We were a family of five and spent five nights in Elif's and Marco's flat. They arranged an airport pick-up for us, and these people were even still nicely waiting for us when we came out of the airport after two hours of cueing at the passport control. In the flat we were met by Elif’s charming and zealous father who explained and showed everything to us. We were also caringly provided with a large bottle of drinking water.
The flat is situated in a friendly and busy area with shops, cafes, restaurants, pharmacy and cash dispenser just across the street. However, I was surprised at how quiet it was at night. Also the prayer call from the mosque nearby isn’t loud or annoying, but simply part of the local culture, and after one night you don’t hear it anymore. We felt also very safe in the area, even at night.
The flat is very spacious, and we liked the vintage style. The room layout with the bedrooms on the upper floor is perfect if you travel with children (maybe not so much for toddlers because of the stairs). The flat is well equipped with washing machine and dryer, flat iron, blow-dryer, toaster, water cooker and micro-wave. There were also plenty of Istanbul travel guide books. The beds were cosy, with big and small pillows. Also the heating worked well, and it was not cold in the flat in February. Everything was very clean, and the flat had a nice smell.
Our special family related remarks: The sitz bath is very well suited for children. We could park our buggy (yes, we took one to Istanbul…) in the stair case behind the entrance. The only disappointment for our children was that there was no player for the DVDs we had brought along and we found only Turkish children’s TV. :-)
I can really recommend Elif and Marco’s flat to everone who is looking for a cosy and decent flat in Beyoglu. For Istanbul standards and this price it is really top-notch and we would come again anytime.