Previously announced for February, the new luxury lifestyle hotel brand from Ian Schrager and Marriott International is set to make its Europe debut in Istanbul next month.

The Istanbul Edition is situated within the city’s lively Levent neighborhood, known for its Kanyon mall and impressive skyline. Designed in collaboration with New York-based architecture firm Gabellini Sheppard, brand officials say that The Istanbul Edition will be substantially different from The Waikiki Edition—the only other property open under the flag, having debuted in October. The Edition brand promise is to deliver each hotel as a unique product reflecting the best of the cultural and social milieu of both geographical location and zeitgeist. The unifying thread between properties is an attitude toward the modern lifestyle that combines an individualized lodging experience with great personal service.

Dubbed an urban resort, the property design is influenced by both East and West. Guests are welcomed into the hotel by a tall, domed lobby—a modern reimagining of the traditional Ottoman architectural style. Eastern touches are evident, with ceilings and floors lined with mosaic tiles and public spaces bejeweled with bronze and gold leaf reminiscent. Traditional hanging lamps are featured in guestrooms while Gold Bar’s VIP seating area has taken its inspiration from traditional Turkish Tea Rooms. Leather tufted ottomans are surrounded by U-shaped seating influenced by old Bosphorus villas that featured such rooms for socializing, relaxing and smoking. The long-standing ritual of the Hammam is clearly reflected in the unparalleled spa offerings.

The 78-key hotel is a 13-story tower, with a color palette of bronze and white gold, with extensive use of dark and pale woods historically found in Turkish homes. Each guestroom has Rosewood or Soaped Oak walls, ceilings and floors. Bathrooms are built from extravagant glass walls, stone and ancient marble extracted from the island of Marmora.

Guests can enjoy a restaurant by Cipriani, a 20,000-sq.-ft. Espa with indoor swimming pool, the Gold Bar, a private screening room, a Nightclub and a 3,000-sq.-ft. event space.

Rates at The Istanbul Edition start at €305.

A 13-story tower including 78 guest rooms and a full-floor penthouse, The Istanbul EDITION serves as a sophisticated hub providing multiple venues for relaxing and entertaining including a three-story spa by ESPA, Cipriani restaurant, lobby bar, drawing room, screening room, meeting rooms and special event space, a business center, and a nightclub.

The Istanbul EDITION opens today as an exclusive new hotel in the heart one of the world’s most vibrant cities at the nexus of Europe, Asia and the Russian Federation. A 13-story tower including 78 guest rooms and a full-floor penthouse, The Istanbul EDITION serves as a sophisticated hub providing multiple venues for relaxing and entertaining including a three-story spa by ESPA, Cipriani restaurant, lobby bar, drawing room, screening room, meeting rooms and special event space, a business center, and a nightclub.

Located in the lively and historic Levent neighborhood on the European side of the city, amongst its mix of residential avenues, high rises, bars, restaurants and shopping, The Istanbul EDITION is close to the city’s business center, high-end shopping offerings such as Kanyon, Metrocity, Istinye Park and Akmerkez. The hotel is located near the Bosphorous and Faith bridges linking the continents of Europe and Asia.

The Istanbul EDITION’s 78 generously scaled, 420 square-foot guest lofts – some with over-sized terraces offering breathtaking city views – combine stunning design with exceptional comfort and discreet luxury. Designed like a beautifully crafted jewel-box, each loft includes an entrance vestibule, bedroom area, work station, and generous seating area with large windows overlooking the city. The lofts are decorated entirely in wood – including rosewood or soaped oak – creating a sensuous natural element from floor to ceiling that provides the cocooning warmth of a ship’s interior. Deep U-shaped sofas surround a table adjustable in height to transform from relaxation zone to workplace, in addition to the room’s separate work area. Extravagant glass-walled, five-fixture bathrooms in beige stone and marble have sheers and curtains that may be drawn for privacy.

The 2,800 square-foot PENTHOUSE with expansive views offers a superb private retreat that can also be used as an exciting event space for special events and gatherings with the personal ambience of a home away from home.

The lobby bar features a cozy dark-rose wood interior backed by a luminescent, 30-foot aquarium whose tropical fish provide a dreamscape of relaxation in this intimate gathering space. The bar adjoins a comfortable seating area of deep, low, built-in sofas around an oversized central ottoman, which was inspired by the traditional Turkish tea room divan and designed for the time-honored ritual of tea-drinking and unhurried conversation.

Known for simple luxury and an exhilaratingly elegant social experience, the Cipriani name has extended to a handful of carefully chosen venues in the world’s most storied cities. Cipriani at The Istanbul EDITION offers the sophistication of Cipriani heritage along with the relaxed joie de vivre of European café society.

An extraordinary 1,800 square meter, three-floor ESPA spa offers The Istanbul EDITION guests an unparalleled spa experience incorporating beauty, health, and wellness in a setting of exquisite luxury. An atmosphere of opulence pervades the spa, which is decorated in rich metallic woods and embossed bronze floors softened by upholstered walls and comfortable seating.

The Istanbul EDITION also features the Drawing Room – a private haven for lounging and relaxing, This unique space includes three flexible meeting studios, a screening room perfect for movie presentations and private screenings, and a 3,000 square foot event space ideal for weddings, special events and private gatherings. Catering in this space is provided by the inimitable Cipriani restaurant.

Designed in collaboration with Gabellini Shepherd architects to an exceptional standard of modern luxury, every aspect of The Istanbul EDITION is treated as an experience of the highest quality and quiet elegance. Drawing on Ottoman traditions of extraordinary craftsmanship and an emphasis on comfort and wellbeing, the hotel reflects the best of Turkish culture in a thoroughly contemporary context.

