Balkon Residence

Recent Reviews: 16

• User:Sergei_D1973

  Trip type:

  Bad experience, strongly do not recommend to stay.

  10 Jan 2016

  We decided to book this apartment because of great reviews. But I have no idea who wrote that reviews. There are for sure some great points like good location, a lot of space, jacuzzi on the basement floor, comfy bed. That’s all. Then come the bad sides. First of all, this apartment is not suited for renting during the winter months. We came in December when it was minus temperatures in Istanbul and we felt very cold inside the apartment because it’s located on the ground floor and on the sides of the door there are big holes that makes the cold wind go inside. We told several times about that problem to apartment’s managers Aisha and Suat, but they did nothing. We needed to wear warm coats inside to feel a bit warmer. The other problem was that coking panel was broken and didn’t work so we were not able to cook any meals. The water in the bathroom wasn’t stable and most of the time was cold so you can’t even wash your face normally. The other negative points were – the bed stands close to the old brick wall and soon all the sheets and pillows and everything is covered with small pieces of bricks. You get up with sharp brick pieces in your hair, inside your phone if you leave it close to bed, in your clothing, everything. The owner knows about this problem but doesn’t think it’s a problem. He cares not about the comfort of the guests but about his ancient walls.There are no mirror in the apartment, only small one in the bathroom, no table in the kitchen, no enough closets for 2 people.The worst point was that we told about the main problems several times, but the personnel was just polite but didn’t solve our problems, didn’t offer to relocate to the other apartment or just bring the heater to make us feel more warm. Instead of celebrating the New Year’s Eve and enjoying our vacation we had to solve all that problems that became a nightmare for us.At the end when we had to complain to booking.com and they opened a claim, the owner came and called us liars, because that day the temperature outside was about +10, it wasn’t so cold, he said he doesn’t see any problem. He was arrogant and rude with us. We think that for this price that we paid the owner and employees should be more polite and helpful. As we understood the owner doesn’t plan to fix all these problems so we strongly recommend not to stay in this apartment.

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• User:Rany J

  Trip type: Couples

  Superb location, good apartment with million dollar view, slack management

  31 Oct 2014

  We have stayed 3 nights at Studio (50 m2) then 2 nights at 1-Bedroom (55 m2 Sea View). Both offer good value (fast internet, quick response from the manager, good mattress) for the money and the location is superb. However studio located on the ground floor is extremely noisy especially in the middle of night. For example, groups checking out 4am and they dont know right in front of their gathering place is another accommodation where people sleep so the room is exposed directly to all kind of noises - people talking loud, dragging their suitcases, walking, running, etc.The sea view apartment was stunning. Having no escalator, one needs to carry suitcase to 6th floor but after that, the million dollar view justifies all effort and handwork. all were good in terms of hardware. Yet housekeeping is doing a bad job: when we checked in, one of 2 electricity sources was not turned on so half of stuff powered by electricity wasn't working. second day, I found there was no match in the match box so I couldn't turn on the stove and cook for the breakfast. that afternoon i found water was leaking from the dishwasher. There was no detergent/ softener/ cleaning material provided so I had to buy all for staying there fore 2 nights. outdoor furniture was folded at the corner so we had to pull them all out to enjoy the view sitting. In summary, there was no standard operation procedures put in place before receiving guests so it was up to the guests to find things not working and report to the manager to fix it ASAP. Pity for such a property...

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• User:Majed A

  Trip type: Business

  Impolite Personnel

  21 Oct 2014

  Very impolite personnel over the phone. Not a place I would stay paying money and being disrespected. I wanted to book a suite and the impolite guy over the phone insisted for me to send an email to give me a price. Total Losers! That is not service.

• User:2014_RS_2014

  Trip type: Family

  Best location in Galata, Beyoglu, Istanbul

  12 Aug 2014

  This apartment is in a fantastic location, close to trams, restaurants, sights and the terrace has the best views - much better than most hotels in Istanbul for a great price. 65 steps up to the fifth floor (we stayed in One bedroom SeaView Apartment at top of the building with a luxurious terrace) is the only price to pay. Attentive, super-helpful staff on site + Manager/Owners. Walk to subway (Sishane), tramway (Karakoy), or to Istiklal street in a few minutes.

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• User:A6063XXannem

  Trip type: Couples

  Great location, cute apartment, but noisy

  22 Nov 2013

  This apartment is in an ideal location, right near loads of shops, restaurants and bars. Also very close to public transportation, although walking to the major sites of the Old City and Taksim Square is possible too.. It's well appointed and comfortable as well. The only drawback for us was the construction next door. The construction noise continued well into the night (1 or 2 am on the weekends), and caused power surges that took out the wireless for 3 days of our stay and took down a blackberry we had plugged in as well. Although the managers were responsive regarding the internet, 3 days of downtime with no offer of compensation was frustrating as we tend to do a lot of travel planning using the internet and needed to keep in touch with work. There was lots of other noise as well at night, though I would consider it typical city noise.

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