Raffles to open 1200 room hotel in Istanbul in 2012

No Midnight Express, this $175 million hotel will feature the country’s largest spa.

According to the company, the hotel is scheduled to open in the fourth quarter of 2012, under the name of Raffles Istanbul Zorlu Center. The Zorlu Center is Turkey’s first and only mixed-use project with five functions which will bring together a performing arts centre, offices, residential property, retail and the hotel - all with a Bosphorus view.

Commenting on the opening, Raffles Hotels & Resorts President John Johnston said:

“The Zorlu Center and Raffles is an exciting combination of different but complementary elements. The Zorlu Center will be iconic, both in function and design - like Raffles’ hotels. An award-winning development and an award-winning hotel company in a place where people come to do business, to stay, to shop, to live and to appreciate music and art. It will be a new district for the city of Istanbul - and a destination for people from around the world. And being part of a development where the arts are a key element reaffirms our own commitment to arts, culture and sense of place.”

The new Raffles will be ideal for business and leisure travellers. Drawing on the original Raffles tradition of delivering thoughtful and personal service to well-travelled guests, the famous Raffles Butler Service, which currently extends from Singapore to the company’s nine hotels around the world, will bring a new level of luxury and service to Istanbul.

Raffles Istanbul Zorlu Center will be developed by Zorlu Property with an investment of over 175 million dollars, excluding the land value. Its design will reflect the cultural and characteristic features of Istanbul, with 130 guestrooms and 50 suites. The size of the rooms will be above average, with standard rooms at 65 square metres, and suites with a maximum space of 370 square metres. The hotel will have a ballroom with a 1,200 person capacity, two restaurants and bars, indoor and outdoor swimming pools and a heliport. It will also be home to a signature Raffles Spa, which is set to be one of the largest spas in Istanbul at approximately 3,000 square-metres.

Hotel guests will have direct access to the Performance Arts Centre, which will offer world-class dramas and musicals simultaneously with their openings in London and Broadway.

Ahmet Nazif Zorlu, the Chairman of the Management Board of Zorlu Holding said his company is delighted to enter into this partnership with Raffles Hotels & Resorts and added:

“Zorlu Center is a first for Turkey. We wanted to work with the very best hotel company and we have achieved this with Raffles. This world-class luxury hotel company operates in seven countries with its nine hotels and 124 years of experience and is a perfect fit for Istanbul. We are delighted and proud that Raffles has picked Zorlu Center, as I know it chooses the countries it invests in with extreme care. Raffles has all of the values we were looking for, in its management and its service philosophy. We are so confident about our decision and we have signed a long term contract. I am sure the arrival of Raffles Istanbul Zorlu Center will be a major contribution to our city growing as a capital of global tourism.”

John Johnston, President of Raffles Hotels & Resorts, concluded:

“Turkey is a rising star of the global economy and Istanbul is a rising star of global tourism. Zorlu Center is playing an important role in that ascendancy and was key to our decision to include Istanbul in Raffles’ development plans.”