Stay 3 nights in the place and love it. Host's apartment is spaceous and well equiped. Good aircon too. The sitting room could suffer street noise, if windows are opened, given it is at 2nd floor (no lift). Not a problem to me as I chose to close the windows and let the aircon on in the noon time. The bedroom is facing inside courtyard so always quiet for peaceful sleep. The covered balcony and washing machine are handy to address my laundry need. I see many local restaurants around and tried some of them, all ok to me. The place is about 10min walking distance from the tourists crowded
Taksim Square. Since I traveled light so instead of taxi, I used airport bus and walked to the place. Check-in is simple with host's instruction. Over all speaking, I recommend it if you are looking for a local place with strong local vibe for a truly local Istanbul experience.