This is a hard one too review.
It does have nice views of a harbour ( lots of container ships waiting to load/ unload). It is a newer flat compared to allot of places in Turkey I assume. There is a bath on the balcony. My wife stayed about 4 days here and it had everything we needed to relax at night after a day in old town. It was modern with almost everything we needed.
What needs to be mentioned and some tips about staying in Istanbul at this apartment.
It’s on a very major road, so road noise is very high so bath time isn’t exactly as relaxing as we were hoping. Windows do an ok job and blocking out noise but still can always here. People use to living in city I’m sure we find this normal. It also over looks an abandoned block of land which seemed to be already started to be developed so it’s a nice view of you make sure to look to the right out to sea and not down at the major road and vacant block. The blinds do give privacy but don’t block much light at all so if you need pitch black to sleep bring a mask.
Our host couldn’t meet us as he was unwell. The appartment is above the Raddison Blue Hotel. Tell your taxi this information as finding the place was very confusing and then working out the dynamic of the building and the entrance was a bit confusing at first. The bottom level ( taxi rank) is the hotel and gentlemen working there were amazing and helped us out as our host was unwell and couldn’t meet us. the next level up is the actual entrance for the private apartments and there is security personnel there.
We stayed during Ramadan so there seemed to be no cafe or restaurants open during the day and then they are booked by locals at night. Eat in old town before coming back to room. The hotel is in a weird location where it is not very close to anything touristy. Its between a harbour and major highway on one side and train lines and more roads on the other. ( didn’t hear any trains etc).
It’s about 15 minute drive to old town where all the touristy stuff is. It costs about 25-30 TL for a taxi from apartment to old town, which is where we went every day. Don’t accept any price over this as some taxis said it will be about 80tl as a confirmed price before starting.
We ended up buying some groceries and then taking home to cook as we couldn’t find anything to eat near by and it’s about 16 minute walk to the grocery store.
What we we were hoping for was a place that we could just pop down stairs and go shopping and eat out but the location is not a tourist place and more where locals live.
There was no microwave or plug to do the dishes. There was a dish washer but the plates seem to have gold in the plates so we didn’t want to put them through but I’m sure it could have been ok but was just unsure.
We got taxis everywhere mostly, we got a taxi to the bus stop to catch Bus number 4 to the airport. Airport bus ride is about 18TL and takes about 30 minutes. You will need a bus pass which cost about 10TL to get and then you put money on. Wife and I used the same one but tapped twice. Bus into old town would take about 50 minutes according to google maps.
Had a good TV setup to relax in front of. Bathroom was good with a nice shower and a washer and dryer which was a life saver. Good amount of hot water which was great for bath etc. felt safe and secure in the apartment and was easy to get up and down with an elevator. (Apartment is on 8th floor)
Overall, meeting the host would have taken allot of guess work out and if you know Istanbul prior you wouldn’t be wondering about the taxi’s and buses. The apartment served its purpose and gave a nice view of the boats.