Alphonse Hotel: adults-only rooms in Kumkapi, Istanbul

The Alphonse Hotel is an independent hotel in Kumkapi, Istanbul.

Both of the city's airports are a long way out: Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport (SAW) is about 31.3 km from the hotel and Istanbul Airport (IST) about 34 km, in each case in a straight line.

• Bayezid II Mosque about 0.6 km
• Little Hagia Sophia about 0.7 km
• Sultan Ahmed Mosque about 1.1 km
• Süleymaniye Mosque about 1.2 km
• Sirkeci railway station about 1.5 km
• Topkapı Palace about 1.9 km

There are three room types, and every one of them has a city view. The Standard Single Room is the smallest at 12 m² and sleeps up to one guest; its bed is a double bed, so the single traveller is not consigned to a narrow single. The Standard Double or Twin Room, at 15 m², sleeps up to two on one double bed, and despite the name the room as configured here has no twin beds. The Standard Triple Room, at 18 m², is the largest and sleeps up to three on a double bed and a twin bed; it is the only room type in the hotel with two beds.

That makes the triple the sole option for two travellers who want separate beds, and it means taking a room for three. There is no suite, no family room and nothing larger than 18 m²: the spread from 12 to 18 m² is the entire size range, and the view is the same in all three rooms.

The hotel is wheelchair accessible, which travellers who need step-free access will want to know before choosing. It also has a snack bar and deli for something to eat between meals. The Alphonse is an independent hotel, not part of a chain, so what it offers is what it has built itself rather than a group standard.

Check-in is from 14:00 and check-out is until 12:00, so an early arrival or a late departure needs to be planned around those times. Children are not allowed, which makes this an adults-only hotel in practice. Pets are not allowed either, so a companion animal cannot stay.

The natural guests are adults travelling alone, in pairs or in threes. A solo traveller gets a 12 m² room with a full double bed; a couple gets 15 m² with the same bed; three adults sharing get 18 m² with a double and a twin, so one of the three has a bed to themselves. None of the rooms is large, so travellers who want space to spread out should weigh the sizes before choosing.

The hotel does not suit families with children, as children are not allowed, and it does not suit anyone travelling with a pet. A group of four or more will need more than one room, since no room type sleeps more than three. And a traveller who wants a choice of room categories, with suites or a different view, will not find one here: three room types, all with the same city view, is the whole of it.