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.