Your Harbour in Istanbul

Where Art and Style Come Together

Welcome to Sub Karaköy

Tucked into the heart of historic Karaköy, Sub Karaköy Hotel blends raw industrial design with warm comfort and creative energy. With interiors that echo a modern ship steel framed beds, exposed concrete, and soft lighting. Sub captures Istanbul’s maritime roots through a fresh, design-forward lens. It’s no surprise the MICHELIN Guide named us one of their top picks two years in a row, praising our unique character as something you’d expect “in Brooklyn or Berlin.”

Outside, the building is wrapped in bold street art by Leo Lunatic, one of Istanbul’s most influential graffiti artists. Inside, the lobby features original works by legendary New York street artist Aaron Sharp Goodstone, while each of our 19 rooms includes a unique painting by a different global contemporary artist making Sub not just a hotel, but a living gallery. Just beside the lobby, you’ll find Sub Pub our vibrant in-house bar where creatives, locals, and curious travelers meet over great music and even better cocktails. More than just a bar, it’s part of our larger hospitality family including Root Karaköy, Foxy Wine Bar, Zefferino, Mitte, and Neolokal names that are shaping Istanbul’s cultural and culinary future.

Sub is also the official hotel partner of IKS Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts, hosting artists, curators, and creatives during world-renowned events like the Istanbul Film Festival, Jazz Festival, Biennial, and more. We’re proud to support the city's cultural heartbeat.

And then there’s Karaköy itself.
Where the Bosphorus kisses the Golden Horn, this harbor-side district sits at the intersection of Istanbul’s past and its creative, chaotic present. Once a bustling port, Karaköy still hums with the spirit of production rows of hardware stores and marine-supply shops spill out into the streets, selling everything from steel-toe boots and heavy-duty jackets to bolts, cables, and ship fittings you didn’t even know you needed. It's a living industrial bazaar that stretches from the historic Perşembe Pazarı to Azapkapı, offering a rare glimpse into the city’s working-class soul.

But that’s just one layer. Today, Karaköy is also home to some of the city’s most forward-thinking spaces cutting-edge art galleries, independent design studios, and destination restaurants with international buzz. In one block, you’ll see shipbuilders welding in an open garage; in the next, a concept boutique or a cocktail bar with a Michelin nod. Every corner is a study in contrast, where old-world grit meets modern refinement. Karaköy isn’t just a neighborhood—it’s a mood. Raw, real, and always evolving. A place where history, creativity, and reinvention collide daily. And at the heart of it all, you’ll find Sub. Formerly a port, now a melting pot of fine dining, indie design stores, old world hardware shops, and cutting-edge galleries, Karaköy is a living postcard of contrasts a place where history, art, and invention collide.

When the city quiets down, your room is your retreat feather-soft duvets, Turkish towels, and calming natural textures all around. A stay at Sub isn’t just about where you sleep it’s about how you feel.

LOCATION

In The Heart of Istanbul

Where the Bosphorus kisses the Golden Horn lies Karaköy one of Istanbul’s oldest neighborhoods, and today, one of its most dynamic. 

ACCOMMODATION

Sail-In, Tune-Out, Stay-In

After a long journey you have finally arrived at a surprising harbour. There's no hierarchy here, all of our rooms are the same size and come with exactly the same benefits.

BREAKFAST

Feast for the Senses Watching Over Galata Tower 

Start your day with a slow morning and an unforgettable view. Breakfast is served at our sister hotel, Root Karaköy, just a few steps away on a rooftop terrace overlooking the iconic Galata Tower and the winding rooftops of the old city.