The White Orient Hotel: family rooms in Şişli, Istanbul

The White Orient Hotel stands in the Şişli district of Istanbul. Dolmabahçe Palace is about 1.5 km from the hotel, and Galata Tower about 2.1 km. Istanbul's best-known monuments lie farther out: Topkapı Palace about 3.3 km, Hagia Sophia about 3.8 km and Sultan Ahmed Mosque about 4.2 km, each distance measured in a straight line.

Istanbul Airport is about 31.6 km away in a straight line. The hotel runs a paid airport shuttle for the transfer.

The hotel has three room types, and two of them are close siblings. The Deluxe Room and the Deluxe Twin Room are both 20 m² and both sleep up to 3; the difference is the beds, with one queen bed in the Deluxe Room and two twin beds in the Deluxe Twin Room. The Deluxe Room also has a city view. Neither Deluxe room is larger than the other, so the choice between them is purely a choice of beds: a couple fits either, the twin arrangement suits two travellers who want separate beds, and either room takes a third guest.

The Family Suite stands apart. It is the largest room at 30 m², against 20 m² for the Deluxe rooms, and it pairs one queen bed with one sofa bed. Children are allowed at the hotel, and the sofa bed gives a family with a child a sleeping spot without taking a second room. Family rooms are part of the hotel's offer.

The hotel has a restaurant and a bar, and room service is available for guests who would rather eat in their room. A lift serves the building, so reaching an upper floor with luggage is straightforward. For the airport transfer, the hotel runs a paid airport shuttle over the about 31.6 km to Istanbul Airport.

Check-in opens at 14:00 and check-out closes at 12:00. Two rules are the ones most likely to decide a stay: pets are not allowed, and the hotel has no parking, so a traveller with an animal or a hire car needs a different hotel in the city.

• Check-in is from 14:00.
• Check-out is until 12:00.
• Children are allowed.
• Pets are not allowed.
• The hotel has no parking.

For a family, the pieces fit together: children are allowed, the Family Suite offers a queen bed and a sofa bed across 30 m², and family rooms are part of the offer. For couples and groups of up to three, the two Deluxe rooms each sleep up to 3 in 20 m², with a choice of one queen bed or two twin beds. The restaurant, the bar and room service cover eating within the hotel, and the paid airport shuttle handles the long transfer from Istanbul Airport.

The hotel does not suit travellers with pets, which are not allowed, or anyone relying on parking, which the hotel does not have. Beyond that, the choice comes down to location and rooms: a hotel in Şişli with three room types, the largest of them a 30 m² suite with a queen bed and a sofa bed.