Royal Wings Hotel

My first impression of this hotel was actually quite good, but unfortunately that changed as the stay went on.

When we arrived, the staff were very welcoming. We were given a large room with three beds, which was perfect for us as a family traveling with one child. However, we were hungry after arriving and, since the main restaurant was already closed, we went downstairs to the sandwich bar.

That was the first disappointment. The sandwiches and even some of the desserts seemed as if they had been sitting there for two or three days. Some of the food had an unpleasant, stale taste, and it honestly felt as though they were trying to cover it up by adding several slices of pickled cucumber. We tried two or three different things and eventually gave up.

The next morning, we went down for breakfast. When we wanted to get an omelette, there was a queue of around 20 people. For a hotel of this size, having only one person preparing omelettes is simply not enough and gives the impression that very little thought has been given to the guest experience.

At lunchtime, we tried the restaurants and food points around the pools and close to the beach. Apart from the Turkish gözleme, which was actually very good, the overall food quality was extremely disappointing. Most of the food felt cheap and low-quality.

Earlier this summer, we stayed at a hotel in Egypt where even something as simple as a burger was a proper, good-quality burger and the food in general was excellent. Compared with that experience, the difference here was huge.

Dinner in the main restaurant was better. The food there was decent, although even that could certainly have been better for a hotel in this category.

When it comes to entertainment for children, the water park was actually very good and the swimming pools were beautiful. Unfortunately, the kids’ club was a completely different story.

Almost every time we went there in the afternoon to leave our child for a while, there was nobody at the actual kids’ club. The activities seemed to take place everywhere except inside the club, and parents were expected to stay with their children during many of them. I have no problem spending time with my child, but one of the reasons a kids’ club exists is to give children the opportunity to socialize and enjoy activities with other children independently, without a parent constantly being beside them.

The beach itself was quite nice and generally well maintained, but in my opinion it is simply too small for the number of guests staying at the hotel.

There are also private cabanas on the beach that you can rent. We decided to try one and, to be fair, that experience was very good. In fact, the gentleman who served us at the beach cabana was probably the most professional member of staff we encountered during our stay. He was attentive, polite and genuinely knew how to take care of guests.

The pools are definitely one of the hotel’s strong points, and the rooms are large and spacious. However, the housekeeping staff still have a lot to improve when it comes to the quality and attention to detail of the cleaning.

Overall, I left disappointed. There are some good aspects — especially the pools, the water park, the spacious rooms and the beach cabana service — but the food quality, kids’ club organization, housekeeping and some basic service issues seriously affected our experience.

Unfortunately, this stay also left me disappointed with the standard of tourism in Turkey compared with what I remembered from previous years. In my opinion, the standards have dropped considerably.

We've just returned from a wonderful 11 night stay at Royal Wings. We travelled as a family of 4 with an 8 and 11 year old. We've stayed at 2 other hotels in Turkey previously and we have all agreed that this has been our favourite. The overall atmosphere of the hotel from both staff and guests was the friendliest we've experienced. A few cons to mention but they are outweighed by the overwhelming pros.

Cons:

• The rooms are a little small for a family of 4 in terms of storage space and space in general but we didn't spend much time in there apart from going to bed or getting changed so not too much of an issue for us. We did get a lot of noise from the neighbouring room but fortunately not at times that affected us. We had a laugh at some of their conversations which could be heard clearly and I suppose they could hear us?
• Kids club facilities themselves were not the best we'd experienced. The staff were lovely, it was just not geared up for all age groups. It was just one tiny room and most suited to children aged 5 and under. Although my youngest did go on the banana boat with them which was an extra cost but had a great time.
• The evening shows from the external performers weren't the best we've seen and as a personal preference, we didn't enjoy the amphitheatre layout. The seats were uncomfortable, there was nowhere to put a drink down safely and if you're going in August, it is far too hot to sit there for a whole show. It's like a heat trap. Our favourite shows were actually those put on by the entertainment team like Mr Royal and Mr and Mrs as well as the garden parties. The entertainment at the pool bar in the evening was good though, including the bingo nights.

