Boy, did we strike lucky here. My previous airbnb experiences have been very good but this one will be hard to surpass. We stayed there for four weeks so it needed to be good.
The apartment is exactly as described and shown in their photos. It is also amazingly well positioned, near the Galata Tower, as a base from which to explore Istanbul. The tower area with its myriad of small shops, cafés and restaurants is a couple of minutes away, five minutes walk downhill and you are at the Galata Bridge at Karakoy and immediately across the bridge you are at the Spice Market and close to the Grand Bazaar, mosques and Topkapi
The apartment is comfortable, very clean, and the building has the most incredible lift you'll ever use.
Before making my booking I read some of the previous reviews, the only negative expressed was from James who complained about the noise from the street and nearby building works which prevented him sleeping.
Our home is near Cape Town and it is so quiet around us that James' comments concerned me. Yes, there is some noise, as there is in most cities, but not once did it prevent us sleeping. We even left all the windows open every night but we slept soundly without any problem. Either James was ultra sensitive to noise or he didn't give himself a chance to sleep.
However, the cherry on the cake, so to speak, were Doret and her brother Izel. Nothing was too much trouble and they make sure that you really do enjoy Istanbul. Travel cards and a cellphone are provided, Izel took us on a short walkabout to familiarise us with the immediate area, he provided lists of useful websites before we even arrived and responded immediately to any small enquiry we made. It was World Cup time and I mentioned that I couldn't find a list of the fixtures. Within an hour Izel had printed one and left it in the apartment.
They describe themselves as our 'hosts' but they are more than just that, and in the end we finished as good friends. We could not ask more of them and we were so pleased that theirs was the apartment we booked.