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The awards the Çırağan has garnered are an embarrassment of riches, and throughout the year, the Çırağan offers special rates and packages—be sure to inquire when arranging your stay, or check the hotel’s Web site periodically. Outside guests are welcomed at the Çırağan’s restaurants and its Bosphorus Pier Lounge—I promise you will not want to leave this spot—so even if you can’t splurge for a reservation, you should stop by. A brief visit or a stay at the Çırağan is one you’ll never forget.

Four Seasons Hotel, Sultanahmet (Tevkifhane Sokak 1 / +90 212 638 8200 / fourseasons.com/istanbul). It’s easy to joke about wanting to be kept a prisoner here in this lovely Sultanahmet paradise once you learn that this building really was a prison, built in what was known as the Turkish New Classical style between 1918 and 1919. But the architect who envisioned the leap from a prison to a deluxe hotel created nothing less than an extraordinary architectural exploit. The Four Seasons is almost as worthy of touring as its next-door neighbors, Aya Sofya and the Blue Mosque—even if you don’t stay here, you should add the hotel to your sightseeing itinerary. The building served as a prison until 1970, detaining dissident Turkish politicians and writers, such as Nâzım Hikmet. On the facade of the southwest wing, facing Tevkifhane Street, original tiles and eaves decorations as well as original stone and woodworks have been preserved. The phrases “going to Sultanahmet” or “being taken to Sultanahmet” once meant being imprisoned here. The hotel’s beautiful saffronlike yellow color acts like a beacon, making it easy to find in this part of the neighborhood. Guest rooms, some with balconies or terraces, nicely combine contemporary Western amenities with an Eastern character, and are refreshingly not overdone.

In an interview with Architectural Digest, architect Sinan Kafadar noted, “I think people need to be soothed rather than stimulated after a day’s sightseeing, so I set out to create an atmosphere where the design and the decoration don’t force themselves on you.” Kafadar also tried to evoke Turkey’s history and traditions throughout the hotel, believing that it’s “very important to give people a sense of the place they’re in.” It is this that, for me, fixes the Four Seasons on my short list. The name Four Seasons alone isn’t enough to woo me. That a Turkish ambience hasn’t been abandoned in this historic building is impressive and is what makes this Four Seasons property stand apart. Touches I particularly admire include: the original iron locks and keys hung on the wall of the breakfast room; the paintings in the bar area by Timur Kerim İncedayı, who founded the Metropolismo movement in Italy in the 1990s but now focuses on Seljuk, Byzantine, and Ottoman themes (if you love his work as much as I do, his number in Istanbul for French and English callers is +90 533 525 0792; otherwise his studio in Rome is reachable at +39 06 855 1907 / +39 335 65 79 774); and that no two guest rooms are alike, each filled with one-of-a-kind antiques and objets d’art.

Of the hotel’s sixty-five guest rooms, eleven are suites and all rooms have windows that open! Children are warmly welcomed here—with bedtime treats, special gifts, and complimentary items for infants, this is definitely a family-friendly hotel. Its meeting and banquet facilities, for business events or special celebrations, are also renowned. The hotel’s inviting courtyard is among the nicest you’ll ever see, but its rooftop terrace may make you decide to take up permanent residence. Since 2000, the Four Seasons has been honored with a ridiculous number of awards, including Best Restaurant in Istanbul by Zagat in 2002 and 2003. (My own dinner at Seasons Restaurant was memorably delicious; outside guests are welcome.)

Four Seasons Hotel Istanbul at the Bosphorus (Çırağan Caddesi 80, Beşiktaş / +90 212 381 4000 / fourseasons.com/bosphorus). When I heard the Four Seasons was opening a second Istanbul hotel, I thought it couldn’t possibly be as nice