Luxury at Levni Hotel and Spa: A Turkish Bath in Istanbul

Levni Hotel and Spa

Ankara Caddesi No: 12 Ebusuud Cad. Nr. 31, Istanbul 34110 Türkiye

Octagonal marble structure in the center of the room used for hammam or Turkish baths in the Levni Hotel and Spa.

In June 2024, I visited the Levni Hotel and Spa and experienced my first hammam (aka Turkish bath). Although the services offered at fibre:  A Homespun Spa will never include anything similar to a Turkish bath, I chose to switch from a Swedish massage to a Turkish bath when I arrived in Istanbul. This review describes the service I received and ends with three tips which may make your visit to the Levni Hotel and Spa more enjoyable.

In case you’re wondering “What is a Turkish Bath?”, please see this post for a good review of Turkish baths in Istanbul and what to expect. Turkish baths provide many health benefits including reducing stress and removing toxins.

I arrived at the Levni Hotel and Spa a few hours after arriving in Turkey. The new Istanbul airport is further away from the Bosphorus Straits and cultural highlights of Istanbul.

The spa is on the lower level.

The therapist warmly greeted me and explained the steps the Levni used to provide a hammam experience, then sent me to the locker room. I was the only person in the locker room which had space for about two people to change comfortably. I stored my clothes in a locker then wrapped myself with a large towel and stepped into a pair of disposable slippers. In a few minutes, I had rejoined the therapist.

Key Steps in a Turkish Hammam at Levni:

This is my summary of the steps used for my session.

Relaxing in a beautiful wooden sauna is the first step of the hammam process at Levni.

  1. Dry Sauna:

    Begin with a few minutes in the dry sauna room to relax muscles, open pores and acclimate your body to the heat. I lay down on the wooden platform and enjoyed the heat while waiting for the therapist.

  2. Full-Body Rinse:

    The therapist led me into the bath area, a circular room filled with marble structures. The therapist sat me on a marble platform then used a large vessel to pour very warm water over me. The therapist rinsed my body and removed any initial impurities.

  3. Foamy Cleanser Applied:

    A sudsy concoction was generously applied to my body. Using a stiff cloth, the therapist scrubbed all over. This step exfoliates dead skin cells and improves circulation.

  4. Rinse:

    The therapist rinsed me again with large scoops of warm water to remove the exfoliated skin and the cleanser. A rose scented hair treatment is applied and removed during this step.

  5. Moisturize:

    The therapist ended the treatment by applying a moisturizer on my body, giving me a robe, then leading me to the seating area beside the indoor pool.

After the hammam, the therapist sat me on the large, gently sloped lounge chair to relax after the session with a glass of water.

Facilities

In the heart of Istanbul, the Levni Hotel and Spa is steps away from a metro stop and about an eight-minute walk to several historical places (e.g.,  Topkapi Palace, Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, and the Basilica cistern).

The hotel spa has a small, indoor pool, a large dry sauna and a beautiful Turkish bath.  The locker room includes a restroom and a small changing area. The spa area also includes a room with free weights and cardio equipment. All of these areas were available for use when I visited in June 2024.

Note: With the expected water immersion during the hammam, I left my cell phone/camera in the locker room. I don’t have any personal images to add to this review. I’ve added images from their website; they accurately reflect the rooms.

TIPS FOR MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR VISIT TO Levni

I highly recommend Levni for a hammam. I enjoyed the clean, quiet setting and the feeling of having a beautiful, serene spa all to myself. During my visit, I didn’t see any other clients in the facility. Compared to the Turkish bath I had at Hurrem Sultan Hamami, the Levni provided the same level of service in a significantly less crowded environment at a much more reasonable price.

Concrete building with the words Levni Hotel in blue letters over the entrance to the building.
 

1. Be careful if the floor adjacent to the pool and sauna is wet. The floor gets very slippery and the disposable slippers provide minimal grip; would be easy to fall on the wet floor. The therapist held my arm and walked with me from the bath area to the pool side lounge chairs.

2. In addition to the spa, the hotel has a rooftop restaurant. It opens for dinner (might be open sooner at other times of the year). After a spa treatment, the attentive staff make this a nice place to enjoy a meal while getting a different view of the city with a glimpse of the Bosphorus Strait.

3. Use the elevator to reach the lobby then use the elevators near the stairway to access the lower level. When walking down the stairs from the lobby in June 2024, I entered a storage area immediately adjacent to the elevator door. It’s better to avoid this area by using the elevator.

RESULTS: INFORMING SERVICES AT FIBRE

  • The extensive amount of water needed to provide a hammam experience isn’t currently possible at fibre. It is also outside of the scope of a massage because it is more about a deep cleansing of the skin.

  • We will continue using dry raw silk or mesh gloves to exfoliate as they do not require rinsing clients with water after use.





Julia Donkin