There are two parts to this review – first the disappointing part and then the good part – I will review it in the order we experienced it. We stayed in this apartment for 28 days.
Overall review: I think the host was let down by his assistant. He is a great host. The home is new on this platform. If the host solves some of the issues in the home over time, then this could be a great find in Istanbul. The home is not modern and new – but makes up for it in spaciousness and location. We always felt safe in the neighbourhood. Internet speed at the time – Download @ 30-45Mbps and upload at 2.8 – 8.5Mbps – I did about 8 hours of zoom video calls per day and it was 95% good.
First the disappointing part:
The host was out of the country at the time of our check-in. His assistant was supposed to,according to the host to clean and prepare the unit – we were only the second ever guests. The assistant told us that the apartment was ready. Upon arrival he told us that he did not clean the apartment after the previous guest had left, even though we told him that we were fine with a normal check-in time if he needed time to clean and prepare the apartment. The bed sheets were not clean, the bathroom had questionable marks on the toilet, the house was incredibly dusty – which also got a review from the first-ever guest that it was dirty.
We had to ask the assistant to replace the bed sheets. The one mattress had big stains on it too. The assistant then went and bought new bed sheets. It did not stop there. We had to clean the apartment – two people for four hours. We washed the dishes, cleaned, and mopped the floor and cleaned bookshelves and the cupboard in the kitchen. We considered leaving and reported the situation to Airbnb and requested our cleaning fee back – which was only about $7. Then we found out that the shower did not work and we had to use another shower in the house. The shower we had to use only had a piece of foam in front of the door to prevent the water from going into the hallway. Some water still escaped into the hallway every day. Before showering there we also had to wash the entire shower and the walls. The extractor fans seems like they have not been cleaned for many years with dirt that had accumulated on the fans.
There are three bedrooms in the house. On our first night – we could not go to sleep in the biggest bedroom due to the noise of the neighbours. They start talking and socializing at about 20:00 at night – and also switch on the TV. This is audible through the wall. The sound travels through the wall and it became impossible to go to sleep. The noise from the neighbours continues almost every night until about 02:00-03:00 in the mornings – so if you intend on staying here, it would be almost impossible to sleep in this room due to the noise the neighbours make. We then moved to another bedroom.
After a few days the host arrived back in the country and issues were resolved.
When we left the apartment, we cleaned it again and vacuumed the entire house for the new guests.
Now, the good side.
Location: Great – there is a great vibe in the streets. There are plenty restaurants all around – many within 30 seconds walk once you leave the building.
Home: It is spacious, and a lot of natural light enters the residence.
Host: The host is pleasant – he is kind and assisted in upgrading the internet, ordering water for us, when the washing machine broke, he replaced it as soon as possible and also spent time fixing the shower when there was a problem and got someone to do work on it. His communication was excellent, and he was willing to help with everything. I think that this host is great, and he really came across as a host that would do everything to help out when there is a challenge.