Soho House Istanbul

A Stain on the Soho House Brand I’ve stayed at every Soho House hotel (except for 2). A few years ago, Istanbul was the nicest Soho House club and hotel in the world, sadly, it is now the worst. Not worth the price, badly badly badly in need of a remodel and basic maintenance. The tone is set at the hotel the instant you arrive and look down at the main doormat, at least a year past due for replacement. The room was tired but acceptable; the real embarrassment comes in the common spaces, especially the gym. The fake wood floor is peeling away. The men’s showers are literally covered in black mold. The air conditioning in the men’s locker room is broken, the changing area is humid and 27-30 degrees. The paint is literally peeling from the ceiling from the humidity. And ironically the sauna is not very hot. The club side, for which I didn’t take pictures, per the rules, is an outlier in a sad way for the norms of this international private club. People are on their phones, everywhere, in front of the staff, and the staff does nothing to stop it. Shame. Even worse, people are taking pictures everywhere, I even saw a staff member taking a selfie and tagging it to Instagram. Felt more like an airport lounge than a private club where such behavior is not allowed. One of my local friends told me he long ago quit the club due to lack of privacy. A stark difference from the British and American chapters.

At $600/night was looking for better service. I also had food poisoning from the fillet at the restaurant, spent the night morning suffering from both ends. We requested a late checkout as I was literally unable to get out of bed which was extended till 1:30pm. We were then threatened by hat we would have to pay for another half day. Just a lack of empathy that they have poisoned a guest, and they’re just worried about their cheque. Breakfast not impressive and coffee also not great. Disappointed.