Guner was a great host. He was very responsive with all my inquiries (and they were a lot). He would always reply within 30 minutes to all my questions.

His description to the apartment was very detailed, and he was very good to receive us near the apartment and explain the directions to the taxi driver as we arrived quite late, after midnight. He was very friendly and would give me directions to all the attractions that we planned to go to as well.

The apartment was clean, the area was okay. It is very close to Istiklal street and Taksim square, around 10 minutes walking, but mostly uphill walking.

On entering the building, we found it to be quite smelly as there is a cat that lives on the ground floor and you can smell cat pee. But on entering the actual apartment, we found it quite pleasant and clean.
The sheets were clean, there were clean towels laid out on each bed. All the amenities were there, including an iron box, hair dryer, and washing machine. Guner even left some goodies in our fridge, including some crackers, coffee mix and water. He was very considerate.

The only thing is that not all rooms have mirrors which makes getting ready a bit tricky.

The area is safe and good, but on some nights down from Taksim, there were some troubles and we could smell tear gas. It was not close to the apartment, but we could smell it due to the wind in our direction, and while we were outside only. Inside the apartment the tear gas didn't enter. There are markets nearby (including carrefour) with fresh fruits and vegetables and other goodies.

We were two girls, one guy and one child and felt quite safe and comfortable there. I would recommend to stay at Guner's place.

Thanks,
Saba