Hotel Mara İstanbul: a Beyoğlu hotel near Taksim Square

Hotel Mara İstanbul is a hotel on Turnacıbaşı Caddesi in Beyoğlu, Istanbul. Taksim Square is about 0.7 km away and Galata Tower about 1 km, in a straight line. The Süleymaniye Mosque is about 2.3 km, Topkapı Palace about 2.4 km, Hagia Sophia about 2.8 km and the Sultan Ahmed Mosque about 3.2 km.

Both Istanbul airports are a similar distance out: Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport (SAW) about 31.6 km and Istanbul Airport (IST) about 32.1 km, in a straight line.

The hotel has 13 room types in all, ranging from 10 m² to 40 m². At the small end, the Single Room is 10 m² with one twin bed and sleeps one, and the Economy Twin or Double Room is 15 m² with two twin beds and sleeps up to three; these are the choices for a solo traveller or a pair keeping costs down rather than spreading out.

The middle of the range is where couples and small families land. The Basic Double Room is 20 m² with a double bed and sleeps up to three; the Double Room with Private Bathroom is 25 m² with a super-king bed and sleeps up to three; the Studio with Terrace is 25 m² with a queen bed, a terrace and a garden view, and also sleeps up to three. The Deluxe Suite, at 30 m² with a super-king bed and a twin bed, sleeps up to four.

The largest rooms are the two 40 m² junior suites. The Junior Suite with Balcony has a super-king bed and a sofa bed, sleeps up to four and looks onto the garden; the Junior Suite, City View has a queen bed and a sofa bed. For the biggest household, the Deluxe Queen Suite is 35 m² with a super-king bed, a twin bed and a sofa bed, and sleeps up to five. The Deluxe Quadruple Room, Non Smoking, Balcony is also 35 m², with a king bed, a twin bed and a murphy bed.

The hotel has a restaurant, room service and family rooms, and a lift serves the building. Meeting and banquet rooms make it workable for a small business trip or an event. An airport shuttle is available for a fee.

The hotel's facilities do not include parking.

Check-in is from 14:00 and check-out until 12:00. Children are allowed, and with family rooms, a Deluxe Queen Suite sleeping up to five and junior suites sleeping up to four, the hotel can take a family of four or five in one room rather than two.

No parking is offered by the hotel. Nothing in the house rules excludes children, so a family booking is a matter of choosing the right room type, not of asking permission.

Families fit well: children are allowed, family rooms exist, and several room types sleep four or five.

It suits a solo or budget traveller too, with a 10 m² single and 15 to 20 m² economy rooms. It does not suit anyone arriving by car and expecting to park at the hotel, since the hotel offers no parking. And a group wanting to share one large space should note that even the biggest rooms are 40 m²; larger parties will need two rooms.