With its silvery domes, tiers of balconied rooms and distinctive crimson shutters, the Splendid has been one of the great landmarks of the Princes Islands, looking across the Sea of Marmara to Istanbul since 1908. One of a handful of hotels in Turkey assigned special status by the Ministry of Tourism for its cultural importance, its mood perfectly matches the peaceful island atmosphere.

The New York Times describes the hotel as “an Art Nouveau-flavoured wedding cake of a hotel called the Splendid Palas, located only two blocks from the clock tower. Built in 1908 with 100 rooms, the hotel is double-domed, white as icing and grandly down-at-heel, with four tiers of balconied rooms and creaky crimson shutters.” A swimming pool was added in the 1990s.

Open from April to November.