Beats any luxury hotel in Istanbul!

Guest: Elif and Marc (San Francisco)
Date of Stay: 11/20/11 Review Submitted: 12/19/11

I am Turkish and we stayed here for a week with my husband during our wedding celebrations. I can't think of a better option. The locations is superb as it is right by the shoreline and has easy access to the TEM highway. The view is just breathtaking not to mention the modern minimal interior decoration as you can see in the pictures. We are definitely coming back!

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, romantic getaway, tourists without a car, sightseeing.

A panoramic three days that we will always remember

Guest: On 6 month sabbatical (San Diego CA USA)
Date of Stay: 06/23/11 Review Submitted: 11/23/11

We stayed in Istanbul in June 2011 as the first stop in our urban sabbatical. We loved this apartment with its vast views of Bosphorus and the very contemporary interior design. You could just stay in and enjoy the view from the morning till night - which is what all we did for one day. It is a bit difficult to get around if you don't have a car; however I would highly recommend this apartment for short stays and if you want to indulge yourself in the beauty of Istanbul.

Recommended for:Girls getaway, adventure seekers, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

Modern architecture and a great view of the Bosphorus.

Guest: B (EU)
Date of Stay: 10/07/11 Review Submitted: 11/02/11

I am originally from Istanbul, now living abroad, but visit Istanbul often. I stayed in this apartment in October 2011. This is indeed a very nice apartment with a modern architectural style and a great view of the Bosphorus. It has a very large terrace (VRBO refers to it as “patio”, but I think “terrace” is a better word, as it is not on the ground level but on the roof (6th) floor of an apartment building.) The apartment is clean and the furnishings are new. The pictures and the descriptions of the apartment and the amenities in the VRBO are accurate. There is a small grocery shop called Narcuteri only a few steps (to the South) from the apt. It has a decent selection of wine, cheese and carries even some fruits and vegetables. If you need a larger selection, then you can try MacroCenter inside the Istinye Park shopping mall. This modern mall with about 300 stores is well worth a visit (15 min by taxi). It also has a Bazaar section with some good restaurants, food and souvenir shops. For breakfast you can go to the Oba Restaurant (7-8 min walk North), where you can enjoy a rich buffet breakfast by the water. (Oba also has a café with the same name shortly before the restaurant part, but it serves a buffet only on Sundays.) There is taxi stand about 100m to the South and a few restaurants there. If you walk about 15 min further to the South, you come to the Bebek district, where you can find many shops, banks/ATMs, restaurants and cafes.

Recommended for:Girls getaway, adventure seekers, romantic getaway, age 55+, tourists without a car, sightseeing, families with young children.

4 days in paradise

Guest: Nagy (Calgary)
Date of Stay: 10/03/11 Review Submitted: 11/01/11

My husband & I ended our cruise vacation with 4 days in Istanbul. This unit was all that was promised. If you are looking to get out of the hustle and bustle of main Istanbul, this is a great location. The cab ride is about 20 minutes and reasonably priced ($25 TL). The neighbourhoods within walking distance have restaurant, boutique shops, markets and marinas. A great place to stay if you like to walk around and explore. Yasemin was great in getting us information in advance. Ahmet, even he didn't speak english was very helpful and we especially loved the morning delivery of bread. We thoroughly enjoyed the views and the relaxing patio. If we return to Istanbul we would definitely stay here again!

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, tourists without a car, sightseeing.

Perfect Week in Istanbul - September 2011

Guest: Lea5 (SF, CA)
Date of Stay: 09/22/11 Review Submitted: 10/24/11

The view of the Bosphorus and the bridge (with its light show & fireworks) was spectacular. It was spacious for the two of us and we just thoroughly enjoyed looking at the view at from dawn to dusk to dawn. I appreciated the free wifi, TV, airconditioning and washer/dryer. There's a deli withing 5 minutes' walk where we bought our groceries and sundries for the week, fresh bread every day was a treat as well. It allowed us to have a relaxing breakfast before doing our daily explorations. Rumeli Hisari is an upmarket, safe, resdential neighborhood that is far from the maddingly crowded Old Town, being able to walk along the Bosphorus with locals made me feel like I was one of them too. The Istanbulkart (bought them at the Eminonu train station) gave us the freedom to take the bus/tram/funicular to explore the city and not just depend on the taxi. If we only stayed 2-3 days in the city, I wouldn't suggest staying here but if you had a week or more-one week was truly not long enough- this is a perfect spot. Many good neightborhood restaurants are within walking distance so you don't have to venture far to dine well. This was our first time in Istanbul and certainly will not be the last, I would recomend this apartment. Thanks for your hospitality, Yasemin!

Recommended for:Girls getaway, families with teenagers, adventure seekers, romantic getaway, age 55+, tourists without a car, sightseeing.

Lovely Views and Relaxing Setting

Guest: SanFranciscoFamily (San Francisco, CA)
Date of Stay: 06/08/11 Review Submitted: 06/29/11

I stayed at this beautiful apartment for 2 weeks with my family of 4. The apartment was beautiful and fully equipped with all of the necessary amenities. The views were spectacular. We only had a couple of questions when we arrived, and our questions were answered promptly. Although the apartment is approximately 35-40 minutes from the old city sites by cab, it was a fabulous place to come back to at the end of the day. After a few days, we learned to get around by the T1 public transporation (easily reached by a 15-20 minute cab ride from the apartment). We felt very safe, and there were some very nice restaurants nearby. The area was absolutely beautiful, and I would highly recommend this apartment if you want to see Istanbul and yet experience the life of a local.

