taken from Islamic art alongside commissioned local crafts, used most noticeably within the staircase down to the conference areas, where a nine metres high (about 30 feet) column sits in a pool, its fountain filling the void with the sound of water. Within the pool are a series of ‘rocks’ with Greek characters on them, a reminder that the Bopshorus and Istanbul are literally the stuff of legends. Indeed the break through of waters from the Aegean into the Black Sea to make the Bosphorus is believed to contain the origins of the biblical stories of the Flood.

The public areas all open off the double height pathway between the front desk and the restaurant, and being Swiss owned the group has positioned a fatal attraction halfway along this spine. Past the bar and lounge one discovers a gourmet patisserie majoring on Swiss chocolates…in addition to the Turkish Delight that is available in the bedrooms...