Şebnem Hotel: about 0.3 km from Hagia Sophia

Şebnem Hotel stands on Akbıyık Caddesi in Istanbul, postcode 34122. Measured in a straight line, it is about 0.3 km from Hagia Sophia, about 0.4 km from the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, about 0.4 km from the Basilica Cistern and about 0.4 km from Hagia Irene. Topkapı Palace is about 0.8 km away and the Süleymaniye Mosque about 1.8 km.

For onward travel, Sirkeci railway station is about 1.1 km away, in a straight line. Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport (SAW) is about 30 km from the hotel.

The Standard Single Room is 14 m² with one twin bed and sleeps up to 1. The Suite with Garden View comes in two versions: a 25 m² one with a double bed and a 40 m² one with a queen bed and two sofa beds, both with a garden view.

Couples have several mid-size options. The Standard Double Room is 16 m² with a queen bed, sleeps up to 3 and has a garden view; the Standard Twin Room is also 16 m², sleeps up to 3 and has a city view. The Queen Suite, at 20 m² with a queen bed, sleeps up to 3. The Deluxe Double Room, also 20 m², pairs a queen bed with a sofa bed and has a city view.

Families and small groups are catered for with four further room types: the Triple Room at 18 m² with a double bed and a twin bed, the Family Room at 22 m² with a double bed and two twin beds, the Family Suite at 20 m² with a double bed and three twin beds, and the Quadruple Room with a double bed and two twin beds. No sleeps-up-to count is given for these four, so judge by the beds: the Family Suite and the Quadruple Room carry the most sleeping space of the two.

Şebnem Hotel is a hotel with family rooms, a bar, and meeting and banquet rooms, so it can host a small work gathering as well as a family stay. An airport shuttle runs for a fee, useful given that Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport is about 30 km away, in a straight line.

Parking at the hotel is paid, for anyone arriving by car.

Check-in is from 13:00 and check-out is until 11:00. Children are allowed at the hotel, and the family rooms and family bed configurations make that a practical arrangement rather than a grudging one.

Parking is paid, as is the airport shuttle.

It suits travellers whose priority is being close to the major sights: Hagia Sophia, the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, the Basilica Cistern and Hagia Irene are all within about 0.4 km in a straight line, and Topkapı Palace about 0.8 km. Families fit well, with children allowed and four room types built around double beds plus twins. Solo travellers get a genuine single room at 14 m² rather than a double at single occupancy.

It matters less to anyone who wants a large room as standard: outside the garden-view suites, rooms run 14 to 22 m², compact by city-hotel measure. And anyone flying into Sabiha Gökçen should note the about 30 km distance; the paid airport shuttle is the hotel's answer to it.