Three decades of luxury in old Istanbul
Orkun BULUT
Istanbul is one of those rare metropolises that seems to offer almost everything within a single city. What makes it even more remarkable is how quickly its character changes. Travel just a few minutes from one neighbourhood to another and the texture, the rhythm, even the way you experience the city can feel entirely different.
And few parts of Istanbul are as exciting, or as deeply connected to its origins, as Sultanahmet. For me, the hotel that best translates the spirit of this historic quarter into a luxury experience is Four Seasons Hotel Istanbul at Sultanahmet, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. It does so while retaining its three Michelin Keys, a distinction it first received last year and one that still makes it the only hotel in Türkiye to hold Michelin’s highest hotel rating.
Four Seasons has always understood how to deliver luxury in a way that makes its guests feel genuinely spoiled. But much of the Sultanahmet property’s success also belongs to the local team that has shaped it over many years. Hotel Manager Serap Akkuş and her team, in particular, have built a strong identity around food and beverage. This is also where I think Four Seasons Sultanahmet begins to separate itself from Istanbul’s other luxury hotels.
The city now has newer hotels built with much bigger investments. We have properties bringing in global restaurant brands, ambitious architecture and all the latest codes of contemporary luxury. But there are certain things money cannot create afterwards. A hotel’s relationship with its surroundings, and the memory it builds over decades, are among them.
The building was once Sultanahmet Prison. Its transformation into a Four Seasons in 1996 feels remarkably visionary when viewed from today. Thirty years ago, preserving the character of a historic building while turning it into an international luxury hotel was nowhere near as familiar a formula as it is today.
And there can hardly be a more demanding location in Istanbul. Step outside and you are surrounded by Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque and Topkapı Palace. Here, a beautiful room and impeccable service are simply not enough. The hotel itself has to become part of the story of the place.
Telling Istanbul through food
This is also what makes the Michelin Key recognition interesting. What Michelin stars have long represented in gastronomy, the Key system is beginning to do for hotels. Four Seasons Sultanahmet retaining its three Keys for a second year, while remaining the only hotel in Turkey with the distinction, cannot be explained by service standards alone.
After a two-year renovation, the hotel reopened in 2022 without erasing its past to create a completely new Four Seasons. Instead, the character of the building was preserved and a contemporary idea of luxury was built around it.
Another area that has become increasingly strong in recent years is gastronomy, led by F&B Director Yalçın Pekşen and Executive Chef Özgür Üstün.
For the 30th anniversary, Üstün created a six-course menu that avoids the predictable anniversary format and instead looks at the hotel’s relationship with Istanbul.
“Locality” has become one of the most overused words in fine dining. Almost every restaurant now claims to tell the story of its geography. But being local is not simply about where an ingredient comes from. It is also about understanding why a place eats the way it does, the migrations that shaped its table and what has survived from one generation to the next.
What hasn’t changed in 30 years
Istanbul has changed enormously over the past three decades. Its tourism, its gastronomy and even its definition of luxury have all evolved. Today, the city’s luxury hotel scene is far more competitive than it was in 1996.
Yet Four Seasons Sultanahmet’s strength has been resisting the temptation to constantly reinvent itself as something newer. Instead, it has protected what made it iconic in the first place.
Because in luxury, you can always buy something new. What you cannot buy is 30 years of brand memory, or the relationship between a century-old building and the city around it.
Perhaps that is the real luxury behind Four Seasons Sultanahmet still being one of Istanbul’s defining hotels and Türkiye’s only three Michelin Key property, 30 years on.
Orkun BULUT, a digital nomad.