I foolishly checked into The TAV Istanbul Airport Hotel (technically called TAV Airport Hotel) when I arrived at the airport about 6 hours before my 2:00a.m flight. Foolishly because for what it cost me to stay 3 hours here, I could have paid for another night at the W Hotel Istanbul and left around 11:30p.m. Here are the prices for the TAV Istanbul Airport Hotel:
Once you get through immigration, turn left and walk to the end. You’ll see the Turkish Airlines lounge and to the right of that a sign saying “TAV Istanbul Airport Hotel”. Take the lift down one floor then turn left and you’ll see the entrance. I really don’t know why I paid that much money, I was pretty buggered and just though F it, I’ll do it. For 3 hours I paid 100 Euro which is an absolute ripoff. But the actual room is alright, big, bed is ok, shower fine and basically more than enough for a few hours rest. Not worth the 100 Euro for the 3 hours though but it’s the airport so you know you’re going to get ripped off.
There were other lounges you could go into (at the other end of the airport) and apparently have a shower but neither of them looked particularly inviting. If you’re on a budget and don’t really care too much they’d probably be fine though. They looked to be packed and I wasn’t in the mood to deal with that and you might as well just hang outside for free unless you really needed a shower.
Had I done some research before going to the airport, I’d have never checked in and paid that much for the TAV Istanbul Airport Hotel. As mentioned, I’d much rather have just paid for another night at the W Hotel Istanbul and stayed there, had a nice dinner around that area and would have saved bit of money. Anyway, don’t make the same mistake I did. If you’re in transit and at the airport already, and have hours to spare, I guess you could consider it. With those prices I don’t think you’ll have any problems getting a room.
On the plus side, I was given an extra free bottle of water, as if that was going to make paying 100 Euros for 3 hours more tolerable. I did however have a nice shower and binged watched Dragons Den for the remaining 3 hours so it wasn’t all to waste. At least that’s what I tell myself. Wouldn’t be doing it again but again, if you’ve got a number of hours to waste and need to have a rest, the TAV Istanbul Airport Hotel is not a bad option. If they lowered the prices by 25% it’s make it slightly more attractive.
The other reason why I checked in here was because the airport was absolutely chocker full. There were people sleeping on the floor and barely a free seat to be had anywhere in the airport. The shopping options are ok but not that great and the airport itself, while quite nice, is relatively small. Overall if you don’t consider the price, it’s definitely worth considering as the rooms are nice and big, it’s quiet, and you’d definitely be able to get a few hours sleep here if you needed to.
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