We had an excellent stay at the Blue Residence. This apartment is at a 5 minute walk from the Tophane Tram Station, from where you can take the tram to most of the major attractions in Istanbul. Doruk was a perfect host, he had assisted us in finding transportation from and to the airport, since we area family of four, we had 3 large suitcases, and 2 small carry ons, which meant that a taxicab would not have been feasible and Doruk helped arrange a shuttle for us, which was exactly what was needed.
This apartment is about a 2 minute walk from Istiklal Avenue, on which you can find a lot of restaurants and shops and is THE place to be at around night time, unless you are not comfortable with crowds, and is about 5 minutes from Galata Tower, from where, if you get to the top, you will get a bird's eye view of Istanbul.
Overall, we had a great experience during our stay. Doruk was always available to answer any questions or if we needed help with anything. In fact, I had been in regular contact with Doruk before and during our stay, and I cannot say enough about how happy we are with our decision to stay at the Blue Residence, I think this place works really well for families, specially if you are travelling with children since it has a full kitchen with adequate supplies, in case you need to cook for the kids, which we did on a regular basis. In short, I would stay here again if I were to visit Istanbul again, ( which I do hope , will happen sooner than later!)