My husband and I stayed in this lovely apartment for one month in Dec/Jan. The view over the Golden Horn is fantastic, especially at sunset. The location was excellent, within easy walking distance to many great restaurants, Istiklal Avenue leading up to Taksim Square, and the Galata Tower. It was also easy to walk to the Galata Bridge and across to the old city, or hop on the Tunel, then the tram, or take a ferry to the Asian side. While most of the main tourist sites are across the Golden Horn in Sultanahmet, I definitely preferred spending the evenings closer to the apartment, around Beyoglu instead. If you are concerned about staying near Taksim, you don't need to be concerned in this apartment. We never had any worries as it is far enough removed from the area that you can easily avoid any commotion that may arise. The apartment was comfortable, and well equipped with dishes and other kitchen supplies for preparing basic meals. Lisya was easy to communicate with and responded quickly to emails. She provided great instructions ahead of our arrival, making it easy to find the apartment. There was a small issue with the internet, but Lisya did her best to fix the situation, providing us with a mobile internet stick to use until the other was fixed, after which the internet worked quite well. Istanbul is a lively city and it was great to have this cozy and relaxing place to put up our feet after a long day of exploration.