Our 5 star note takes into account the price of the booking and the excellent location.
1. Regarding the apartment, if you are an IKEA fan, it's probably not going to be to your taste, as it is a mix of new and old. It has everything you need for cooking and washing, and small stores nearby. Close by there are tones of food options, and they are relatively cheap (in comparison to EU), so we didn't cook. We only used the washing machine. Btw, internet works GREAT! On the other hand the TV is almost useless for non-Turkish speakers, but that was no issue for us.
2. Regarding the location, downhill you'll find an art street. Uphill you get to Taksim square and A LOT of food and shopping places. There is no bus or metro nearby, but we are the kind of people that walk more than 10 km/day, so the hilly location was perfect for us.
3. However, we do have a small complain . We stayed here in September 2022, and we got days with 34 degrees during the day. The AC worked, but we like to sleep with open windows, and not use AC during the night. However, it was impossible to sleep with half open windows, because there are a lot of scooters & taxis during the night, until 3-4 AM.
4. And finally, we do have a big complain. Apparently, in Turkey it is OK for cars to drive at night with open windows and Turkish gangsta rap playing on modified sound systems, at MAXIMUM level. Even sleeping with closed windows, at the 3rd floor, we woke up almost every night because of the half-brains driving with extremely loud music. Yes, the people leaving in the neighborhood are chill & quiet, but it does not help when the youngsters of Istanbul terrorize the streets with there noise.
We feel points 3. and 4. apply to all Airbnbs from this zone, so it does not affect out rating, but you should be aware of this.