The historically significant Pera Palace Hotel, situated in the heart of İstanbul, has added two more rooms to its collection of rooms named after historical figures that have stayed here. The Alfred Hitchcock Suite and the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Room are now awaiting their guests.

This architecturally and historically significant hotel was opened in 1895 to host the clients of the Orient Express when the train started to run between Paris and Istanbul, in order to be able to provide a location for the distinguished guests of the train to enjoy the standards they were accustomed to during their stay in Istanbul. The architect of the hotel is an Istanbulite Levantine named Alexander Vallaury who has contributed to creating the general silhouette of the city greatly. The building has been designed in a unique style that has been formed by combining Art-Noveaux, Neo-Classic and Oriental architectural forms and styles. The construction started in 1892 and the opening gala ball was held in 1895. The Pera Palace has an outstanding location, often referred to as “Small Europe”, offering a magnificent view of the Golden Horn in the region known as “Pera” within the Tepebashi neighbourhood. The hotel held a unique place within the city as the only place that was supplied with electricity apart from the Ottoman palaces, offered running hot water and had a lift. As the first hotel in Turkey that offered European standards, it has always been an iconic structure that was crucial to the city’s cultural life since the day it opened its doors and lived its golden era till the First World War started. The hotel, which hosted Mustafa Kemal Atatürk several times after 1917 has also hosted world renowned names such as İsmet İnönü, King Edward VIII, Queen Elizabeth II, The Austrian-Hapsburg Emperor Franz Joseph, Shah Riza Pehlevi, Yugoslavian Head of State Tito, General Franz von Papen, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Greta Garbo, Sarah Bernhardt, Alfred Hitchcock, Pierre Loti, Jacqueline Kennedy, Ernest Hemingway, Ninette de Valois, Mata Hari, Cicero, Mikis Theodorakis and probably the most famous of all; Agatha Christie. The Pera Palace has given the names of some of these important guests to the rooms that they have stayed in. Two of these, the Alfred Hitchcock Suite and the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Room have been recently renovated and are now ready to welcome their guests.