Well I new when I arrived that it was a good decision, I had read reviews here beforehand and maybe its changed since the bad one I read, anyway its luxurious place, clean, everything works, for two of us it was like almost too big (we were in Panorama apartment). We took the suggested collection service from airport and that worked well, after that we sometimes went by taxi and sometimes by tram. Kumkapi is a just a few minutes away and great in the evenings. IMO Ascot is better than any 4 star hotel. Lady showed me round all the apartments - Penthouse at top is smaller and less glitzy but has amazing balconies, might have been a better choice for us as only 2. The three middle apartments are all big and very 'lux' in fittings and furniture: Panorama (ours) has great views from two small balconies, Blue mosque is on 2nd floor and has good views but no balconies, and Duplex below this is more limited for views but can reach the garden. At bottom is the Garden apartment which is the cheapest and I could see why, still I guess its good if you are on a budget.

Nice lady who lets you in at the start doesn't speak English and theres no reception, its not a hotel and you need to make your own plans for where to go, what to see. But there is free internet so its easy to look stuff up with ipad.

Good location - 5-7 min by walk to tram, same to seaside. Nice personnel. Good equiped and nice rooms.

Cleaning service for additional charges.

Great location out of the tourist hassle and amongst "gritty" Istanbul locals. Women sit in the street outside and children played. The property is a diamond in the rough.

Call to prayer is clearly audible from 5.30am. Way too many feral cats in the area (fed in the street by the locals) that come in uninvited if a door is left open.

Value for money, Ascot House apartments were great. We filled the apartment with 4 adults and between us this cost around £20pn.The rooms were clean, fresh towels, bedding and plenty of hot water.

Only negative of these apartments are the location. They are located in what must be the shoe making district of the bazaar area. These roads are very narrow, steep and at times very dirty. It does not take long (less then 10 mins) to reach the main strip (where the trams travel) however we were a group of young fit women. Only negative but worth it for value for money!

the situation

We couldn,t find the person who rent us the hotel. And the housemaid could,t speak in English and help us.

This apartment is well appointed, in a Turkish area, full of character, but 15 minutes walk to historic area.

Difficult to find initially. Comfortably sleeps 3 (bed settee)

The hotel is situated in the very centre of Sultanahmet - 5 to 10 minutes walk from the tram station. The rooms are quite spacious and have all the facilities like air conditioning system, kitchen and bathroom. A pity that the room we had was in the basement: the window was looking out straight to the ground and the whole basement was a bit moist. Although, the second room for four that we booked had two bathrooms situated on two floors, all looked nice and clean. If you expect to cook - there're no supermarkets in the area, although there're quite many small shops where you can buy fresh bread, milk, cheese, yoghourts and of course fruit and vegetables.↲ Th hotel is ideal if you're traveling with a big company of friends.

The lady, who's looking after the hotel doesn't speak any other language than turkish, although she can call a manager with nice english, who's ready to help and do the translations for her. There were some problems with hot water upon the arrival, but they were fixed after our notice.↲ Not a fault of the hotel, bu some comments on the location: The hotel is in the very centre of the city, but it's a bit difficult to get straight to its doors by car, you'll have to walk up the hill a bit. The way to the tram is also up the hill with cars parked everywhere and bumpy road, which doesn't make the way to the airport pleasant if you decided to go there by tram. If you're planning to cook - there's no supermarket around.

We've booked Duplex apartment - great place. Very special location in historical shoe making district of Istanbul with both sea views and views of Blue mosque.The apartment was very elegant and comfortable, we had a great time.

Ascot House is a nice place for what concerns the house and the rooms, but it's situated in a very poor neighborhood. The first impression of the street where it is located is really negative. At night you do not feel safe.

Negative location.

I travel quite a bit and I was expecting just another standard city apartment but this was much nicer. The street is not the most elegant shall I say but when we stepped inside it was like entering another world. A friendly welcome from the Turkish lady (no English tho!) and the apartment was one floor of the building, great outlook from the back - to the old city. All clean. Big rooms (one bedroom and one living/kitchen with sofa bed) and 2 bathrooms. Wifi worked, tv too. We didn't use the kitchen but it has oven, hob, fridge-freezer, sink, and crockery and cutlery; we just ate out tho. The apartments lower down (Duplex and Garden I think) might not have the views. It took us 11 mins to walk to the Blue Mosque, a bit longer to Topkapi. Five mins (uphill tho) to tram at Beyazit, then its easy to get anywhere (the tram works with cheap plastic tokens). For eating locally on a budget, we really liked Sar on right-hand side of Gedik Pasa as you come up to Beyazit - good for breakfast or dinner. If you go, say hi to Abdullah from us!

Well it's not a criticism but there are steps into the building and the road outside is quite steep and uneven.

The views! + big apartment, all clean and classy and comfy inside, elevator, wifi, washing machine, tv etc.

Takes a few minutes to walk to topkapi, and istanbul is hilly! So not for couch potatoes...

The staff went out of their way to accomdate all our needs, within walking distance to all major sights, very clean and spacious rooms,,very well appointed rooms. Would recomend without hesitation.