We stayed with Anil and Purun and it was a nice experience. The apartment is located in the basement of a building in Besiktas and is close to the Bosphorus. The location is quaint and has all the shopping one may desire and there's lots of nice fresh produce near by and two convenience stores that are open till the wee hours of the morning. Anil welcomed my friend and was very helpful in providing us with directions to reach the apartment. The wifi was of good quality, reliable and fast. Taksim square is about 15-20 minutes by cab and may cost up to 15 TL. We weren't fussed about the distance since we enjoyed walking and exploring places, and who's to say that Taksim is the center, really? It was really cold (Below 0'C) in Istanbul and the apartment's heating system was adequate. We found the apartment cozy, spacious, and warm. The apartment was also well stocked with toilet paper, fresh towels and all kitchen utensils. We would consider staying with Anil and Purun again, and would recommend the following to our hosts, so as to optimise future visits to their home:
1- The water temperature was unpredictable, some fixtures in the apartment such as the lights, shower taps, shower head and the kitchen need quite a bit of revamping. It may be wise to invest in some upgrades.
2- We would would advise our hosts to make some space for guests to keep their things while staying at the place, perhaps in the shelves and some space in the hanging wardrobe and the toilet.
3- We would like to advise our hosts to get the apartment cleaned prior to the arrival of guests, we found that the garbage was full, the bathroom, fridge and the kitchen were not cleaned prior to our arrival. This remains a shock and i'm sure there's a reasonable explanation. My friend, who had arrived before me, spent approximately 2 hours cleaning the apartment prior to my arrival.
4- I had made a mistake an booked an extra night, our hosts were gracious enough to offer us an extra free night should we decide to stay with them again.
Over all this had been a nice experience and we enjoyed our stay.