Royal Holiday Palace

We are just coming to the end of a 10 day stay at this hotel and these are my honest impressions. Overall it’s not 5 star and although it has its good points, there is lots it could improve on. Although we were comfortable and had a relaxing holiday, I am surprised it gets so many 5s on reviews and would not return.

Positives:

• The overall property is nice, including the lobby area, pool area and beach and pier.
• It’s all well maintained and clean, although the pool area could be kept cleaner. We noticed stains on the floor that were there for several days and glasses that were left in the morning from the day or night before.
• The rooms are very spacious and kept clean. However the bathroom needed a refresh in particular (see negatives).
• Some of the food was good, particularly the Turkish tent (flatbread sandwiches) and lunchtime pizza and doner kebab in the amphitheater area.
• The staff were generally helpful and friendly with a few exceptions (see negatives).
• The location is fine. It’s about 30 minutes from the airport and is at the end of the Lara strip. It is a bit of a walk to most of the shops, so that might be something to consider if you want to go into Lara often. However one visit was enough for us. It’s about an hour from central Antalya and Old Town, which we preferred to Lara.
• We found the hotel pretty quiet of an evening, with the evening entertainment finished by 1030pm. That might be a negative for some of course.

Negatives

• The biggest issue for me was the quality of the buffet. The main issue was the meat was poor quality so there were lots of stews to try and hide that. However there is not enough variety and it’s the same choice each day, with just small variations like alternating types of kebab in the grill area. There are some so called theme nights but they just add an extra dish. So the Asian night had all the same food with just some sushi and the Italian night just had tiramisu for desert. They seem to put more effort into desserts than starters and mains.
• Although there are supposedly several a la carte restaurants, these never appeared open and were not advertised as bookable. The hotel should allow guests staying for at least a week to use these at least once within the all inclusive rate.
• As mentioned earlier the bathrooms in the rooms are very tired, with mold around the bath and old showers. Nowhere near what I would expect for a so called 5 star hotel.
• The hotel appears to cater predominantly for Russian and German guests and many staff speak little English, meaning it can take 2 or 3 attempts to get drink orders right as an example. We noticed that some staff were clearly talking amongst themselves about us when we had to repeat ourselves when asking for things in English, which was rude.
• The WiFi is awful and the air conditioning isn’t great and is particularly bad on the upper floors. We moved room from the 9th floor as it was far too hot.
• Choice of soft drinks, particularly diet options could be better and the mini bar in the room is very limited.
• We stayed during a peak period and most sunbeds had towels on them by 8am. We never saw any staff available around the pool to help guests with sun beds. So if you were not up and putting your towels out before breakfast then you were not getting a sunbed.
• The standard of evening entertainment is poor. There is a show at 9.30pm each night but it was never very good and we saw lots of people leave early each night.

Hope this helps someone or the hotel to make some improvements.

Great features: Room – spacious and clean, we appreciated having the toilet separate from the bathtub, small extra from usual standard were tooth paste and tooth brush very nice. Pier – amazing, we could still find sunbeds and umbrellas even when arriving as late as 11:00 or 12:00. Our son really enjoyed the shaved ice treats. We missed having mixed drinks available elsewhere, as they were only served at the pool bar. Water slides, a children's water tower (for ages up to 15), and slides near the Royal Arena. Bumper cars – available during the day and evening (though there was a long line in the evening; I recommend going between 3:00 PM and 5:00 PM). Trampoline, fairground rides, and the Ferris wheel in the evening.

While it lived up to 5-star standards during its peak season in 2019, it has since reached the point where repairs and maintenance are needed! The hotel’s overall appearance and public areas look very attractive and grand at first glance, however, a closer look at the details reveals shortcomings and a need for further investment in repairs and replacements. Issues range from wall lamps in the main restaurant—some of which were partially coming loose—to a host of minor details. The steps leading to the water attractions require repair; the concrete is crumbling, making it impossible to walk barefoot, and sharp debris constantly pricks one's feet. Additionally, palm frond fragments litter the steps, yet they were never swept or cleaned during our entire 15-day stay. The lobby—with its vast space and magnificent, enormous chandelier—is breathtaking the moment you walk in, and the pool stretching across the complex looks stunning, complete with a bridge crossing over it. However, the water could use more frequent changing, as its temperature was like lukewarm tea. My son missed having a piano available; he had been looking forward to playing in the Piano Bar. The children's slides and tower area (for ages up to 15) had wonderfully cold water, so we at least stood under the tipping bucket there to cool off. We really enjoyed the ice cream, waffles, baked potatoes, and Turkish flatbreads; we skipped lunch entirely as we didn't feel like having a full meal. There was more than enough food and drink everywhere. It was a bit of a shame that mixed drinks were only served at the pool bar, while the bar on the pier didn't offer them. The Wednesday pool foam party was great, and they always served delicious non-alcoholic milk-based drinks. Thursdays featured a balloon party and a bubble-blowing activity at the pool bar—again with those tasty milk drinks.

Hotel weaknesses: The animation team – the quality was lower than what we are used to in Turkey; we missed having volleyball and a wider range of sports activities beyond just aqua gym and Zumba. The evening entertainment wasn't particularly interesting. Activities like karaoke and "women vs. men" competitions aren't very fun. We had seen acrobatic shows and similar performances at another hotel in previous years, and the quality there was far superior. While the pier was amazing, many of the planks had holes in them and really needed at least some sanding down. The beach cabana wasn't free; they wanted €120 for a reservation, which is excessive. (Interestingly, two beach cabanas cost "only" €100.)

we appreciate hotel Guest relation person walk in the area and ask guest about their opinion so far what they like and what can be improved that show attitude to stay good and be better based on our feedback.

It’s our first day and what a welcome, Omar and the pool bar staff are wonderful, the entertainment is so much fun during the day and the evening staff are brilliant. Inga was so lovely when we met her! This is our third time coming back; highly recommended)