Big news from Turkey: Raffles Hotels & Resorts will open a hotel in Istanbul in 2012. We hear that the hotel will be a key feature of the new Zorlu Center, one of the largest developments the city has seen for many years.
The hotel is scheduled to open in the fourth quarter of 2012, under the name of Raffles Istanbul Zorlu Center. The Zorlu Center will be 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.
Raffles Istanbul Zorlu Center will be developed by Zorlu Property with an investment of over $175 million, excluding the land value. It will reportedly have 130 guestrooms and 50 suites, 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 32,000 square feet.