I would strongly recommend rooms in Emil house for tenancy. Dogan bay, his daughter Burcu and their relative Cimen hanum are very honest and friendly people. They were very quick in responce to our inqueries, helped us with taxi, advised restaurants, and were ready to help at any time.
First of all, I would like to point at a good location of Emil house. It takes only 2-3 minutes of leisurely walking to the nearest bus stop. It takes 10-15 minutes on a bus and then tram to go to Sultan-Ahmed square, the place, where all the great landmarks are located. Please do not forget to buy Istanbul card beforehand, because there is no place where you can buy it at the nearest bus stop. You cannot pay cash in a bus. We bought and replenished bus cards in a small shop near Emil house.
There are a few locantes (canteens), many cafes and restaurants, supermarket named "Sok", several bakeries located in a walking distance (1-2 minutes) to Emil house. Among the nearest cafes we liked "Macarri" the most, they serve delicious meat in pots. Do not despise eating at locantes, because food there is fresh, tasty and cheap.
Emil house has just a few rooms (5 or 6). So, it is not noisy and crowdy like in a hotel. We stayed there for 17 days and never had any problem with the neighbours. However, the house is located in the old historic part of Istanbul, where buildings are located very close to each other. So, during daytime we heard local children playing, vendors of vegetables and fruits touting.
We stayed in Memosa room. It is not very big, but very compact and cosy room. Foremost the double bed was very comfortable! I have a problem with the back, but it never hurt during my stay in Emil house. It is evident that the room and the house in general underwent an overhaul, because all the furniture and sanitary ware is new. There are teapot, tableware and refrigerator in the room. So, you can prepare tea and have food kept in refrigerator. However, you cannot cook in the room, because there is no cooking surface or microwave. Perhaps, you can cook in the kitchen, located in the groundfloor. But it usually was closed.
We were provided with clean and fresh linen and towels. We could change them any time upon our request. But what striked me the most, we were also provided with soap, shampoo, hair conditioner, body lotion, toilet paper and paper towels like in a hotel. Honestly, I did not expect that.
Free breakfast. Cimen hanum leaves containers with food on the small tables near the rooms. Usually she served small rolls of bread, cheese and butter, honey, sometimes olives or eggs for breakfast. Tea, instant coffee and sugar was on the shelves above the sink in the room. We used to buy fruits, vegetables and sausages in addition to the food provided. So, it was nice.
I wish you have a nice trip to Istanbul!