Review of Sumahan on the Water, by Jeroen Bergmans

As its name suggests, Sumahan on the Water is an Istanbul boutique hotel that sits right on the banks of the Bosphorus. Built as a saki distillery on the Asian side of the city back in the 19th-century, its Turkish-American owners stylishly renovated its dilapidated, industrial workshops into elegant, contemporary rooms with unrivalled views of the iconic Istanbul skyline.

Located in the old, residential district of Cengelkoy with its wooden houses, fish restaurants and seaside promenades, Sumahan on the Water is a boutique hotel that offers a tranquil retreat from the relentless hustle and bustle of this huge, sprawling city.

The facilities

Sumahan on the Water's slick lobby with its smiley staff, steel crossbeams, high ceilings and glowing fireplace, sets the tone for the boutique hotel. Next to it the library is packed with hard-backed photography books that celebrate Istanbul's rich Ottoman and Byzantine past. It also has a computer with free internet access which is available to guests.

The boutique hotel's restaurant serves traditional local dishes including a healthy Turkish continental breakfast consisting of olives, jams, cheeses, tomato salad, honeycomb and simit, a Turkish version of the bagel. Kordon restaurant next door specialises in traditional fish dishes.

The Wellness spa is a bijou affair and booking ahead is essential as only one guest (or a couple) at a time can enjoy the traditional hamam or the one treatment room. Swedish massage, four-hand massage, shiatsu, reflexology, aromatherapy and cellulite treatments are all on offer.

Sumahan I, the boutique hotel's private launch, ferries guests across the Bosphorus to the European side of the city several times a day. It leaves for Kabatas at 9 a.m., 10 a.m., 6 p.m. 7.30 p.m and makes the return journey 15 minutes later. Private transfers can be arranged for €30 one-way and €60 return with an hour's notice and a river cruise of the Bosphorus and Golden Horn costs €120.

The rooms

All 20 rooms at the boutique hotel are furnished with modern fireplaces, fashionable Eames Eiffel chairs, polished hardwood floors and Marmara marble bathrooms. In a city where status is determined by magnificence of you're your living room view, these rooms have been designed for the upper echelons of high society as the vistas are spectacular. Even the sumptuous beds, some of them on raised platforms, look out onto the river.

The boutique hotel's Loft Suites are duplexes with large picture-windows looking out onto the Bosphorus Bridge and a private terraced garden. Four of them (Ortakoy, Kurucesme, Arnavutkoy and Emirgan) even have their own Turkish-style bath or hamam.