Nachdem Kadir, der Manager, einen exzellenten Service geleistet hat und die Wohnung unsere Ansprüche sogar übertroffen hat, schreiben wir gerne ein paar Zeilen zur Bewertung. Zunächst einmal ist die Wohnung wirklich fantastisch gelegen, mitten im Galata Distrikt und nah der Istiklal Strasse (250m). Eigentlich ist alles via Fussweg zu erreichen. Obwohl so zentral, bietet die Wohnung Ruhe und ist außerdem sehr geschmackvoll eingerichtet. Die Küche ist sehr gut ausgestattet und alles was funktionieren muss, funktioniert. Ausserdem gibt es reichlich Restaurants und Cafes in unmittelbarer Nähe. Wir kommen gerne wieder!
We have stayed in quite a few holiday apartments in many cities so far, and this one ranks right at the top in terms of ideal location, decoration, bed comfort and service. It is located on a hip street with great restaurants and breakfast places very near by. (you should try the terrace of the George Hotel right across the street, AMAZING VIEW!!!) It is quite and tidy and the service provided by Kadir and Seral did not leave anything to wish for. Overall highly recommended.
Die Stadt der Gegensätze
Als erstes waren wir etwas verwirrt als wir durch das schmuddelige Treppenhaus stiegen bis wir die Schwelle der Wohnung erreichten. Erst hier wurde uns klar, was uns die Wohnung und Istanbul bieten sollte. Die Wohnung ist mit allem ausgestattet was man sich wünschen kann und ist dazu noch geschmackvoll und modern eingerichtet. Alles ist neu und mit sehr großem Aufwand renoviert worden. Sogar originale Fresken wurden erhalten was nicht minder zu der romantischen Atmosphäre der Wohnung beiträgt. Die Serdar I Ekrem Straße ist ein Phänomen für sich und sehr zentral gelegen, Reich und Arm, Seite an Seite ohne spürbare Spannungen mit vielen tollen Restaurants und Designerläden (Geheimtipp: Old Sandal) bieten eine tolle Atmosphäre. Der Service war auch TOP. Serdal hat sich liebevoll und zeitnah um all unsere Anfragen gekümmert, so das wir uns rundum gut betreut fühlten. An dieser Stelle auch ein großes Lob an Alexandra, unsere Stadtführerin (auf Anfrage buchbar). Ich kann diese Wohnung jedem empfehlen der einen authentischen Urlaub mit hohem Wohnstandard in Istanbul verbringen möchte.
"Best location in Istanbul"
We travel often to Istanbul and stay at a different location each time. This is our favorite. The location is perfect. It is a short walking distance to Tophane tramway station. There are plenty of cafes, grocery stores, boutiques in the area. The apartment is furnished to a high standard...yet comfortable. The beds are the most comfortable beds, beside our own that we have slept in! We have already recommended Galata Fresco to our friends. Serdal and Kadir will take care of any questions, request you may have. They made our weekend trip to Istanbul a pleasure. Highly recommend!
Lovely apartment
This is a lovely spacious apartment very well located for a holiday in Istanbul. Even with our 2 kids in tow (13 & 10) it was only walking distance to Spice Market, Grand Bazaar, Ayasophia, Blue Mosque, Istiklal Caddesi and Taksim. The apartment is well equipped and extremely clean with Galata Tower almost within arm's reach! There are some negatives to this apartment. Firstly, the apartment is located on the 4th floor of a walk up. This is no small undertaking with 3 large heavy suitcases and hand luggage. It is also a very noisy location as there is a hostel nearby & everyone seems to stay up until the wee hours. Also, we had no tv as was supposed to be the case as someone removed the cable box on the 2nd day of our 5 day stay. Luckily we all had laptops, ipads, etc but had we not had them, this would have been a major problem with kids.
Excellent Galata apartment
Wir, eine vierköpfige Familie mit zwei halbwüchsigen Söhnen und eine Freundin von uns, haben fünf Tag und vier Nächte im Oktober in Istanbul verbracht. Und: Wir hatten ein Super-Glück mit unserem Appartement: Galata Tower: Superschön, großzügig, hell, elegant eingerichtet und dazu noch mit einer Dachterrasse und Blick über den Bosperus. Ich habe noch nie in einer Großstadt so schön gewohnt. Sicher, das Ganze ist kein Schnäppchen, aber es war sein Geld wert. Dazu stimmte der Service und wir können das Angebot von Cast weiterempfehlen, eine Basar-Tour bei Alexandra zu buchen: Die exklusive Besichtigung eines Spielortes des neuen James Bond auf dem Dach einer alten Karawanserei werden wir so schnell nicht vergessen. Klasse!
Everything you could ask for!
