Mineo Hotel Taksim: spa and hammam near Taksim Square

Dolmabahçe Palace is about 1.5 km from the hotel and Galata Tower about 1.8 km, both in a straight line.

The major landmarks lie farther away: Topkapı Palace about 3 km, Hagia Sophia about 3.5 km and Sultan Ahmed Mosque about 3.9 km, each measured in a straight line. Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport (SAW) is about 31.6 km away, in a straight line.

All four room types have a city view; there is no other view option among them. The Standard Double Room and the Standard Twin Room are each 20 m²: the double has one queen bed and sleeps up to 3, while the twin has two twin beds and also sleeps up to 3. The floor area is the same, so the choice comes down to beds. For two people, the double's single queen bed makes it the couples' pick; the twin's two separate beds suit colleagues or friends sharing.

The Standard Triple Room, at 23 m², has three twin beds, the layout for three people who each want their own bed. The Family Room stands apart: 45 m² with two queen beds, more than twice the floor area of any standard room, and the natural choice for a family or a group sharing one space.

The hotel has a spa, a hammam and a sauna. Dining runs from the restaurant to the bar, with room service for guests who would rather eat in their room. Family rooms and meeting and banquet rooms complete the offering; the meeting rooms suit a business traveller running a small event.

Two services carry a fee: the airport shuttle and the parking. The hotel's facilities do not include a pool, which a traveller expecting one at a hotel with a spa should weigh.

• Check-in is from 14:00; check-out is until 12:00.
• Children are allowed.
• Pets are not allowed.
• Parking at the hotel is paid.

Mineo Hotel Taksim suits a traveller who wants a spa, a hammam and a sauna about 0.4 km from Taksim Square, with a restaurant, a bar and room service in the same building. Families fit well: children are allowed, family rooms are among the offerings, and the 45 m² Family Room, with its two queen beds, gives a family more than twice the floor space of a standard room. A business traveller gets meeting and banquet rooms and a paid airport shuttle for the roughly 31.6 km straight-line trip to Sabiha Gökçen.

It does not suit a traveller with a pet, as pets are not allowed, or one who expects a pool, which the hotel's facilities do not include. Anyone driving should plan for paid parking, and guests arriving before 14:00 or leaving after 12:00 will need to work around the check-in and check-out times.