The location and stay was great! Check-in was easy, the owner of the restaurant across the street met us and let us in, super friendly. And great breakfast there. The place was well represented, and comfortable. There was a lack of bedding and towels for the extra pull outs, but that was quickly solved by the host and their super sweet, friendly housekeeper. The location couldn't be better and it has some of the quirky character you come to Istanbul to experience. Like any location in a bustling city there is street noise all night. This was totally expected and since I always bring ear plugs on vacation this did not bother us one bit, in fact I loved hearing some of the local live music and city sounds drift in with open windows for fresh air you will hear the city. It's an active area until early in the morning. It truly is part of the experience. But something you should consider if it's a deal breaker for you.
Honestly the only real issue for us was a lack of or confusing communication about airport shuttles. We were provided no info on pick-up for our 3 am shuttle to airport and I followed up ahead of the trip as well as a couple days before with no info returned. Evrim had recent surgery and apologized that she was unable to book shuttle. Even at 10 pm the night before we were to be picked up at 3 am there was no info on her actually arranging an airport shuttle and that last communication from earlier in the day said she was sorry about airport transport and would deduct the cost if we told her how much it was; so based on that message we booked a last minute taxi service to pick us up at the Galata tower. So we were very surprised when we walked out the door at 3 am and a shuttle was actually waiting for us sent by Evrim- This was awesome, but we now had a second shuttle waiting for us and had to call and cancel the additional shuttle waiting at the tower for us and pay 40 Euros for that additional shuttle anyway. Better clear communication could have saved us the last minute stress of trying to find a middle of the night ride and money. In the end we had transport to the airport and it was convenient, I just would have preferred she had confirmed the shuttle and location and time of pick up so I would have known that she had indeed arranged it and not double booked. I'm going to chalk this one up to falling through the cracks due to surgery and recovery, but if you are a planner and stress by leaving important things to chance (like a middle of the night airport shuttle when public transport is shut down for the night) maybe just book your own transport separately). Ultimately you will enjoy the stay and location and great little find on a hidden street in the heart of the Galata area with great shopping and restaurants within walking distance. I highly recommend this location.