Lush Hotel

Extravagantly quirky hotel with 44 completely individual rooms, a spa and a brasserie with live music in the heart of Beyoglu

Hip, inventive and luxe to its smallest detail, Lush is a destination in itself. Every well-imagined room is a distinctive cocktail with elements of Ottoman, Art Nouveau, Post-modern, Pop-art - shaken, not stirred. Sprawling black-and-white photo murals bring street scenes crashing into your space. Victorian cake-work mouldings top squares of exposed brick. Zen bamboo happily coexists with velvet stage curtains and WiFi. In this slightly off-kilter world, “lush” is a noun and a verb. To be “in Lush” (says the brochure) is “like being happy between reality and a dream.” Indeed.

Ride the elevator to the top-floor spa for a massage or to work out in the gym. The below-ground brasserie has fabulous food and drinks - and live music on Friday nights. Steps from the hotel entrance, you’ll be swept into pedestrian traffic on mile-long Ýstiklâl Caddesi, a hub of shopping, dining and partying. Or simply snuggle under the down-filled duvet with a cup of tea brewed with the electric kettle in your room.

Highs

• Custom design elements peel back layers of the historical and cultural onion that is modern Istanbul
• High-octane location - a mere 200m from shopping, restaurants, clubs, theatres and transportation to anywhere in the city
• High tech luxury - from a flatscreen TV and WiFi to L’Occitane toiletries and towel-warmer
• On-site [eating:TY006:café/bar] with weekly live entertainment
• Tranquil spa and fitness centre
• Non-smoking rooms available

Lows

• Service and maintenance seem to have gone downhill since our stay (read our guest feedback)
• The staff’s English is patchy, and the lobby lacklustre
• The hotel’s self-conscious style is not everyone’s cup of tea; more of a hipster’s hangout than a luxury 5-star experience
• Street-facing rooms can be very noisy at night despite double-pane windows; heavy room doors tend to slam loudly
• Some rooms are decidedly snug; if space is a priority upgrade to pricier Deluxe or Elegance rooms