In the neighborhood of Nisantasi, Istanbul's answer to Beverly Hills (and where a 88-room hotel is scheduled to open in early 2008 in the Macka Palas building), the SofaHotel opened mid-2006 with minimalist-chic rooms and a small but serious spa.
At tuus, in the SofaHotel, the decor is hip men's club--dark wood, rounded leather banquettes (but with a leafy outdoor terrace for the warmer weather)--the patrons are local celebrities, businesspeople and ladies who lunch, and the menu modern Mediterranean, meaning everything from local squid with chard to delicately formed pumpkin ravioli.