First properties to premier in Waikiki Beach and Istanbul

NEW YORK — EDITION Hotels marks the next chapter in the lifestyle hotel story. The new Brand was conceived by Ian Schrager in a partnership with Marriott International. It will combine the personal, intimate, individualized and unique lodging experience that Ian Schrager is known for, with the global reach, operational expertise and scale of Marriott. This delicate balancing act will encompass, for the very first time, not only great design and true innovation, but also great personal, friendly, modern service as well as outstanding, one-of-a-kind food, beverage and entertainment offerings…”all under one roof.”

Each highly stylized hotel will function as a “home away from home” for leisure and business travelers. In addition, each hotel will cater to the modern day business traveler by offering functional, technologically sophisticated working environments that provide the comfort and ease of actually conducting business in an “office away from the office.”

The heightened experience, authenticity and originality that Ian Schrager brings to this new Brand coupled with the global reach of Marriott will result in a truly distinct product that sets itself apart from anything else currently in the marketplace. It is nothing less than an attempt to push the boundaries, break new ground and take the hotel industry to a whole new level. EDITION will be completely new, different and original offering an experience never before seen in the industry. It will be the first truly global branded lifestyle hotel on a large scale, setting the standard for decades to come.

EDITION will debut in Waikiki Beach October 2010 and will also open a property in Istanbul later this year. Planned openings are also scheduled in 24-hour international gateway cities such as Mexico City, Barcelona, Bangkok, and several other cities in various stages of development.

EDITION responds to new emerging cultural and social imperatives. The new Brand will reflect these changing lifestyles and cater to a vast underserved market of guests expecting and in turn demanding a unique experience, not merely a place to sleep. It is an evolutionary response to the desire for a sophisticated hotel experience. This reinvented and rethought experience will now, for the first time ever, be widely accessible and available in key lodging destinations across the globe and to everybody around the world who wants it.

EDITION is an unexpected, refreshing collection of individualized, customized, one-of-a-kind hotels that is the antithesis of an institutional “hotel chain” and a true paradigm shift in the industry. Each hotel with its rare individuality, authenticity, originality and unique ethos will reflect the best of the cultural and social milieu of its location and of the time. Although all of the hotels will look completely different from each other, the Brand’s unifying aesthetic will be in its approach and attitude to the modern lifestyle rather than its appearance. As a result, design and architecture is derived from the scale, location and feel of the individual properties rather than from contrived decorative cliches or unnecessary gestures. The Brand will be about an attitude and the way it makes you feel rather than the way it looks. Sophisticated public spaces, finishes, design and details will serve the experience, not drive it.

“Ian Schrager’s concepts have revolutionized both nightlife and hospitality. Time and time again he succeeds in making people feel as if they are part of something new, unique and special, always eliciting an emotional and visceral connection to the experiences he creates. His concepts have been and continue to be widely imitated around the world,” says Bill Marriott, Chairman and CEO, Marriott International.

For EDITION, Schrager brings his original vision, passion and commitment to excellence to create something truly special in collaboration with Marriott. “People do not want something derivative. They want the real thing and this is the whole idea behind EDITION,” says Schrager. The role of Mr. Schrager is to act as a creative consultant and lend his vision for concept, design and marketing. His ground-breaking concepts give the Brand a true competitive edge, product distinction and a huge advantage over what is currently offered. However, the ultimate decisions on design, concept and operations are made by the property owners, developers and Marriott.

EDITION will showcase the best dining and entertainment options, services, amenities and offerings for guests and locals in the know. The Waikiki EDITION, designed by Yabu/Pushelberg, will offer a restaurant by world-renowned chef, Morimoto; the exclusive Crazybox nightclub; a unique Sunrise Pool with lushly landscaped gardens by Deborah Nevins; an exclusive Private Sunset Beach with its own lagoon and imported sand from the neighboring Hawaiian islands, providing the same experience as actually lying on a beach; an intimate Lobby Bar hidden behind a secret passage as if tucked away in a castle; a Bar at the Sunrise Pool and Bar at the Private Sunset Beach both under the sun and stars with spectacular views of the Harbor and Pacific Ocean; custom and individually designed Surf and Bikini Boot Camps, the first of their kind, for the ultimate in physical fitness, dramatic weight loss and loss of inches together with custom vegetarian and organic spa menus. This together with a full service spa will offer guests the unique opportunity to actually go on vacation and come home looking better, feeling healthier and pounds lighter!; the largest luxury ballroom on Oahu for weddings and special events; an outdoor movie theatre under the stars, akin to a drive-in theater without the cars, offering first run movies, video and art installations; EDITION retail shop, and much more. Once entering this Urban Resort with its own unique, separate intense reality that offers the best of Waikiki, there will be no need to leave the hotel for anything including dining, relaxing or entertainment.

Opening later this year, The Istanbul EDITION, designed by Gabellini/Sheppard, will offer 77 oversized guest rooms and suites with Rosewood or Soaped Oak walls, ceilings and floors, each like a unique and precious wood jewel box; the finest custom materials, exotic finishes and fabrics in the world; silk area rugs; marble guest bathrooms with floor to ceiling glass enclosed rain showers; world-renowned Cipriani Restaurant; a double height ceiling lobby with gold and silver leaf mosaic detailing and travertine floor and walls; private check-in; a Lobby Bar with private garden terrace; exclusive private event space; Penthouse floor Ballroom; a private club in the sky; a 2,400 square foot one-of-a-kind Penthouse with custom fabrics, furniture and exotic finishes throughout; 20,000 square foot spa by ESPA; high-end, luxury retail boutiques; a private drawing room with honesty bar and screening room for first run movies and private screenings. The Istanbul EDITION will be the picture perfect cultural mix of East meets West.