Hi there,
Being in Fethiye we started looking for an accommodation for the month in Istanbul. We ended up choosing an apartment near the center called Deniz Apartment.
All the reviews were very good, and the host always responded quickly to our questions. We had thought of reserving just one week to try and then reserving the rest of the month if all went well. But since there was a 5% discount for the month, we opted for the entire stay.
Hatice, our host, sent very detailed instructions on how to get to the place.
After booking, the lady wrote to tell me that we would spend two nights in the apartment above us because in the one we had booked, there was a problem with the hot water, and they would have to fix it before we could check-in.
We arrived and Hatice was making tea in our kitchen with bags put in her shoes so as not to dirty the floor. Also, it was in the house rules that you had to remove your shoes before entering. I liked this because I have it in the rules of my Airbnb too, but it is true that many people later do what they want.
Hatice served us tea, gave us a tour of the apartment, and explained where the most important sites were. That first day the lady captivated us with her sympathy.
I asked about the internet since we would need it for work and the first day it seemed normal, the problems came the next day when we needed it for work because it was so slow. Think that just to send a WhatsApp, it took like 5 minutes.
So, from the first day I was writing to Hatice to take care of the issue. Two days later when we went to the apartment that corresponded us, the networks began to disappear and new ones to appear, so we thought that the lady had some strange deal and stole the internet, that’s why it was so slow.
After 4 days of complaining, we found her on the stairs, she apologized and finally admitted that her internet was slow. We were already using the cell phone internet to work. But at this point, I wanted to kill her.
Another bad thing was the cleaning that did not correspond to how demanding the lady was. When we arrived, it smelled of cleaning products, but it was dirty. The first thing is that they did not vacuum, only mop, so the floor was left with the same hairs and the same scrubbed dust. In addition, in general the apartment was quite dusty on all surfaces.
It is also worth noting that it had been “half renovated” years ago, but it was already old and in dire need of assistance. As always, the Airbnb photos did not correspond to reality.
To put the cherry on the cake, the bathroom, apart from being microscopic, was all clogged. Using the shower and sink was a battle because it quickly became like a swimming pool.
In short, it was an accommodation devoid of all the basics. I don’t care if it’s old, but it has to be clean, and things must work. At the end of the month, you can’t imagine how disgusted I was with the apartment.
In the review, I pointed out as bad things the internet, the poor cleaning, the decay of the apartment, the microscopic bathroom with clogged pipes and that it did not have an elevator. I don’t care about the elevator, and we have no problem carrying luggage up the stairs. The problem is that those stairs were very narrow and a person with a suitcase could not fit.
As good things I put that the host was nice, but that I would have appreciated that she told the truth about the internet. Also, the heating in the apartment was always on and the temperature was just right.
Lastly, the location was relatively good. I say “relatively” because the area was horrible and dirty, but we were in the center and 10 minutes from the metro station. I would have liked to stay in Kadiköy as it was the only clean area I saw in the city.
The view was nice because the apartment overlooked the Bosphorus, but with those dirty windows, it took away the idyllic.
I left a bad review and obviously I do not recommend it to anyone. The funny thing, as always, is that people leave such good reviews for such a bad place. The worst thing is that it was almost always full. It is also true that the rest of the guests were always Russian and from what I could see they have quite low standards (at least the ones who go to Turkey).
What is also shocking is that we paid almost 800 euros for that month. That is, European rental price for a seedy hovel.
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