We spent a full two weeks in the private hamam property hosted by Julia & Tarkan so we have a pretty good understanding of the area, and the apartment. First of all, the hosts are wonderful and provided quick responses to any messages along with some good suggestions for restaurants in the area before our arrival. They are out of the country but have a great property manager (Taskin) on site who greeted us on arrival and was equally fast to respond the couple of times we messaged him.
The location of the place is fantastic. We loved being in the Galata neighbourhood with tons of shops and restaurants so close. Getting over to sultanahmet to see a few of the “must see” sites was easy by tram and we are so happy that we didn’t actually stay over there. Just keep in mind that the tram is at the bottom of a small but somewhat steep hill. Not a big deal and a great walk, and only something to consider if you have mobility issues. The Galata Tower is a proper site seeing destination for obligatory selfies in front of it. We didn’t bother going to the top of it as the rooftop terrace in the apartment building offered similar views of Istanbul whenever we wanted without a line up. Only thing we will say about the location is that you will get some street noise being so close to the action of the neighbourhood and the apartment is just up one flight of stairs from street level. This was always people leaving bars/restaurants in the area late at night; not traffic or sirens. Some nights were louder than others so if you’re a light sleeper, one of the upper level apartments might be a consideration.
The apartment itself was great. Beautiful place really. We actually enjoyed having the hamam in the apartment. Nice feature and a relaxing space to come home to after walking the streets and site seeing all day. Air conditioning in the bedrooms worked great when needed. There is a washing machine out of view in the kitchen and a foldable drying rack (no drying machine) which was fine and made the place reasonable for an extended stay like ours. Beds were comfortable.
All in all, we’d be happy to stay there again.