Unter
SuB Karakoy
Mums Karakoy
Witt Istanbul Suites
Galata (left), and art in Karakoy (right)
Istanbul Modern
HHK Hotel terrace view (left), and Blue Mosque (right)
Tomtom Suites
Daren Grisham
What do you do at Tablet?
Head of Hotel Sales & Partnerships
What’s your travel style?
With business travel, I like to stay organized and leave as little as possible to chance. In my personal travel, it’s just the opposite, and I tend to figure things out along the way (which my wife loves, I’m sure).
Where have you been traveling lately?
This year has been a whirlwind of activity, with stops in Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Philadelphia, Seoul, Amsterdam, Panama, Asheville, Toronto and, most recently, Istanbul.
Do you have any hotel rituals?
Get in and get out! I tend to unpack fast, sort through my emails, change clothes, hit the streets and stay out much later than I should — a habit I can’t seem to break. I have this weird fear of not seeing and doing everything I possibly can in one day.
How can a hotel win you over?
Great service: that’s the most important thing. And a good bed with firm pillows and free, fast wi-fi. And please don’t make me scour the whole damn room to find the light switches or the TV remote! I really don’t think this is asking too much. Oh, and have a good iron and ironing board in the room.
What’s the nicest thing a hotel has done for you?
A few years ago I was traveling around India, and when I arrived at my hotel in New Delhi, I was totally wiped out. While my luggage went up to my room, the GM (a friend) sent me directly to their spa for a complimentary 90-minute deep tissue massage. It was miraculous.
Who’s your favorite author?
Lately I’ve been enjoying Haruki Murakami. His writing has a way of helping me say goodbye to reality for short periods of time.
HOTELS
Witt Istanbul Suites
Tomtom Suites
Urban Suites Istanbul
SuB Karaköy
Portus House Istanbul
Check rates →
August, 2014
If there’s anyone around here who truly knows our hotels inside and out, it’s Daren Grisham, the head of Tablet’s hotel group and someone who has racked up more airline miles than just about anyone else here. This year alone he’s been to Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Philadelphia, Seoul, Amsterdam, Panama, Asheville, Toronto and (most recently) Istanbul. For our latest Fresh from the Field report, we decided to sit down and chat about his latest trip — his second visit to Istanbul in the past few years, at a time when the city seems to be transforming by the minute.
On returning to Istanbul…
I was in Istanbul a couple years ago and was super excited to go back. Anyone who has ever been there knows what a remarkable, inexhaustible place it is. I would say that if you can get bored in Istanbul, you’ve got to be a pretty boring person! You can visit a lot of world cities that just feel like variations on places you’ve already been. Not so with Istanbul; it’s authentic in every way.
On favorite hotels…
Several places grabbed my attention on this trip: Witt for its design and rooftop views, Tomtom for its impeccable service, Urban Suites for its cozy, apartment-like feel, and SuB Karaköy for its unbeatable value and rad neighborhood. If you made me pick just one, I’d say SuB. When I go back, that’s where you’ll find me.
On street food…
I ate Turkish street food almost every day, and I’m not ashamed of it. So cheap and delicious! I gained a few pounds, but the treadmill is now helping me with this.
On other memorable meals…
Aside from the street stalls, Mums in Karaköy is a charming café where I started a lot of my days. And Unter (also in Karaköy) is a place I kept going back to, and not just because it was a block away from my hotel — great food and drink, and an atmosphere that I didn’t want to leave. It reminded me of some of my favorite places in certain neighborhoods in Brooklyn. Another place I loved was Münferit. A friend of mine has been vetting restaurants in Istanbul for an upcoming city guide by a company that we all know, and has spent the last year dining at 150 different places. He made clear that I shouldn’t miss Münferit, and I’m glad I took his advice!
On the evolution of Karaköy…
On this latest trip I spent a lot of my time in Karaköy, one of fastest-evolving neighborhoods in Istanbul. The 20th century wasn’t terribly kind to Karaköy, but it turned a corner after the Istanbul Modern (which is amazing, by the way) opened in 2004. My wife and I stayed in Karaköy several years back while honeymooning and it was still a fairly low-key place at the time. Seeing it this time around was wild. Boutiques, bars, pretty people — it’s all happening there.
On the value of local knowledge…
While I was in Karaköy I spent some time with Çiğdem Sungur, the owner of SuB Karaköy and Portus House. She’s a pioneer of the neighborhood’s rebirth and knows pretty much everything one could know about it. (She reminded me of Liz Lambert, a pioneering hotelier who was very instrumental in the regeneration of Austin, Texas’s South Congress district.) Çiğdem gave me the rundown on everything I needed to see and do, and all the local spots to try. It really made my trip.
On delving deep into a neighborhood…
Part of what makes travel meaningful is really tapping into at least one neighborhood, feeling its pulse and imagining what it might feel like to live there. On this trip that really happened for me in Karaköy.
Daren Grisham
What do you do at Tablet?
Head of Hotel Sales & Partnerships
What’s your travel style?
With business travel, I like to stay organized and leave as little as possible to chance. In my personal travel, it’s just the opposite, and I tend to figure things out along the way (which my wife loves, I’m sure).
Where have you been traveling lately?
This year has been a whirlwind of activity, with stops in Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Philadelphia, Seoul, Amsterdam, Panama, Asheville, Toronto and, most recently, Istanbul.
Do you have any hotel rituals?
Get in and get out! I tend to unpack fast, sort through my emails, change clothes, hit the streets and stay out much later than I should — a habit I can’t seem to break. I have this weird fear of not seeing and doing everything I possibly can in one day.
How can a hotel win you over?
Great service: that’s the most important thing. And a good bed with firm pillows and free, fast wi-fi. And please don’t make me scour the whole damn room to find the light switches or the TV remote! I really don’t think this is asking too much. Oh, and have a good iron and ironing board in the room.
What’s the nicest thing a hotel has done for you?
A few years ago I was traveling around India, and when I arrived at my hotel in New Delhi, I was totally wiped out. While my luggage went up to my room, the GM (a friend) sent me directly to their spa for a complimentary 90-minute deep tissue massage. It was miraculous.
Who’s your favorite author?
Lately I’ve been enjoying Haruki Murakami. His writing has a way of helping me say goodbye to reality for short periods of time.
HOTELS
Witt Istanbul Suites
Tomtom Suites
Urban Suites Istanbul
SuB Karaköy
Portus House Istanbul
Check rates →
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