Swandor Topkapi Palace Hotel

We stayed here as a family of four and left with both positive and negative impressions.

The biggest positive was the food. The selection was excellent, the quality was consistently high, and there was always something for everyone in our family. The staff also deserve a lot of credit. They were friendly, welcoming, and genuinely did their best to make sure guests had a pleasant stay.

We also rented a private beach cabana for €180 for one day. For us, it was absolutely worth the money. It gave us a private place to relax without having to compete for sunbeds among thousands of other guests.

On the downside, the hotel feels like a large holiday factory designed to handle as many guests as possible. As a result, there are long queues, crowded areas, and a rather impersonal atmosphere. The hotel is also starting to show its age. Although it is kept clean, the rooms are dark and dated and do not match the bright, modern appearance shown in the hotel’s promotional photos.

The small shops inside the resort are also extremely overpriced. Simple items such as chewing gum, chocolate, or snacks are sold at unreasonable prices.

Our biggest concern, however, was the taxi situation. The hotel appears to allow a system where only certain taxis can operate, while others are driven away. We were charged €70 for a 15-minute taxi ride that normally costs around €15. The drivers also refused to accept card payments, despite this being a legal requirement in Turkey. This left a very poor impression, and we believe the hotel should do more to protect its guests from this kind of practice.

Overall, the hotel offers great food and excellent staff, but it also feels like a place where every opportunity is taken to maximise revenue from tourists. Our family travels to Turkey twice a year and has stayed at many different hotels, but unfortunately this is not a hotel we will return to.

Front dest manager is very sweet and good

This is a large family oriented hotel. My 2 and 7 year old were completely occupied by the pools, water slides and aqua park. The kids club is open until late at night plus there are various activities/events for children.

Be warned that the pool area is incredibly busy, loud and it can be difficult to get a bed. People put towels on the loungers early! The private beach, however, is much quieter and we never had difficulty finding a bed. There is a snack bar on the beach (more of a restaurant really) which serves a good variety of food. There is a separate bar.

Food is tasty and there is a good variety but I did find the dining experience in the main restaurant stressful at peak times due to sheer business and queues for some food items. Staff are generally efficient but due to the size of the hotel and number of guests (approx 1000 rooms) you don’t get a personal experience although this isn’t something that is important to me.

Indoor pool was not in use, decent gym with modern equipment, free weights only go up to 22kg but for a holiday workout it has all that you need.

The architecture within the hotel is stunning (high ceilings, beautiful brickwork etc), our room, however was below the standard I would expect for a hotel of this calibre; dated bathroom, faulty shower (setting the correct temperature took longer than having the shower), very small balcony with cheap plastic furniture. Furthermore our room was behind a large tree resulted in it being constantly dark - we struggled to dry clothes on the balcony despite heat of 35-38 degrees. Cleaning service however was good, plenty of towels etc.

Would I stay here again? Probably not, as I would prefer to be located within walking distance of shops, which the hotel is not and as mentioned the room and dining experience were disappointing. However this aside, we did have a fantastic holiday here and the hotel definitely caters well for its guests.