Hotel Ibrahim Pasha

It’s deep in the Sultanahmet, surrounded by all of Istanbul’s major sights, as well as all the usual tourist traps you expect from this heavily traveled district; but the Hotel Ibrahim Pasha is a breath of contemporary fresh air. And though it’s named for the neighborhood’s most famous resident, the Grand Vizier to Sultan Suleyman in the 1500s, it wears its historical influence lightly.

These things are generally a matter of degree — of showing enough Ottoman influence to convey a proper sense of place, but never so much that a local would find it kitschy. Always contemporary, always stylish. There are just twenty-four rooms, and they follow the contours of the old house, which lends a certain freshness to the floor plans. And all the modern must-haves are accounted for, from wireless internet to underfloor heating.

It’s more pied-à-terre than pleasure palace, and lacks even a restaurant, after the breakfast service is done. Here the busy neighborhood becomes a major asset. The result is a hotel that’s quite intimate, and the one real common space is a very fine one: from the roof terrace you can take in a panoramic view of the Sultanahmet district, including the domes and spires of the Blue Mosque.