Staying at the Pera Palace Hotel in the Agatha Christie Room (Room 411) has been on my bucket list for years. I’ve been to Turkey many years ago and included Istanbul on my Round The World adventure just to stay here.
I loved every second of staying at the Pera Palace ~ my Agatha Christie room, two afternoon teas, the amazing staff and just wandering around absorbing everything I could.
The Story of Historical Pera Palace Hotel
A modern style of life meets Belle Epoque charm at Pera Palace Hotel!
Placed against a backdrop of glimmering art-nouveau beauties, Pera Palace Hotel, Istanbul is a historic luxury hotel in the heart of Turkey’s best-looking city. A stylish retreat with more than a century-old past, we are perfectly positioned for exploring all of the views.
With its excellently proportioned, Art-nouveau façade and architecture, and the Orientalist approach Kubbeli Saloon, the hotel was built to charm. It has astonished generations of visitors and performed host to some of history’s most remarkable stories. The hotel has lasted through the reigns of three Ottoman sultans, the fall of the Ottoman Empire, and the rise of the New Turkish Republic.
Originally started to be built in 1892, Pera Palace Hotel began its journey in 1895, for the purpose of hosting the passengers of the Orient Express, a long-distance passenger train service created in 1883 by Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits. Under the guidance of renowned architect Alexander Vallaury, an exceptional neo-classical exterior façade and oriental interior ballroom designed with perfect harmony. Since then, Pera Palace Hotel offers excellent leisure with diverse, art-driven places that culminate in a warm crescendo… elegantly displaying the historical sense of Istanbul.
As the first modern hotel in Istanbul to have electricity during the late Ottoman period, Pera Palace Hotel’s fame as a leader in improvement was further approved when it was the first hotel to establish an electric lift. With the deluxe assistance of a lift boy, famous guests like Zsa Zsa Gabor and Ernest Hemingway could appreciate the fun of traveling in the ascending cage up to their room. Crime story novelist Agatha Christie had a favorite place in the hotel – number 411 – which now carries her name. You can relax in the Agatha Christie Room where she seemingly wrote Murder on the Orient Express, or sup in the justly inspired Agatha Restaurant.
Pera Palace Hotel witnessed a history of 126 years while standing behind the unique Golden Horn view from Tepebaşı and has lasted through the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, two World Wars, and the establishment of the new Republic. The Hotel which collected thousands of tales in its rooms, high ceilings, corridors, sceneries, and even in its walls over the years, was home to memories, during long and beautiful seasons. Pera Palace Hotel has been welcoming its guests in this beautiful neighborhood, in the heart of Istanbul, Pera once called Little Europe. The elegance, the charming ambiance, and the luxury facilities the hotel offered took the attention of people for more than a century.
At Pera Palace Hotel, Room 101 is a museum. It is a museum to keep the memory of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, was his favorite place – he stayed here many times between December 1915, and October 1917. On the 100th anniversary of his birth, in 1981, the room transformed into a museum where his personal objects of interest like ebony chairs, exotic oriental carpets, and a rare black silk prayer rug are displayed.
Pera Palace Hotel has stood in a place beyond the experience of accommodation, the culture created over the years. The fact that it was one of the first places to come to mind in Istanbul, and that the world-famous names preferred Pera Palace Hotel during their visits, always located itself in a different position. Because the story it carried, represented a glory that extended from past to future and grew even more.
Pera Palace Hotel relishes a unique location overlooking the Golden Horn. The legendary hotel proposes a refined and illustrious history, encapsulating the very best Istanbul has to give.
Famous Guests of Pera Palace Hotel
Among the Pera Palace Hotel’s famous guests was a creator of detective novel, Agatha Christie, a frequent visitor from 1926-1932. Her favored room, 411, is now the Agatha Christie Room. It is also rumored that she also wrote her famous novel The Murder on the Orient Express in her room at the Hotel, and during her lost 11 days, which has not yet been solved, is thought to be that she had been staying at Pera Palace Hotel. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the father of modern Turkey, resided in Suite 101, which is now a museum devoted to him. Ernest Hemingway was a resident of the hotel after World War One, when he was a reporter. Other notable names stayed at the hotel are including Ismet Inonu, Celal Bayar, King Edward VIII, Queen Elizabeth II, Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph, Shah Reza Pahlavi, President of Yugoslavia Josip Broz Tito, General Franz von Papen, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Greta Garbo, Sarah Bernhardt, Alfred Hitchcock, Pierre Loti, Jacqueline Kennedy, Ninette de Valois, Mata Hari, Cicero and Mikis Theodorakis.
This is the ceiling of the lounge. A precursor to air conditioning as these domes are opened up to allow the air to flow through.
This elevator was the first in Turkey. It was commissioned in 1892 and has survived to the present day with its original structure and design. I rode up to my room a couple times.
Agatha Christie Room
One of Agatha Christie’s bestsellers, “Murder on the Orient Express” was thought to be written in this room.
Renowned crime author Agatha Christie was a constant guest of Pera Palace Hotel, and she always stayed in Room 411. It is rumoured that, it was the room, Christie wrote her popular novel, Murder on the Orient Express. Now, Room 411 is recognized as the Agatha Christie Room. The room still has its original antique furniture and lots of materials to acknowledge the departed author.
The Agatha Christie Room, with its 46 m2 spacious living space, library with Agatha’s books published in several languages and the replica of the typewriter used by the author, combined with antique furniture that reflects the spirit of the period, provides a harmonious accommodation experience. The Agatha Christie Room, which is located facing the view of Tepebaşı, hosts a unique memory with its character that accompanied the most precious times of more than a hundred years old history.
I’ve been an avid reader my whole life. Staying in this room where Agatha Christie stayed and wrote was an experience.
My first evening I returned to the room to this feast.
Kubbeli Lounge
The Kubbeli Lounge has long been famed for its tea parties – a traditional afternoon outing among the Istanbul elite. English Afternoon Tea is served accompanied by gentle piano music in this tea lounge, exuding erstwhile grandeur and elegance.
I spent some time in this lounge reading and I had Afternoon Tea twice ~ it was divine!
Orient Terrace ~ Istanbul’s Gathering Hotspot
Orient Terrace is an energetic and exceptional pleasure hub. In such a unique atmosphere, guests will be greeted to explore a sophisticated and fashionable menu that echoes the brilliant receptions which motivated the place for decades.
Netflix ~ Midnight at the Pera Palace Hotel
At a historic Istanbul hotel, a journalist is thrust into the past and must stop a plot that could change the fate of modern Turkey.
This Turkish time travel historical series is centered around the Pera Palace Hotel. The series was inspired by the 2014 historical non-fiction book Midnight at the Pera Palace: The Birth of Modern Istanbul by Charles King. I enjoyed the 1st season and looking forward to the 2nd season which is filming now. If you like time travel, history and mystery, check out this show.
Here’s the Season 2 Trailer:
Another book reference ~ in Hemingway’s “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” Harry stayed at the Pera Palace Hotel.
To The Roof Of Africa! Mount Kilimanjaro!
Happy Travels!
Jackie is “Mom” to one amazing son, an IT professional and an obsessed traveller. She spends her time reading, golfing at Ladies League and implementing software projects. Jackie has travelled to 7 continents, 5 oceans and 103 countries and she is always planning the next destination and adventure!