Side Resort Hotel

oh what a shame. this hotel leaves a lot to be desired. we were greeted by a member of staff when we stepped of the coach who bummed a cigarette from us. the aircon in our shoebox room was not working. maintaitance arrived quickly enough but the filter was still filthy. the shower was week and never got to a good temperature.i was told the safe key would be dropped off. im still waiting for that. whilst the room was clean it was so small. you had to walk sideways around the bed. the spa and the hairdressers were always trying to get you to go in. even if you did use them they were trying to get you to rebook for tomorrow or later before you even left. the food was less than edible, yes there was theme nights but they were a joke, one maybe too themed dishes that were unconnected to the theme. Chinese on mexican night. juice was just squash that was too weak, the odd ocation they had fresh orange available you were charged for it. the coffee both filtered and machine was undrinkable and the morning pastries were not pastries, they were just like stail bread. there were flies all over the dinning room and on the food and there was no allergen advice. there were tip boxes everywhere. it felt like a demand or begging almost. if i want to tip a member of staff i do and did. but being told to made me annoyed. why cant the company pay there overworked staff a decent wage instead of begging me to top up there wages? some of the staff are outstanding and deserve a living wage and recognition for all they do with a smile on there faces. like Gurbet, Irem and Aybelek. these ladies are wonderful at there jobs. if you want to lay around a pool and drink all day. eat rubbish, repetative food all day and listen to loud music on repeat then this is the place for you. but if you want a relaxing holiday then avoid at all costs.

OK Hotel but not for us. We booked this hotel based on it having 4.7 stars on Tripadvisor and after being amazed by our first trip to Turkiye earlier this year, staying at a resort that was only rated 4.4 we thought this place would be incredible. Unfortunately we were wrong, very wrong. I guess reviews have more to do with the reviewer's expectations than the hotel quality/features than I previously expected. OK so this is not a bad hotel though there were a few things that they could definately do better and we did have a few issues. When we arrived the Aircon was not working and the room was like an oven. I cannot fault them in the speed of the response as they had it up and running within 30 minutes despite us arriving at 2.30 in the morning due to delayed flights. The aircon still played up somewhat with very low airflow and loud fan noise - I fixed this myself by cleaning the very dirty filter resulting in it working so well we had to turn it off occasionally despite temperatures approaching 40 Degrees C outside. Other things to note about the Air con is that it would immediately cut out the second the the terrace door was opened and would take a good 5 minutes to kick in again after the door was closed. Added to this that the terrace door could only be opened from the inside (possibly because we were on the ground floor), we had to leave the door open whenever we wanted to use the terrace. I understand the need for being environmentally responsible and the need for security but there has got to be a better solution especially as the first time we used the terrace the door rolled shut really easily resulting in having to climb over the wall and fight through the bushes to get back round to the room door - we left a makeshift stopper in the opening after that. Both this and the other resort had a fridge and in the other resort there was a range of soft drinks and beers included and topped up daily. Here there was a single, large bottle of water on arrival and that was it. There is a fridge a minute or two walk away where you can help yourself to all the bottles of water you want but is seems such a simple gesture to leave a couple in the room daily that would be such a big improvement. Our room was listed as 'standard' but we regarded as tiny however in the website gallery it does show a room layout plan which, unfortunately for us, was accurate. If you're looking for a good size room with a bit of luxury this is not the hotel for you. Moving on to the food. This was very disappionting relative to the ratings. On the plus side we knew a lot of the food was cooked fresh as you could see the chefs cooking the food behind the buffet counters however the choice and quality was was generally basic and budget. One example was the mexican night. The only mexican dishes were 'mexican soup' and pieces of burritos. There was a chinese chicken dish though but no sign of and Chilli, Fajitas, Tacos, Enchiladas or Refried beans. As for allergy sufferers, which fortunately we are not, each dish label had the wording along the lines of 'This dish is unsuitable for people with the following allergies' and then nothing, just blank. No allergy information whatsoever. If you're going to consider allergy advice then please complete the job. When there were choices for breakfast that didn't appeal to me i thought i would be able to fall back on croissants and coffee however the croissants were so hard the could smash windows and the coffee, both the filter and machine could only be described as brown water. If you want a decent coffee go to the restaurant in the 'Aqua' side of the resort after 10am or possibly get a propper barista coffee from the bar in the corner of the pool where the water fridges are located. We didn't actually have one there as they are a faff to make and the staff throughout the resort were working so hard and for such long hours we really didn't want to put them to the trouble. This leads me to the staff. I cannot fault a single one of them. They were so welcoming and hardworking especially Aybelek, Irem and Gurbet who were simply amazing. How they kept going with smiles on their faces despite so many of the other guests being downright rude, impatient and arrogant to staff and other guests is beyond me. evry few minutes there would be the sound of a plate smashing in the buffet area, probably caused by people barging into one another almost fighting for food like they were at risk of starvation. I did worry about the number of hours they all work as it was normal to see the same people working all the meal services and in the bars between services. One thing we didn't really participate in was the entertainment however there always seemed to be something to do and the entertainment team appeared to work very hard. Another thing to note with this hotel especially for people who are not pool fans like us, is that there is very limited indoor space. All the bars are out side around the pools with a very small lounge in the lobby area with seating for no more than around 20. Other than that if you want respite from the summer heat and humidity then the other option it to hide in your room. In summary, for families who want to lounge around a pool all day, have unlimited drinks while their kids are entertained and arent bothered by basic food and rooms then this hotel would probably be a great choice. If, like us, you want a hotel with a bit of space and luxury, and impressive food, to use as a base to explore such a beautiful country then find somewhere else.

Had a great time at the hotel, the entertainment team were brilliant with the kids and the adults, lots of food to choose from, would definitely come back next year 👍