Pros:

• Despite the room being small, it was always kept clean and the fridge re-stocked daily with water, beer and fizzy drinks.
• Plenty of options for food and drink throughout the day, including sunbed service for drinks and ice-cream from the waiters on rollerblades.
• Service as a whole was very good.
• Hotel itself was always clean.
• Facilities were excellent. A huge pool, plenty of sunbeds, a lovely beach, again with loads of sunbeds, the water park was the best we'd seen and a mini funfair which the kids loved! There was so much more that we didn't get a chance to use but there was something for everyone.
• Entertainment as a whole was brilliant and there was always something going on around the hotel to join in with. Darts is a must as well as archery, boccia and the pool games.
• The staff, from the bar staff, waiters, waitresses, housekeeping, cleaning team and entertainment team are who make the hotel the best in our eyes. They all work tirelessly. We were always made to feel welcome and they were always very warm and friendly. I wish I could remember more names but would like to make a special mention for Umut (aka Harry Potter) and Merve. They were so very kind and friendly and made our children feel really special and involved.

There is a lot more I could add to my review but these were the the main things that mattered to us and overall we had a fantastic holiday!

We were very satisfied with the Royal Wings Lara hotel itself. The accommodation, cleanliness, food, location and overall standard of the resort were excellent. The hotel has an incredibly beautiful garden with a huge swimming pool, a lovely beach with a large beach bar, numerous bars and restaurants, and very fast and attentive service. The night-time snacks and the beautiful lobby bar with its quick service were also excellent. The entertainment programme and activities organized for guests throughout the day were of a very high standard.

If we were rating only the hotel and its regular services, we would have no hesitation in giving it a very high rating.

Unfortunately, however, we had an extremely unpleasant experience with the hotel photographer and the way this service is offered and sold to guests.

The photographer repeatedly approached us and persuaded us to have our photos taken in a way that we eventually found intrusive and annoying. We eventually agreed to the photoshoot. Photographs were taken in the garden, on the beach and in other parts of the resort.

We were then invited to view the photographs at approximately 9:30 p.m.

This is where the truly unpleasant experience began.

Despite repeatedly asking how much the service would cost, we were not given a clear answer beforehand. Instead, we were made to sit through a presentation of the photographs, followed by deleting and selecting photographs, and then subjected to prolonged persuasion. Only afterwards were we told that approximately 200 photographs, provided in electronic format only, would cost an unbelievable €850.

After we were clearly shocked by the price and refused, the price was gradually reduced – first to €600 and, after approximately another hour of persuasion, finally to €450 for 100 photographs, again in electronic format only.

We found this sales approach completely unacceptable. The problem is not only the extremely high price, but especially the lack of transparent pricing beforehand and the subsequent intense sales pressure. You come to a resort to relax and enjoy your holiday, only to spend a significant part of your evening being pressured into purchasing a service whose actual price was not clearly communicated in advance.

Furthermore, in our opinion, the final quality of the photographs did not remotely justify the amount being demanded. Not all of the photographs were of a quality we would expect from such an expensive professional service.

Overall, we felt that these sales tactics cost us a significant amount of our valuable holiday time and spoiled part of what should have been a relaxing experience. This is particularly disappointing because the resort itself is truly beautiful.

Another very unpleasant aspect was the photoshoot involving a macaw. The condition of the bird caused us serious concerns regarding its welfare. From what we observed, it appeared to have only a few flight feathers on each wing, while the remaining feathers appeared to have been plucked rather than professionally trimmed. We cannot determine how this happened, but the condition of the bird was extremely disturbing to us, and we certainly do not consider it appropriate to use an animal in such a condition as a photography attraction for hotel guests.

In summary: We can genuinely recommend Royal Wings Lara in terms of its accommodation, food, cleanliness, beautiful gardens, swimming pool, beach, bars, restaurants, service and entertainment. Unfortunately, our experience with the hotel photographer was so unpleasant, pressure-driven and, in our opinion, lacking in transparency that it significantly damaged our overall impression of an otherwise excellent resort.

If the hotel operates this photography service directly or provides the photographer with space within the resort, we strongly recommend that hotel management carefully review the way guests are approached, informed about prices and subsequently pressured to purchase the service.

This photography experience was, without a doubt, the worst part of our entire holiday.