Euphoria Palm Beach Resort

I am on my 5th day of my stay and I'm really enjoying it. The rooms are spacious and clean, with cleaners checking in every day (one even sorted out a wasp!). The food is varied and much to choose from with something for everyone and themed nights. The entertainment and facilities such as kids club run by Esra and a team of dedicated attendants. 3 pools and an aquapark to choose from and a DJ every night AND a beach only 5min walk away - honestly couldn't ask for more. Thank you Asteria!

We booked this holiday with Thomas Cook because they offered the best price. However, in all honesty, I'm not sure if I would book with them again due to the lack of information provided before we travelled. There were a few issues that I think future travellers should be aware of.

The biggest problem occurred as soon as we landed in Turkey. We had booked a private airport transfer through Thomas Cook, which was listed as Suntransfers but subcontracted to Bizim Transfers. As the transfer instructions were quite detailed, I intended to read through them once we arrived in Turkey to avoid any confusion.

Unfortunately, on arrival we discovered that we couldn't access our emails, WhatsApp messages or booking information because we didn't have internet access. We had never experienced this on previous trips to Turkey and hadn't been advised to download all of our travel documents before leaving the UK or how to access the airport Wi-Fi if needed.

As a result, we spent over two hours searching for our transfer driver. There was no obvious transfer company signage, no driver holding a board with our name, no taxi displaying our name or hotel, and we were unable to contact the transfer company ourselves. We even asked the airport police for assistance, but they were unable to help. Eventually, we decided to take another taxi to the hotel. It was only after we had left the airport that Bizim Transfers contacted us, so we had to turn around and return to the airport to try, once again, to locate them. We eventually arrived at the hotel around three hours later than expected.

This whole situation could have been avoided if Thomas Cook had simply advised customers to download all travel documents before travelling and explained how to access the airport Wi-Fi if required. Likewise, clearer signage from the transfer company would have made finding our driver much easier.

Another surprise came the following morning when the hotel contacted us to attend a welcome meeting with a Love Holidays representative. We hadn't been told about this beforehand, nor had we been advised that Love Holidays would be the company assisting Thomas Cook customers while in resort. In fairness, the Love Holidays representative was extremely helpful and explained that we should contact them if we experienced any issues during our stay.

As for the hotel itself, our first impression was that it felt a little tired but still had plenty of charm. It has recently changed ownership, so hopefully the new owners will invest in modernising certain areas. The reception area doesn't quite create the impression you'd expect from a five-star hotel, although the rest of the resort has a lovely layout. Everything flows nicely from the reception to the accommodation to the main restaurant, several swimming pools, children's areas and finally the beach.

The food was generally good, although the selection wasn't quite as extensive as we'd expected for a hotel of this size, with several dishes repeated throughout the buffet. We also found the buffet layout rather confusing with bowls, cutlery and various foods located in different areas, meaning you often had to walk back and forth several times. Food stations for the buffet were also regularly cleared before the advertised finishing time, reducing the available choice.

The restaurant itself became very busy, particularly in the air-conditioned section where tables were limited. The waiting staff were also slow to clear tables and, on one occasion, my daughter ended up clearing our table herself so that we could all sit down to eat. The same issue was noticeable around the pools, where dirty plates and glasses often remained for hours in temperatures of around 37°C before eventually being cleared away. Having more staff collecting dishes, or designated collection points for guests to leave used plates and glasses, would make a significant difference.

There were several bars around the resort but, with the exception of one, they were generally staffed by a single person. Service was slow, resulting in long queues and increasingly frustrated guests. As a result of this, we rarely used the bars. Drinks were served in small plastic cups, the wine was generally warm, and even the bottled water in the nearby fridges was often not particularly cold.

We also noticed a large number of ants around the resort, although whether this was linked to the amount of food and drink left around the pool areas I couldn't say. Both my daughter and I came home with numerous ant bites.

Our room was comfortable, although we had to request additional waffle blankets as only one small blanket was provided for each double bed, and it wasn't large enough to comfortably cover two people. On one day our room also wasn't serviced, despite us placing the "Please clean my room" sign on the door before leaving. The walls of the room were also very thin so we could hear people talking in the room next door.

Despite these issues, we still enjoyed our holiday. The grounds are attractive, you're able to get sunloungers around one pool or another, the beach is lovely, and the resort has a relaxed atmosphere. With improvements to staffing levels, cleanliness and organisation, this hotel has the potential to become an excellent family resort once again.

Finally, a few thoughts on Turkey itself. This was around our seventh visit, and sadly we felt the overall experience wasn't quite what it used to be. We found many locals to be less welcoming than on previous visits, and many shops now price goods in Euros rather than Turkish Lira, making shopping considerably more expensive than before. It's a shame because we've always enjoyed visiting Turkey, but after this trip we've decided it's probably time to start exploring other destinations instead. I hope you find this review helpful!