Hyatt Centric Levent Istanbul

Hyatt knows its way around high-end luxury hotels. More recently, they’re trying their hand at something a little more accessible and a little, well, hipper. Not that there’s anything unstylish about their top-end hotels, but the Hyatt Centric brand is aimed more squarely at a younger generation of travelers who may be headed for the Park Hyatt one day, but not today. The first Hyatt Centric outside of the Americas is the Hyatt Centric Levent Istanbul, and it’s a perfect illustration of what the Centric sub-brand is about.

In fact it’s not far off the Grand/Park standard, at a fraction of the price. The rooms and suites are enormously comfortable and understatedly attractive, more sober in their neutral tones than the typical boutique interiors. The ESPA spa is no fly-by-night operation, either — this is a proper full-service spa. And the restaurant and bar serve upscale Italian fare and cocktails in a suitably elegant environment. What’s notably absent is any Ottoman kitsch — Levent is one of Istanbul’s modern neighborhoods, and you’re surrounded by skyscrapers, not minarets. From here you can just about see the future.