Istanbul hotels - close to airport or hoistoric area

Since you have such limited time, I suggest spending Oct. 2 in the historic area (assuming your ship docks at Galataport). Ask the hotel to hold your bags for the bulk day on the 3rd so you can sightsee, then book a transfer to a hotel close to the airport for your final night. Traffic in Istanbul is a total nightmare and you don't want to spend a chunk of it sitting in traffic to/from an airport hotel - it is at least an hour each way from IST airport to historic area.

Unfortunately you probably do need to be at the airport 3 hours early but you should check with United to verify the desk opening time. With your flight situation I would want to be very close to the airport for departure. The Turkey forum has some recent questions/answers about hotels near the airport. When your travel dates get closer you'll also want to confirm the current situation (hours, costs, reservations) for various sites as the logistics seem to change pretty often.

I would spend Oct 2nd at Legacy Ottoman Hotel near the Spice Market and tram line. They will cheerfully hold your bags the next day until you are ready to head to the airport in the evening. I stayed at the Soffitel at the airport the night before my early morning flight and really enjoyed the convenience. It is as simple as crossing the airport road and then taking an escalator up to departures. 5 minutes from leaving room to checking in. Extra sleep and no stress.

My husband and I were just in Istanbul for a three night city stopover in Oct 2024 and a one night airport stopover on the way home. We are mid sixties/mid seventies with some mobility issues and comfort and simplicity were key for us. We stayed at the White House Hotel in the old town. It was very clean with a lovely breakfast and we could easily walk the couple of blocks to The Hague Sophia, Topkapi Palace etc. The owner/manager and staff went above and beyond with anything we needed, including luggage storage and we very highly recommend staying there. Istanbul traffic is unbelievable and we had the most nerve wrecking ride back to the airport when our taxi driver arrived 20 minutes late to pick us up. We closed our eyes and took deep breaths! Recommend Welcome pickups instead. On our way back we stayed at the Yotel airside at IST to avoid going through immigration etc ( we were arriving from Tanzania). It is very overpriced but we paid for ease and comfort. Think large white podlike room. Have a great time!