Where do I start, is there a max character limit for Airbnb reviews?
Let's start before landing in Istanbul, when Hilmi (host), recommended an honest update on transportation, taxis vs. trains vs. private shuttle, as a business traveler, I don't like to waste time, especially in new countries, I took Hilmi's recommendation to hire a private shuttle which was very COMFORTABLE, and the private shuttle would be ready to pick us up when we landed at the airport + I didn't even need to tell the driver the address. Hilmi (host) handled this all for me, he even paid the fees in advance entrusting me to pay him back later, which meant a lot to me.
When we landed in the airport, I couldn't find the sign with our number on it, so I messaged Hilmi on the Airbnb chat we had going on, and he literally responded back in less then 1 minute, and said he is on it. 5 minutes later the driver met us at the Starbucks line and then escorted us and our bags to the private shuttle. This was just the beginning of the service of Hilmi.
Before we even got to the airbnb, our driver was new and didn't know the area very well, Hilmi left whatever he was doing and he walked down probably half a mile to find our taxi (we were doing many circles due to the congested traffic area), and he met us inside our private shuttle, how awesome of a guy is Hilmi?!
He said hello to us in the front seat and assured we would be at the airbnb in no time. What a guy to leave what he was doing and to find our private taxi and to assist the driver to get us to the airbnb. Hilmi deserves an award for this.
We got to the airbnb, and wow the place was AMAZING, every photo you see on his website is accurate and 100% to the point. This place is a hidden gem in Istanbul, and its modern, safe, and it's a shame we didn't get to use it as much as we were traveling throughout the days in the city.
As soon as you pull up the the entrance of this secured apartment, you need a code to even get in, and then there is an elevator that takes you to the top level of the modern apartment and then it is the door on the left side.
Hilmi recommend and texted us many places to eat in the area. The airbnb itself is in the heart of everything, we literally started each day walking to somewhere, rather than calling for a cab. It was near that famous tower which leads to that famous takim square if you go North East. If you literally got down 100 feet from the airbnb, there is a nice breakfast spot and plenty of small marketplaces to grab food and drinks.
Then from there if you head down to the Main Street, which took less then 5 minutes, you're in the heat of it all, tram to take you to the famous blue mosque and other places. Everything was so close to the airbnb.
This was my favorite airbnb of all time, and Hilmi was the most amazing host ever. He would text me back whenever I had a question, he would accept my dollars when I didn't have any Lira's. The dude is amazing. Everyone needs to stay at this airbnb when visiting Istanbul.
Thank you Hilmi for your hospitality and amazing airbnb!