TRY: WOW Istanbul Hotel

17 Ataturk Street, Istanbul, Turkey

There are more things that I want to write about Turkey, but for the time being, I shall move on to feature the last accommodation I stayed at before leaving the country: WOW Istanbul Hotel (5*). At the point of writing, it's one metro stop away from Istanbul Ataturk Airport before the latter moves to the Arnavutkoy district of the city.

The hotel is within walking distance from DTM - Istanbul Fuar Merkezi metro station.

The building next to it is WOW Airport Hotel (4*).

Upon entering the hotel building, you have to go through a metal detector gate. The lobby is elegant without being ostentatious.

You can probably only find Christmas trees inside hotel buildings every December.

A towering palm tree~

Free shuttle service to the airport is available daily from 6.30am to 10.30pm.

I've actually stayed at WOW Istanbul Hotel (5*) twice. I can say that nothing has changed for the past three years.

Feel free to borrow some newspapers or magazines from the lift lobby.

The hotel has got 216 standard rooms of 30 square metres each. On top of that, there are 56 executive rooms and one suite.

The beds look a bit tired, but they are pretty comfortable.

Still the same brand of mints!

I don't fancy the idea of putting snacks and a packet of condoms in the mini bar.

I didn't see any toothbrushes and toothpaste in the bathroom.

Two bottles each: shampoo, hair conditioner, body gel and body lotion

The twin towers of the iconic Istanbul Expo Centre can be seen from the room.

There is a bar on the first floor.

The health club is on the topmost floor. The gym was empty when I used it.

In order to use the swimming pool, you have to wear a swimming cap. I can't remember how much the hotel sells each cap for.

I also had the swimming pool to myself in the evening.

After burning some calories doing a few laps, I went to the sauna. After that, I checked out the Turkish bath.

Buffet breakfast is served on the second floor daily from 7.00am to 11.00am.

I didn't book a room that came with breakfast for my second stay, but I did try the breakfast the first time I stayed at the hotel as described here. Below are some photos of not-so-good quality.

All sorts of cheese~

I can't remember what were those at the centre next to the dried apricots.

Honeycomb, anyone?

I really wonder if the hotel is going to continue operating once the new airport is completed and the current one is closed to scheduled passenger air traffic.