We stayed in this brand new apartment beginning of March 2013, and we loved it. The decoration has charm and is original, unlike many other holiday apartments where one feels like a visit to IKEA. Kitchen and Bathroom are both brand new, and the only negative is the small sink in the bathroom. It is located on a quite side street without car traffic and not much foot traffic. It is only a couple minutes to Istiklal Street and the Galata Tower is just next door (can be seen from the bedroom, magic at night!). Public transport is within short reach and there are plenty of restaurants and cafes in the neighborhood. Very hip stuff, with a bohemian but cosmopolitan flair. The little breakfast place that is located in the building serves an amazing variety of things! Our host Serdal was very welcoming and provided useful tips. He even translated via the telephone for us when we got lost in this amazing city! We will come back and bring more friends.
The pictures do not do this apartment justice. The view is much, much better in real life! The decoration has character (the pink sofa is maybe a bit too pink) and the furniture is of good quality. One of us slept on the sofa bed, and it was absolutely ok. The location is great because quite but central. There is a small grocery shop at the opposite corner, which is open late and very friendly. The street itself has art galleries (one is in the raised ground floor of the apartment building), cafes and restaurants. Everything in Beyoglu is pretty much walking distance. Our host Kadir was very helpful and welcoming. We can recommend this place and CAST without any hesitation.
We had a very pleasant stay, the flat is very well situated in a quiet area closed to many interesting things to do and to see (arts gallery, café, metro..). The flat is spacious , the kitchen is well equipped, tv...and the view is fantastic.
Location: * in a very bohemian and fun location, the apartment is very close to the Galata tower, lovely boutiques and quirky shops, lots of restaurants and cafes, and of course, Istiklal Street. * The streets go uphill and downhill very steeply and throughout, and is mostly cobble-stoned; so the location is not for one who has trouble walking, or for the elderly. Building: * A quiet building easy to lose so I recommend getting an airport pick-up arrangement from the hotel. It costs 30 Euros, which is not a big amount considering taxi drivers tend to charge more sometimes. * Apartment is on 4th floor (steep climb) and there is no lift, so again, if you have any disability, heavy luggage, or aged, reconsider. Apartment: * Clean & beautiful apartment. Trendy, spacious. Plenty of towels, bedsheets, dishes, cutlery at disposal. Clealiness is the most important consideration for me, and the apartment fulfilled it. * 2 bedrooms (large) and 1 bathroom (small). Kitchen with all applicances, large living-room. * Website states there's Wifi but either there is no Wifi, or building has issues with it - not sure. But hosts were very accomodating in trying to fix issue which got restored. Overall, I recommend this apartment for a family or friends but because it is so lovely, I also request future customers to take care of it and keep it clean because I'd like to go back to stay here again!
We had a wonderful time in Istanbul in this beautiful apartment, It was spotlessly clean, and had a realxed and very pleasant atmosphere. Serdal, who was giving us the keys was really helpful with advice about restaurants and bars in the area. The flat is situated in a very handy spot with easy access both to the ancient and modern city, There is lots to do in the area in the evenings. All in all, we had a fantastic stay and would definitely recommend the apartment to anyone visiting Istanbul. Thanks.
Tolle Wohnung, tolle Stadt
Die Wohnung Serdar I Ekrem ist ein hervorragender Ausgangspunkt um die Stadt zu entdecken. Die Lokation ist perfekt zentral gelegen und die Altstadt sowie die Istiklal Straße sind in wenigen Minuten zu Fuß zu erreichen einfach genial.
Die Gestaltung der Wohnung geht in Richtung spirituell und vermittelt eine ganz besondere Stimmung die wunderbar mit der Stadt harmoniert. Die zwei Einzelbetten im zweiten Schlafzimmer kann man übrigens zusammenschieben so dass zwei Paare genug Platz und Privatsphäre haben.
Zum Service muss ich nicht mehr viel sagen außer weiter so große klasse!!!
We had five persons in our group and were quite comfortable at this lovely apartment with the most beautiful view. We had all the amenities we needed, except for wifi and a microwave, both of which would have made our 11 night stay at this lovely apartment much more comfortable.
We also very much appreciated Serdal's wonderful hospitality. Thank you Serdal for everything.
Also loved the location of this apartment. I was able to go daily to Cihangir yoga classes (less than a 7 minute walk through shortcuts) and a very easy walk to all the shopping places near Taksim square.
This was a fantastic experience and I hope to make it back to Istanbul again soon!
My family and I have occupied this property for a week and we had a wonderful stay. We got everything we bargained for and much more. The view from the property is just breathtaking and you can enjoy your breakfast looking at all those boats in the port of Istanbul. We were greated upon arrival by the owner and he answered all our questions. The place was very clean and had all the amenities needed. We found that it was a very good location to visit Istanbul and all the sites that we had targeted. It is close. to a mosque and you will have to ear the prayer at odd hours but so what ..... Bottom line, a great experience that I would recommend to a friend.
This place was amazing. The apartment was very clean and centrally located near Taksim Sq. and Istiklal Caddesi street. I stayed there with 4 friends, total of 5 people and were very comfortable with the space. The view from the balcony is stunning. Our host Kadir was very nice and helpful. He arranged airport pickup and drop off for us. I would definitely stay here again if I come back to Istanbul. The one thing that would be nice to have in the apartment is WiFi. But we didn't really have any problems accessing WiFi in every Cafe and Club in Istanbul.
