This was one of my best experiences of a stay at AirBnb ever. Berkan is a absolutely wonderful host and the location of the property could not have been better than this.
To begin with, i had no problem with the reservation & communicating with Berkan. He was extremely efficient, quick and accurate in his responses and answered all questions that i had whilst booking the space. Closer to the date of arrival Berkan sent me the location details with maps such that i had no problems at all locating his house. Check-in was a breeze as I arrived much earlier than the scheduled time; however Berkan had made arrangements to receive my luggage and keep it in safe custody, until the existing guests checked out. I utilized that time in site-seeing and exploring the city.
Berkan offered me great suggestions on how to plan my days. I was there for 3 days & he always came up with a guiding itinerary, things that i could see & explore and also tips on local travelling. He also offered excellent suggestions on restaurants where i could dine at different times of the day & that I felt was a boon. On one of the evenings, when he was over with his day-job, he also offered to come along with me to the Asian side and show me around the town. That i felt was extremely nice & kind of him.
On my last day & during my exit, I had a night flight out of Istanbul. Berkan was very gracious to allow me to extend my stay and enabled a late checkout, since there were no guests scheduled to arrive on that day, He even called up the taxi stand, booked a taxi for me & ensured that it came to the doorstep to pick me up on time. He was in touch with the cabbie throughout, just to ensure that there were no misses.
Berkans house is located at an extremely apt place. Its a stone's throw distance from the famous Istiklal street and a 8 minutes walk from Taksim square. This means that you are always in the proximity of vibrating activity and tourist scene. There are lots of options of restaurants, pubs and grocery stores around so you have a great choice to pick from, without having to bother about travelling large distances to the point of action.
His house is also equipped with all amenities including a fridge , washing machine, and utensils. It is also filled with all basic items such as tea coffee sugar etc so you're never handicapped, even when you first step it.
I stayed there during the weekdays therefore sound from outside was not a problem at all; although i did notice that Berkan has sound proofed his house extremely well to keep off the noises from the street.
Over all Berkan's house is a 'must-go' destination and a 100% recommend.