Büyükada
Istanbul’s Marmara Sea hosts four islands which the Eastern Romans called the Princes’ Islands for the tragic reason that dethroned princess and princesses would have to live on forced exile on these islands away from the centre of Constantinople so that they would not form a threat to the throne.
These islands have become summer refuges for the İstanbul’s elite in the 19th and the 20th centuries. The biggest of these islands is Büyükada which literally means the ‘big island’. And this island hosts a very beautiful hotel that has recently gone an extensive restoration. The hotel is the Splendid Palace which was built in 1908. The hotel is being run by the 6th generation of its owners.
I am fascinated by the beauty of this hotel which displays an oriental and western synthesis with an inner courtyard, a large terrace, rooms with small balconies and a pool.
It definitely looks like a beautiful wedding cake as The New York Times once described it!
So if you are planning to be in İstanbul for this summer, spare a day for Büyükada, book a room overlooking İstanbul at the Splendid Palace and enjoy a midsummer night’s dream in a belle époque building which is there to remind us that life is to be savoured!
The beautiful courtyard
The entrance of the Splendid Palace
The dining hall where breakfast is served
You can rest in the lounge area amidst a sense of history
The terrace overlooking İstanbul
One of the beautiful bedrooms
The hotel is also perfect for special celebrations and weddings!
Visit the hotel at https://www.splendidhotel.net/
