Aska Lara Resort and Spa

Amazing week at the Aska and our new friend gozde good selection of food and good entertainment amazing for children

The hotel - the hotel is clean and tidy, the staff are attentive and helpful.

The rooms - the rooms are clean and tidy maybe a little dated but still nice. The mini bar was a disappointment, just one of each drink and no snacks, we do Turkey once a year and are used to a couple of snacks too.

The food - the food at the main hotel was of good quality and well ran, can be a trouble to find a table on an evening during peak times, but otherwise good, to improve they could queue people up and show them to free tables. The snack bars at Wet and wild, have limited menus and the portion sizes are tiny, the food is OK, but not great down there.

The entertainment - We purposely booked this hotel due to the reviews on the entertainment. In regards the entertainment we were not let down, it was near perfect, the whole team worked tirelessly, kept the games and schedule fresh, and all of them were friendly and personable, you can go to places where the reps are pushy or moody, this was the total opposite here, everyone of them looked like they wanted to be there which was a massive bonus. Arda especially.

The bars - the drinks are good, but a massive problem are the queues, only 1 person serving continually, for example if you’re watching the shows, they last about 40mins, and you can be queueing 20mins, so you miss the majority of the show, this was poor. Most places have serve your own beer/soft drinks, this is NEEDED.

The pools - The pools are large and spacious, clean and very few cracked tiles, open from 6am too, along with the grounds of the hotel, kept to a good standard. Plenty of beds available, but the ones near the pool went early with some people not using them despite having towels on them until after lunch.

Beach - a little bit of shale on the way in but otherwise a nice beach for Turkey

The shuttle - can be a bit of a pain when busy periods, so tended to walk when busy, it is only a 5 min walk at worse, a few times we even beat the shuttle.

All in all a good experience, would I go back? For the entertainment team yes. But the time to get a drink would need to improve.

I stayed at this hotel with four friends. The experience was mixed, but the hotel has potential and we overall enjoyed our stay.

The hotel facilities were well maintained and kept clean. The annex building was surprisingly good. After reading some reviews, we were worried that it would not meet our expectations. However, I would actually recommend the annex if you prefer a quieter environment. It has its own pool and bar, which provided a welcome escape from the loud and crowded atmosphere at the Wet and Wild park. The walk to the main building did not bother us, as it was connected by a bridge and took no more than five minutes.

Our family suite was spacious and had two bedrooms. The minibar was refilled daily. Unfortunately, the air conditioning in our room was not working properly. We informed Guest Services once, and they sent a technician to fix the issue. Although the AC initially seemed to work better afterwards, it still was not powerful enough to keep the room cool. We therefore had to leave our room card in the key-card slot during the day to keep the AC running. Unfortunately, housekeeping removed it every time they cleaned the room, so we often returned in the evening to a room that was hotter than the outside temperature. I understand that this is part of the hotel's sustainability policy, but given the faulty air conditioning, an exception could have been made. We also had to ask reception for replacement room cards several times.

We really enjoyed the beach at the Wet and Wild park, as it was clean and relatively quiet. Do note that you need to take a shuttle or walk a short distance to get there. The hotel operated two or three shuttles simultaneously during peak hours, so we never had to wait more than ten minutes. As a result, the transfer did not bother us. While sun loungers around the Wet and Wild park itself were often difficult to find, there were always plenty available on the beach.

We usually skipped breakfast. Lunch in the main restaurant, as well as at the restaurants in the Wet and Wild park, was decent. We particularly recommend the pasta and the Turkish dishes, such as the lahmacun, Adana kebab wrap and the mixed sucuk toast. The dinner buffet also offered a good variety of Turkish and international dishes. The food was replenished regularly, and the staff ensured it remained fresh. The cocktails could have been more consistent. In general, the staff were extremely busy, especially in the evenings. It was often difficult to find a table, and we regularly had to ask for drinks ourselves or fetch them from the bar.

The entertainment team did their best, and there were plenty of activities available for guests who enjoy a more active holiday. There is also a shisha stand at the Panorama Bar and another at the beach bar in the Wet and Wild park.

While this hotel is usually not up to my usual standards, I still believe we had a pleasant holiday. Overall, I would recommend Aska Lara to families looking for a mid-range lively resort.