Kremlin Palace

: Large Pool, good children’s splash park. Big complex with lovely grounds and pier. Beach is ok, plenty of beds but sand is gritty and not great. Water sports are expensive. We stayed in a family duplex room (separate upstairs with three pull out chairs for beds, not the best) Downstairs bed was hard and uncomfortable. Air con throughout both rooms which was definitely needed. Room in general needs updating, dark, dated furniture and no upstairs curtains which was hard to sleep in once it started to get light. Upstairs duplex rooms certainly need black out curtains putting in. Mini fridge in room replenished daily with drinks. Rooms were cleaned daily with fresh towels. Some cleaners do a better job than others. The main restaurant is chaos in peak periods! Be prepared to queue and have to push your way through lots of rude guests. Food was ok, plenty of choice. Reception area has a bar and patisserie where you can get drinks, coffees and cakes. The outside food bars serve the same food everyday. Chicken kebab, melon, pizza, chips and waffles. Burgers and hotdogs change over in late afternoon. Very repetitive. The day time entertainment was lame. Not much going on apart from a few skipping games or volleyball. My teenagers were quite bored. There are a few slides but nothing else happening for older kids. There is a children’s club where you can drop your child off at from 9-12 and 2-6 (small children 4-8 years) this was air conditioned with a small soft play area, outdoor play park and Lego station. Also there is a small Games section with ride on cars (10 euros for 10 mins) all of which is charged extra. The onsite shop is a massive CON. The hotel should not be allowing them to charge such ridiculous prices! Absolute joke! 6 euros for a packet of baby wipes! 5 euros for a small packet of haribos! Completely ripping people off! Taxis are expensive into Lara (set prices booked with the hotel) 30 euros return into Lara which is around 6-7 mins away. We used the bus. Bus stop right outside of the hotel and costs 50 lira per person. Overall we found the hotel to be quite average and would not return.

We paid almost £3,500 for one adult and two children, and unfortunately this has been one of the most disappointing hotel experiences we’ve had in Turkey.

We arrived at around 10pm only to be told the systems were down, leaving us waiting almost two hours to check in. We decided to get something to eat while we waited, but the food was genuinely awful. We hoped it was just because we’d caught the end of the evening buffet, but sadly breakfast and the rest of the holiday didn’t improve.

The dining area feels like a cattle market. It’s overcrowded at every meal, with constant queues, people pushing past each other, and crockery being dropped and smashed because it’s so busy. On several occasions there were flies around the food, which was really off-putting.

The room was extremely dated with a noticeable stale smell. It felt dusty and neglected, and certainly didn’t reflect the price we paid. The Wi-Fi constantly disconnected, and the TV had no English channels, making it difficult to relax in the evenings.

Communication was another major issue. Many staff members struggled to understand basic English, and when we asked for help it often came across as abrupt or dismissive. It also seemed as though the same staff were expected to do everything - serving food, waiting tables and even entertainment - leaving them stretched far too thin.

The on-site shop is incredibly overpriced, and you’re constantly approached around the pool to buy professional photos or book massages. After a while it became exhausting rather than enjoyable.

I’ve stayed in several beautiful hotels in Turkey over the years, so I know the standard the country has to offer. Sadly, this hotel falls well below that standard. It’s overcrowded, outdated and nowhere near worth the money. Calling it a “Palace” is, in my opinion, completely misleading.

I wouldn’t return, and I certainly wouldn’t recommend paying this kind of money to stay here.