My husband and I spent five days in Istanbul and we had a great time.
Mustafa owns the entire building and rents all the studios, so it feels like you are staying in a hotel, except there is no front desk, you just come in and out with your own key. The apartment itself is small like a hotel room, but new and clean.

PROS:
- Mustafa’s place is centrally located near Taksim Square and Istiklal Street, close to many restaurants, stores, and public transportation.
- The hotel is a five minute walk from the spot where Havatas bus picks up and drops off from the airport. This direct bus is the most inexpensive and direct transport to and from the airport.
- The apartment is quiet except for the call to prayer from a nearby mosque and occasional drunk tourists coming back in the middle of the night.
- Mustafa was very nice and helpful, and he went above and beyond on our first night there to try to get us a reservation at a very popular restaurant.
- The room and bathroom are exactly as shown in the pictures on Airbnb – modern, bright and comfortable.
- The bed is queen size, which is very nice considering most hotels in Istanbul seem to have only conjoined twins.
- A cleaning lady comes in every day and makes the bed, changes the towels, and takes out the trash.
- They provide soap, shampoo, hair conditioner, and hair dryer, like a hotel.
- There is a mini-fridge and sink in the room, so you can keep essentials for breakfast. There is also an electric kettle for tea or instant coffee, but there is no coffeemaker.

CONS:
- There was a leak in the bathroom. We let Mustafa know, but it was not fixed by the time we left. It didn’t bother us too much since it was behind the toilet.
- The wifi didn't work a couple of days we were there.
-The street that the hotel is on had many other similar private hotels, so there was a fair amount of pedestrian traffic. There were also a few homeless people begging on the street. We always felt safe, but know that it is not as upscale as other centrally located streets nearby.
- There is a mosque nearby and the call to prayer woke us up every morning at 5 am, but we managed to go back to sleep afterwards every time. This is probably the same everywhere in Istanbul anyway.

All in all, we would highly recommend Mustafa’s place if you are young and looking to experience Istanbul without breaking the bank. It is certainly a good value!