The apartment is exactly how it was in the pictures. It was a very comfortable apartment - and Isik had made sure we knew where all the amenities were. He even provided us with a public transport card that came to good use throughout the trip. ISIK was available throughout the trip for any queries and his responses were quick and helpful. We were 4 people and it was sufficient for us however it would have been tight if we were 5 people. So definitely stick to 4 or less.
The location is the best part about this apartment. It is literally the most central location for anything this side of the bosphorous. Isteklal street is literally 4-6 minutes away walking distance.
None of us were visiting istanbul for the first time so we appreciated being away from the touristy places and having a little breathing room to enjoy a more local setting and there are a ton of local restaurants nearby that are about 15 minutes walking distance from the apartment. The water is accessible from all sides of the apartment and it's all walking distance albeit 20-30 minutes walking depending on your routes.
If you want to take public transport - first you have to get a good grip of the metro system which was confusing for us due to being entirely in Turkish. So we felt like the apartments close proximity to the taksim metro didn't do us any favors. The tram is about 25- 28 minutes walking distance so that wasn't convenient either. But for anyone who can use the Turkish metro- the apartment is right next to a stop.
If you do take taxis please beware that no taxi should charge you more than 25-28 lira from sultanahmet and should not charge you more than 10-15 from besiktas. Any taxi driver quoting more than that is just fleecing you.
Isik guided us on how to get back and forth from the airport which was extremely helpful and the apartment was 8 minutes walking distance from the Havabus stop. I suggest everyone take the hava Bus to the apartment. It runs from the airport to taksim every half hour and it is so convenient for 12 lira per person!
All in all it was a great stay. The noise element of the apartment is definitely an issue but that was given as a disclaimer when we booked the place so we were not surprised though it does get quite loud.
Thanks Isik! We hope other people enjoy their stay as much as we did .