Stylish Apartment, Central Istanbul

We rent the flat for a short holiday in may and it was wonderful!The flat is big and very comfortable, great location really close to Taksim square and the amenities of the area!Zuhal was wonderful and tried to help us in any way!Really good location!!!!!Ilaria & co. Italy.

This is a great apartment - and Zuhal the owner is very friendly and efficient. The apartment really has the perfect location just off Taksim Square. It is surrounded by lots of lovely shops and restaurants and is only a few minute stroll from Istiklal Caddesi where all the main shops, bars, clubs and cafes are situated. Even closer is the metro station at Taksim (and the funicular for Kababtas pier - which connects to the new tram). One tip - save money on cabs to and from the airport and catch the THY airport bus instead which stops about 100 metres from the flat and only costs 10 turkish lira!

A good apartment in a great location. Can it be compared to a 5* hotel? No chance! While the lounge is very comfortable, the bedrooms are less so. The double bed mattress is very firm, and the bed linens felt like a horrible polyester blend that was so scratchy, it made it hard to sleep. The bathroom arrangement is very hard to figure out from the photos- we were under the impression there might be 2 bathrooms. No, there is a cloakroom with loo and basin (& washing machine) and a separate shower cubicle. This arrangement may work for you and fortunately as 3 good friends, it wasn't too much of a problem for us but it should be made very clear to guests that the shower cubicle is a frosted glass door directly onto the corridor. In fact the lightswitch is IN the nearest bedroom. I've never seen anything like it! The water pressure is so low in the apartment that you have to get the hot water to flow through the tap in the bathroom and then switch to shower otherwise the combi boiler never kicks in. Zuhal was delightful when we met her, but this info would have helped us avoid a lot of trial and error. The kitchen is tiny but should be workable. Like much of the flat, it felt like a work in progress. The gas cooker seemed brand new- but the ignition doesn't work and there were no matches or lighters in the apartment. The oven doesn't have a grill and there's no toaster. More astonishingly perhaps, there wasn't a single table knife in the whole place!! Most of the flat is unpainted. Its hard to say whether there has been a conscious decision to leave the plasterwork visible throughout. Centre lights appear to have mostly been removed although wires and fittings remain. Tea lights are littered everywhere (not much use without the aforementioned matches/lighter) but there are no sidelights or bedside lights. What can you expect from the price of the apartment? Good 3 star accommodation. And thats more realistically what you get. The size is fine for 3 people, 4 at a push, 7 would be very uncomfortable. The internet was useful & worked 90% of the time we were there, the rubbish collection was convenient and Zuhal was lovely when we met her. Just don't have too high expectations of the 5* tag line...