I’ve been traveling, so far in Eastern Europe and exclusively using Airbnb’s, since 10/2018. I try to stay around a $25/night budget.
Pros:
Location:
bus stop just a few blocks away. About a 25 minute walk away from Taksim.
Many nice restaurants of all price ranges within walking distance (5-15’)
Green grocery and convenience stores and very close and plentiful
Fairly quiet and safe neighborhood with lots of hills and traffic
Apartment:
Large rooms minimally decorated
Mostly clean apartment
Good sized shower, lots of hot water if you pick the right time. It’s on a building boiler so, take a shower when everyone else is and the temp will fluctuate… uncomfortably. Miss the rush hour and there’s endless hot water and good pressure.
Descent bed, fairly firm. Springs stick out in places but they can be avoided
Large clothes washer is in good shape.
Host leaves a single washer and dishwasher soap available to purchase for 3 TL each. They have a small supply of all other consumables.
I visited in early November. I used the air conditioner, it worked fine.
Lousy WiFi it was constantly going out, I had to ask the front desk to reset it. They are always friendly but sometimes dispute whether it is indeed working.
Ample supply of descent towels and linens
I didn’t use the kitchen but there’s an electric hotplate with two burners, medium micro, kettle, sandwich press, three pots, no pans, a set of dishes, silver and some assorted kitchen tools and…… a dish washer!
Below ground level apartment with one flight plus a few few stairs
It’s really more of a hotel with a front desk, maintenance, cleaning staff, it’s own restaurant and all the staff is very friendly.
Cons:
Basement apartment is a little moist, the air is a little humid, clothes take a little longer to dry even running the air conditioner at night
Wifi was down almost every day. The first day, they feigned surprise, later they said it was due to an earthquake, subsequent days they admitted that it happens a lot and they just got an upgrade.
Toilet leaked and didn’t flush. Maintenance came and spent about 3 hours, they asked me to stay. It flushed when they left but it leaked almost immediately after. You can tell this problem has occurred before, with stains on the walls and floor. I called them back to repair, they came while I was away. The toilet still leaked, I turned the water off at the supply line to temporarily stop the flood.
Maintenance also replaced the shower head, that head should have been replaced loooong before.
A “feature” they tout is the alarm system on each door. All times of the day and night someone accidentally turns theirs on. They almost always shut it off soon but it’s annoying. In my opinion, it’s silly to use it. The staff all have keys (and can shut off the alarm) so it only “protects” you from other guests—the ones that can pick a lock.
I tried the tv, couldn’t make it work. I didn’t bother calling the management over that.
Conclusion:
I recommend this apartment, a good value and a very nice apartment IF you’re not bothered by the wifi and water/humidity probl