I enjoyed my stay overall in Zorbey’s place. It is on the basic side but is clean and has everything needed for a comfortable stay.
My stay was two weeks in total which included having to work from the apartment for about a week. The wifi was an issue as it disrupted video calls and large file downloads. I managed to get around this by using mobile 3G which wasn’t ideal. There was an instance where the internet connection itself was lost for a couple days. During this time Zorbey offered to help with his mobile data which was very nice of him.
As my stay was slightly longer I noticed a few niggling issues with things not quite working properly around the apartment. I have provided a list to Zorbey to look at this to hopefully improve the stay of future guests.
The area the apartment is in, Balat, is a little run down and has very few tourists staying there (this was my preference but may not be yours). As a result very few of the locals spoke any English. Zorbey included. I didn’t find it an issue as I always managed to find a way to communicate.
Balat itself is bustling with a good range of eateries, supermarkets and convenience stores. It has excellent travel connections into downtown Istanbul and tourist areas such as Sultanahmet. Balat has its own bus, ferry and tram stop which are all about a 4 minute walk from the apartment. Very convenient and the public transportation in Istanbul is fantastic.
To sum up then, the apartment, its host, and the location it’s in present excellent value, despite the odd niggle here and there.