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Free 4 star and 5 star hotels with Turkish Airlines stopover

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Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending the LA Travel and Adventure Show.  If you’re in the area of one of these shows, which “travel” around the country I’d say they are well worth the $15 entry fee.  One of the airlines that had a presence at the show as Turkish Airlines. I had the opportunity to speak with one of the reps about their “free stopover” promotion that they’re still running. Turkish tourism has taken a hit as a result of security scares, and this new promotion hopes to drum up some activity. I visited Turkey back in 2014 and really enjoyed seeing the ancient sites of Istanbul, experiencing a Hammam, and immersing myself in the culture ( especially the food, OMG the foooooood!). Here’s a look at the current promotion whereby you can get a free night 4 star hotel on an economy ticket, and 2 free nights in a 5 star hotel with a business class ticket.

a screenshot of a hotel

The rules

  • Your stopover must be on a roundtrip ticket
    • must return to the same origin country
  • Stopover must be over 20 hours
  • Can be on the outbound or inbound
  • Must be on the list of qualified countries and routes – see below

a group of posters with text

List of countries and routes

Below you can see the entire list of countries and corresponding email address to contact Turkish for arrangements.

a screenshot of a computer

The Terms and Conditions:

  • Note that all transport is the responsibility of the passenger
  • All visa fees are the responsibility of the passenger

a close up of a sign

Additional information

You may recall that Turkish has offered similar transit hotels in the past. The terms of these promotions were often confusing and from what I understand, this promotion is much more straight forward when it comes to qualifying. The rep I spoke with said that he thought any fare bucket would qualify, but he will be in touch with me to reconfirm this information. I specifically inquired about award flights, as I know most of my readers would be using points for travel, and he didn’t think it would be a problem at all.

As far as hotel choices go: they are chosen by the rep you speak with, and if one hotel is full, they move on down the list. In terms of inquiring about the list and choosing yourself, he didn’t think it was possible, but I’d guess YMMV depending on the rep you get and how active this promotion ultimately becomes.

The new Dreamliners

I also spoke with the rep about the 40, Boeing 787-9s that Turkish has on order, the new business class, and expected delivery. He addressed and acknowledged concerns that the airline had in regards to the 2-3-2 cabin and that the airline was aware that it was a passenger complaint. While he didn’t have any specs or renderings of the new cabin, he did hint that it would be something new and fresh. He didn’t comment as to when those aircraft would be put into action.

It’s a shame that political events, terrorist threats, and concerns of tourist security have negatively impacted Turkish toursim. It’s a place I’d love to revisit, and take more time to see Ephesus, Cappadocia, and the Turkish Riviera.

Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

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1 Comment

  • Aleks February 25, 2018

    Well USA is NOT on the list of countries of origin for round trip, so won’t work for most of the readers. And round trip ticket definition is murky.

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