Recommended for:Sightseeing.

Most Romantic Honeymoon

Guest: Honeymooners (Chicago IL) (East Dundee)
Date of Stay: 03/24/11 Review Submitted: 04/05/11

Words can not describe how perfect this apartment is for ANYONE looking to be outside of the mass tourists sites. Everything in the apartment is as described - if not better. The owners answers all emails quickly and fulfill any reasonable requests. The neighborhood is easy to navigate; Bebek is a nice walk to the right of exiting the apartment. The views and balcony are beyond words. For those interested in the tourists sites, taxis and buses are easily available; however the traffic on the weekends is congested; therefore recommend seeing the sites Monday through Friday noon. We will be returning this year to the apartment because we had such a fantastic time. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!!!

Recommended for:Girls getaway, romantic getaway, tourists without a car, sightseeing.

Excellent Stay

Guest: Happy Travelers (Brazil)
Date of Stay: 01/23/11 Review Submitted: 02/08/11

My family of four (two young adults in college and parents) stayed in this lovely apartment for five nights, which didn't allow us enough time to explore the fascinating city of Istanbul and the many unique and charming neighborhoods in the vicinity, such as Bebek and Ortaköy. The apartment itself was stocked with all the basics, such as laundry soap, tea and mineral water, as well as any gadgets you might need--plug adaptors, screw drivers, bottle openers, etc. The comfortable beds and quality linens and pillows were gave us heavenly nights' sleep. For a few rainy days we had more than enough to keep us entertained with the many and informative books and guides, DVDs, and the amazing 180 degree view of the Bosphorus, with the constant traffic of boats and ships, and even a submarine. Living in a big city ourselves, we found the time and distance to the Sultanahmet very manageable. Our preferred route was a pleasant taxi ride along the beautiful coastal road to the Kabatas tram station. It's location right alongside the second bridge made for an easy landmark for taxis. We enjoyed the nearby large and luxurious mall - Istinye Park, with an excellent variety of shops, restaurants and cinema. All of my inquiries with the property owner were answered very promptly. We had a truly wonderful stay in this vacation rental.

Recommended for:Families with teenagers, adventure seekers, romantic getaway, tourists without a car, sightseeing.

For an excellent Istanbul experience, seek no more!

Guest: Pinar (Shanghai)
Date of Stay: 12/25/10 Review Submitted: 01/24/11

Originally from Istanbul but now living abroad for work, I wanted to relive Istanbul on my holidays and seeing this listing on VBRO made my heart jump! It was in the very right location- one where you can enjoy the Bosphorus and its seagulls above, where you can walk and reach great breakfast places as well as nice restaurants, where you can just forget about the hectic city and feel like you are living above all the chaos. Once we were in the flat, I was jumping up and down on the beautiful terrace. The terrace is a dream! The flat is very nicely designed! This is just what I needed for a reunion with the magnificient Istanbul. I will definitely want to stay there again in summer!

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, age 55+, tourists without a car, sightseeing.

Beautiful View, Mixed Reviews

Guest: Tdh (Phoenix, Arizona)
Date of Stay: 10/10/10 Review Submitted: 12/12/10

I stayed October, 2010 for 9-10 days in this condo. I arrived in the evening and found the key that was sent to me did not work. Fortunately a friend of mine had picked me up from the airport and was able to communicate with someone in the building to discover the locks had been changed the day before. We had to wait 30 minutes for the correct keys to arrive and after 26 hours of travel this was a little inconvenient. I had asked for groceries to be placed in the apartment as I was arriving at 9 pm and would be tired, not wanting to go out. There were no groceries, they were actually sitting outside the door the next day and had to be thrown out because they were perishable. The flat does certainly have an amazing view. The flat is located in a trendy area of Istanbul. I have been to Istanbul many times and wanted to try this area. I would not choose it again because to visit museums, restaurants, one must fight traffic (sometimes one hour) and pay 15-18 TKLY for each cab ride which can add up. The condo lacked many things, the door below the kitchen sink was broken, the clothes dryer was broken and we had to hang our towels throughout the condo. I never saw how to get the warm bread delivered that the advertisement spoke of. It would have been helpful to have a notebook with menu and contact information from nearby restaurants as well as where food markets were located. We also did not have any contact information about questions on the condo. The condo was very dirty and I spent the next day washing the floor because there was a very dirty and visible film all over the floor. I really looked forward to staying at this condo with my boyfriend and was disappointed in the maintenance of it. The pictures are accurate in the listing.

Owner response:As you can see this has been our only negative review! They keys were changed the very day before due to the door being repaired, happens once in a blue moon, so for this, I was very sorry. If you ever have a problem please just contact me via email or text and can help immediatly. If you stay over a week and say nothing, I can't help you or make you more comfortable. We have instructions in our manual how to operate everything and how to get around and even how to order online with our favorite food delivery service. I did not charge her for the groceries of Redbull, juice and eggs. We are very agreeable and if there are any problems you must tell us immediatly so we may act quickly and you can enjoy your stay at our lovely flat. We want everyone to have a wonderful tme!

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