My Ella Bodrum

Finished a one week stay at just and mostly good experiences really- however some of the other reviews RE Hygiene are more than fair, and despite the hotel management coming out with the same 'it is a five star resort' comment it is definitely more a 4 star experience. May have given an extra point for 4/5 if was not being marketed as five stars

We stayed in the swim up rooms and if you can afford it I would definitely recommend paying extra for these. The main pool is extremely crowded, very loud music blaring same songs every day and barely any spaces between sunbeds. The private Swim Up room was great, shower was fine and large comfortable bed. Only small thing I didn't like was the TV does not pick up any channels. Relatively minor and I know most won't care, but I do like to relax in the evenings with a TV on when on holiday. Room cleaning was good, have seen some complain about this but we had no issues. Cleaned every day to a good standard.

The food on the all inclusive is good- lots of choice, never once ill and the snack bar in the pool area is great. However the main restaurant simply just is not big enough for the hotel and the staff are extremely slow to clear spaces when people have finished. You will definitely have to wait for a table and queue for food in the evenings. The staff try, but there isn't really enough of them. So the food itself is fine, but the whole dining experience is simply too busy for a five star resort' and the restaurant isn't big enough for all the guests.

Main problem for English travellers is none of the hotel staff speak English well and those that do bits still fine it difficult. They did still try and they are friendly and helpful, but it can be frustrating when you are given the wrong things. An example of where this can be dangerous is travelling with a family member who is diabetic. We constantly asked for Pepsi Light/zero/diet yet were still given full sugar. We can tell the difference between tasting it so consistently took it back. But it is just one example where this can cause problems. Staff should at least understand what is on the drinks menu word for word. This aside however the staff do work hard and the bar staff at the pool bar are great. Give a small tip every few drinks and they filled our large yeti cups instead of giving us the small plastic glasses.

The beach is small and dirty. The hotel do make a great effort to keep it tidy and it is better than nothing. But don't expect a large, beautiful sandy beach. Yes you can go in the sea but it is full of stones and seaweed..

Best thing about this hotel is Ronaldo and he doesn't even work there. He sells his boat trip out by the beach. He speaks fluent English and is very helpful to all travellers but specially English ones as we were the only ones there. His boat trip is good and very reasonably priced also.

The animation team try their best with what they have, but again the evening entertainment if on the main terrace and again, there just isn't enough seating for even 20% of the hotel to watch it. Therefore we went once and didn't the other times. The hotel should keep the pool bar open later of people want evening drinks on the beach.

Other reviews have commented on hygiene- whilst it could be improved (dirty plates left in corridors and on tables for ages) it was far from filthy as others have said and the room cleaning was good.

All in all it was a good stay but absolutely no way is it 5 star worthy, especially if you are not staying in the superior swim up room. If you are English I would consider going elsewhere as we were the only English party in the hotel and communicating with the staff is difficult. It the hotel was marketed as 4 stars I'd be a bit less critical but it does not live up to 5 star standards.

Our experience at My Ella Resort was very disappointing.

One of the first things we noticed was the lack of cleanliness throughout the resort. Poor hygiene was visible everywhere , on the restaurant tables, on the floors in the lobby, and in other common areas.

Housekeeping was one of the biggest issues. Our room was never properly cleaned; they usually only changed the towels, and sometimes they even forgot to do that. We complained twice at the reception about the cleanliness, but nothing changed. We also noticed that this was the case for many other guests.

The pool has a very limited number of sunbeds. By 7:30 AM, all of them were already occupied, making it almost impossible to find a place to relax.

The sea is very dirty and not suitable for swimming or spending time at the beach. As a result, the only option is the pool, which becomes extremely overcrowded.

The drinks were of very poor quality and tasted artificial, as if they were made from flavour concentrates rather than real ingredients. Cocktails were prepared in less than 30 seconds and were so bad that they were almost impossible to drink.

Another issue was communication. Most of the staff did not speak English, except for a few receptionists who spoke a little. Whenever we wanted to explain something, we had to use Google Translate.

The resort does not offer espresso coffee, which is surprising for a hotel that claims to be 5-star. Every morning we had to walk around 10 minutes to another place just to have a proper coffee, which meant extra effort and additional costs for us. We noticed that most guests at the resort were Turkish, but this should not mean that the hotel does not adapt to the needs of international visitors as well.

Although this is advertised as a 5-star hotel, it feels old and worn out. It is obvious that the property has not been renovated for many years.

We do not recommend this hotel at all and, in our opinion, it does not deserve its 5-star rating.

This hotel isn't even a 3 star hotel, Rooms are really nice however there is no housekeeping standard services available during their daily cleaning services. They don't clean shower at all, they don't leave clean towels and they don't fill hand soap. I was tired asking those things 4 days in a row, it is ridiculous. Dinner starts at 7 PM however between 7-8:30 PM there is no chance to eat dinner, too many people (mainly Turkish guests) and hotel is not able to cover the capacity, you can wait in the queue 15 mins and then food what you were waiting is finishing, you need to wait another 15 mins for refill. I spoke with Hotel Night Manager and Housekeeping Manager separately, nothing they helped me, even Housekeeping Manager was saying me that why I want towel everyday, I believe it is standard for a 5 star hotel but she was asking this most probably knowing that this hotel is not a 5 star one. Long story short, don't spend your money for this hotel, there are few much more better hotels near this one (Arin or La Blanche are the ones which you can chose).