This was our first time using airbnb so we chose a place with lots of reviews and it ended up being ok. Basma was a communicative person and it was easy to find her house. Her place looks the way it does on the site listing which isn't really a great thing. The room and bathroom are small and though clean, not in the greatest condition (the flush in the bathroom wouldn't even work the last day). The location is very good, close to Haseki tram station and there's a lot of places to eat nearby. Basma was helpful with a few things but in general our interaction was limited.

There seems to be a problem with electricity and power; once we came back from a long tiring day to find that there was no electricity in our room although the rest of the house had electricity; the next day the internet suddenly stopped working - both times she explained there had been a power cut. We also stayed at the Sultans royal hotel in Istanbul which was only around $10-15 CAD more per night and included full buffet breakfast, clean attached bathroom, great service and all the amenities you get in a hotel (eg. Somebody takes out your trash). If you are really looking to stay with a local host then this might be for you but for us spending a little extra and staying at a moderately priced hotel is definitely better.

On our return to Istanbul we booked with another host, Gökçe, which was terrible. She would not reply to messages, gave wrong directions (the map and address locations did not match), her number was off. We could not stay there as we couldn't find it (which is why I'm mentioning it here) and ended up at a small but wonderful hotel - Basilleus. Basma on the other hand is very communicative and gives very precise directions to her place which is essential. This is likely our first and last little airbnb adventure, though.