A big THANKS to Elif for this wonderful stay at the Secret Garden place.
I was staying for over 2 weeks and truly enjoyed this experience. The place is very cozy, clean, spacious, very safe, relatively calm for Istanbul. The house has positive energy and an atmosphere that allowed me to feel like being at home.
You have everything you need for a long stay - a well-equipped kitchen(I didn’t even use half of that), air conditioner, hairdryer, iron. As well as Elif was helping me with my laundry and printing my documents upon my request.
She is truly welcoming and was ready to help me anytime. During my stay, she brought me some food(lunch, dinner for few times, some cookies) that her mom cooked and it was super delicious, which is very kind from the host’s side.
Previously I have stayed in the Sultanahmet district and did not like it because it is overpriced, noisy, unsafe and the food quality leaves much to be desired.
This area itself is a little bit far from the city center and tourist places, but you have M7 metro line and tramway 5 minutes walking distance. You can easily get to Taksim, Galata tower, Istinye park shopping mall, etc within 20 minutes. Honestly speaking for a long-term stay this area is perfect. There is no tourist at all, people are very nice, authentic local food at an affordable price (approximately 30TL per meal). I would recommend Corbacisi cafe nearby (in front of the Shopping Mall) with homemade cuisine.
If you are interested to discover how locals live, you should stay at this place and you won't regret it.
Thank you, Elif for your kindness and for taking great care of me during my stay in Istanbul.
Kind regards,
Maria