Choosing an office location in Istanbul means considering these questions together. The decision between Şişli, Levent and Ümraniye is about more than a neighbourhood. It is about how your team works, where your business relationships are centred and how you want your working day to unfold.
Start with your team’s working week
Before viewing offices, consider your team’s usual journeys, the days you spend together and the locations of your face-to-face meetings. A team that works together every day may have different priorities from one that meets on selected days.
When comparing journeys, look beyond the distance on a map. Include transfers, the walk from the station and building access for those arriving by car. The most useful comparison is door to door.
Şişli: Working and welcoming guests at Astoria
SwissOffices Astoria Kempinski is on the eighth floor of Astoria Block A, on Büyükdere Avenue in Şişli. Alongside its offices and meeting spaces, the building’s restaurants and cafés bring different parts of the working day together at one address. Public transport journeys can be planned via Gayrettepe metro station or Zincirlikuyu Metrobus.
If your meetings are concentrated around Şişli and Gayrettepe, consider how Astoria would fit into that routine. During your visit, look beyond the office itself and follow the experience your client would have, from entering the building to reaching the meeting room. Explore the options for a conversation that continues over lunch or a coffee before a meeting.
Levent: Staying close to your business connections at Yapı Kredi Plaza
SwissOffices Yapı Kredi Plaza occupies the seventeenth floor of Block C in Levent, with serviced offices, meeting rooms and professional reception support. Public transport routes can be planned through Levent station, which connects the M2 and M6 metro lines.
If your clients, business partners or the companies you regularly visit are based around Levent, an office in the area may suit your daily schedule. Consider not only your morning commute but also the journeys to and from meetings throughout the day.
Where possible, arrange your office viewing around your normal arrival time. This allows you to assess the journey, building access and office environment under conditions closer to your usual routine.
Ümraniye: An Asian-side base at Exen Istanbul
SwissOffices Exen Istanbul is on the twelfth floor of Exen Istanbul, on Estergon Avenue in Ümraniye. It brings together serviced offices, meeting rooms and shared workspaces. When planning a journey using the M5 metro line, include the onward connection from the station to the office.
If your team and business relationships are mainly on Istanbul’s Asian side, Exen is worth including on your shortlist. The key question is how much of your working week takes place on that side of the city.
Rather than basing your decision on a single meeting across the Bosphorus or one person’s commute, consider the team’s overall routine. For hybrid teams, pay particular attention to travel and meeting requirements on the days everyone comes together.
The team welcoming you matters as much as the address
What happens when you arrive is also part of the office experience. How are you notified when a guest reaches reception? Who follows up on your meeting preparations? Do you know whom to contact when you need assistance?
Meet the reception and operations team during your visit. Notice the care they take in communicating, the clarity of their answers and the follow-up after your appointment. These are useful ways to understand their approach to everyday service.
Punctuality, reliability and attention to detail become meaningful selection criteria once you start using an office. A meeting room prepared on time, a guest welcomed with care and a request followed through all help your working day run smoothly.
Make the final decision around your working day
Assess each office on your shortlist using the same questions: How will our team get here? How will our clients be welcomed? How will we organise our meetings? Who will support our day-to-day needs?
At SwissOffices, we express our Swiss approach to quality through punctuality, reliability, attention to detail and consistency of service. We invite you to visit Astoria, Yapı Kredi Plaza and Exen Istanbul, meet our team and explore the office that suits the way you work.
When choosing your next office, choose your working day—not just your address.
