Garen's place was exaclty as descibed. It was close to esteklal blvd and all the nightlife one could ask for. Garen himself is a great guy and he helped get taxis for me and tried to facilitate my stay to be more welcoming. I would definately stay at his place again.
Also, if your worried about about having to walk an incline, don't be because the only logicial direction you would be walking is toward taksim and esteklal so the street is flat. One other thing that was great about Garen was his ability to point out affordable and authentic restaurants. He definitely is looking out for you.