I wish I could rate the apartment higher as it is a nice flat, and I believe the hosts have good intentions. But I had major problems with water, communications, and general professionalism.
Pros:
- Great location. It's in the heart of Galata while being on one of the few quieter streets in the area.
- Beautiful space that's excellently laid out, and comfortable. The loft doubles as a movie room, which was cool and easy to use.
- Surprisingly spacious enough for several people.
- Flexible check-in and checkout with detailed instructions on finding the flat
- Quick internet
- Well-equipped apartment
Cons:
- No water/no hot water during my stay: During the majority of my stay (19 days), I had no consistent hot water. And for one full day, I had no water at all. I understand that sometimes these things happen, but, looking back on other reviews, it's a chronic problem for this flat.
We went back and forth on the water issue throughout my stay. The technician or my host came over for small fixes versus conducting a more thorough investigation. It wasn't until one of my last days that two technicians came to fully clean the system. After that, the water worked.
- Lack of communications and follow-up: I had to wait two days for someone to come look at the hot water after my initial request, and I was not offered an alternative place to stay or to shower. Then, after the water still wasn't fixed, I wrote a follow-up message. It took me another follow-up and nearly 24 hours to get a reply. Then the next response didn't come for another 14 hours.
During the no-water-in-the-flat episode, I was not offered an alternative place to spend the night until I asked and felt rushed out of the alternative flat that I had moved to.
- General professionalism: In the midst of these issues and no hot water, they persistently pushed their Airbnb experience. I ended up booking the experience, and did enjoy it. But, after the experience, I received 7 back-to-back unanswered messages over the course of a day pushing me to pressure my friend to change her submitted review of the experience.