Eigentlich sind wir angereist um ein Partywochenende in Beyoglu zu zelebrieren doch irgendwie haben wir mehr Zeit in der Wohnung verbracht als irgendwo anders. Die Besitzer Serdal & Kadir sind sehr freundliche und äußerst zuvorkommende Gastgeber und stehen mit Rat und Tat zur Verfügung. Wenn Ihr euch nicht so gut auskennt fragt einfach die Beiden und Ihr werdet sicherlich ein Paar aufregende Istanbuler Abende erleben. Zur Wohnung ist eigentlich nicht viel zu sagen außer dass sie geschmackvoll ausgestattet und sehr sauber und komfortabel ist, besonders zu erwähnen ist die Auswahl der Bilder (Kunst) an den Wänden Well Done Jungs! Wir werden euch auf jeden Fall weiter empfehlen und selbst auch die eine oder andere Wohnung gelegentlich in Anspruch nehmen wollen.
"A comfortable, roomy apartment for the 3 of us (it will take two couples). A few minor flaws but nothing serious. Malfunctioning light bulbs were sorted out the next day by Kadir, very efficiently. There's a phone you can use for local calls at no charge, so it's handy to book a restaurant.
The location is great. You can walk to Istanbul's major shopping street in 5 - 10 mins. You can even walk to the Blue Mosque in 30 mins, so if the weather's nice you can enjoy the city at first hand.
It's on a quiet side street so you won't be disturbed by too much noise, but it's only minutes to find a place selling fresh bread and pastries in the morning, or the local Carrefour supermarket where you can stock up on excellent Turkish wine and beer.
Good place, try it."
This is a classy and well appointed modern apartment in a quiet street. The five Azure apartments in the Cast portfolio, painted an azure blue on the outside, are one apartment block with Azure 1 on the first floor. And an interior azure decor creates an ambience of calm - an oasis in a teeming city of sensory overload. It contains everything necessary for a comfortable stay. It was clean, inviting and a haven to return to each night. A spacious kitchen, dining area and sitting room were our highlights. A large shower with copious hot water and a fresh smelling bed is not to be ignored as an imperative to this fastidious couple. An even larger fridge for all your turkish pillaging and foraging is an added bonus. One cannot resist hunter gathering on an obscene scale . There are a multitude of food stores around the apartment which appear to be open for business 24/7. And everything is good. You will waddle home sated like a sultan on pastries, halva and turkish delight. A "simit" bakery is a short walk away and the appetising smell of new bread and toasted sesame seeds has you slavering in anticipation even if you've just eaten breakfast! The ten minute walk up a very steep hill from the tram station back to Azure 1 should be embraced as a necessity:)
We have only a few cavils. The photo's don't give a real life view of how compact the bedrooms and bathroom are. Your bed is literally wall to wall and this necessitates clambering onto it and out of it at the foot base. If you are not agile this could be problematic. The bathroom is as wide as the shower. A one person standing space only. Fine for a couple but a larger party would have to have a roster in place. Although there is a downstairs loo. The apartment building next door is presently being renovated (this will be a necessary consideration for the next few months) and this created such a cacophony of noise it was impossible to stay in during the day and equally impossible to utilise the very pretty little patio due to the dust and wet cement that accompanied the noise. The apartment is on two floors - the stairs might not suit toddlers. Finally, although we were promised a linen change during our two week stay, this did not materialise. These are small gripes and should not disway any decision to make Azure 1 your home base while exploring Turkey. An added incentive is the courtesy extended to you by the Cast team. They are charming.
Charming Apartment for Three People in Istanbul (Azure 2)
All the information provided about this apartment was accurate and helpful. It was central to the main shopping and entertainment venues in the area with lots of shops and places to eat nearby. There is a wide range of types of food to suit anyone, food is very a good standard at very reasonable prices. The older part of town with the central bazaar, the famous mosques and Topkapi palace is about 40 minutes walk or a quick ride on a modern tram. The property provided everything we needed, it was comfortable and well equipped, a big window onto the street, and marble flooring. The weather was still quite warm and after being outside walking a lot the powerful shower with plentiful hot water and the efficient touch button air conditioning unit were a real comfort. Everything was spotlessly clean and in good condition. Customer service was excellent. There was a complication over transfers to and from the airport that was sorted out without causing difficulty for us and a maintenance need that arose within the apartment was all done within an hour. There is a phone for local calls and to contact Cast if needed. Our contact, Serdal, was charming and gave us a lot of good information about the best places in the area for eating, museums, jazz etc. He even told us about the best books (and the ones to avoid!) by a local nobel prize winning author, Orhan Pamuk, and about a photographer, Ara Guler. The street we were in was quiet and peaceful yet it was less than a five minute walk to lots of shops and places to eat. The main shopping along a very long pedestrianised precinct, Istiklal, was less than 10 minutes walk. there is lots to do and we will be returning.
Adorable, clean, comfortable, well-located
Schöne Tage in Azure 3
Excellent base for seeing Istanbul