1 - 6 May
We had excellent communication with Ilker & Serra even before our arrival. They had also rang the night before our travel to inform us about the expected blockade on 1May, Labour Day. On arrival they were very helpful to instruct our transport where the location to drop us.

Pros: The apartment was well cleaned; bed was really comfy; spacious & bathroom was really decent though small. Communication with Serra was not a problem when we got lost or had any queries. They had a detailed booklet about the appliances, places of interest & recommended restaurants. There was an interesting Sunday Market right outside the door every Sunday.
For the size of the apartment, it was value for money certainly & presence of a washing machine was very helpful.There was no place to hang the clothes out to dry though. We had to improvise. It would be great for their guests if they could run even a cheap retractable line (like those in a hotel bathroom) from the 2 walls in the lounge area.

Cons: The apartment was on 2nd floor & was not so good for my hubby who had abit of knee problem. They did tell me there were "a few steps" when I asked in our emails; but it was slightly more than a few steps. They were also narrow, spiral-like wooden stairs.
The neighbourhood though, seems abit rough, but we had no ill-feelings with the people there. They people were actually friendly & tried their hardest to help when they can.
The location was not great; it was abit of up climb & is the backstreets of Beyoglu; the street outside the apartment is just an alley (though cars do drive thru) & the adjacent street is narrow & broken; & short of walkways. Not for the faint-hearted & bad knees.
Some furnishing (the lounge carpet) was worn & did not appear clean (I had informed them about this issue).
It was about a 10-minute walk down to Istiklal Shopping Area & some more step stairs to climb to get to the main street area.