Gunes Hotel

The rooms were very basic but also perfectly clean. The wifi did not work at all. Breakfast was ok but didn’t feel very neat, for example there was a mouldy piece of cheese which we had to point out. However, the breakfast staff was great and they made fresh omelettes. The location at the beach is great, a lot of shops and restaurants in the vicinity, beautiful promenade in front.

For context, we stayed at Remer hotel (one block back on the same street) this same time last year, so have that for comparison.

Pros

• Right on the strip/by the beach. In great weather you can pop to the sea without much more than a towel.
• The breakfast had a selection of fresh healthy fruit and veg, which we appreciated. However, the butter packets were found to be mouldy upon opening (see pic).
• The air conditioning units in the rooms worked well.
• The guy at the bar who wears the sweatband (Ortez?) is friendly and kind.
• The pool was a good size and we had no trouble getting sunbeds to lie on.
• When our shower stopped working it was fixed quite quickly.

Cons

• We were not supplied any water in the rooms (we had been at Remer) and there was a limited amount available at breakfast.
• The use of a safe was an extra cost but we were reprimanded for leaving any valuables in our rooms (on the rare occasions the cleaners came they grassed us up to management for leaving some money).
• There was a regular drip coming from the ceiling directly above the toilet in one of our rooms, presumably from a leaking shower above. It splashed me on the head on the loo. Management said it was probably condensation from a pipe and did nothing to fix it.
• The keys were traditional old style keys, no key cards, and only one per room. This was connected to the plastic box that had to be slotted in for the electricity in the room. So if either of us wanted to go out (eg my husband for a morning run) he had to either leave the room unlocked while I was sleeping in there, or lock me in but leave me with no electricity. Management were absolutely unyielding on this one-key-per-room rule).
• We were placed in a room not adjacent to our kids’ room, inexplicably (the one between us was empty when we checked in).
• Management’s response to concerns and issues were mixed - more could have been done with certain issues. This was in contrast to Remer, where nothing was too much trouble and we felt genuinely welcome.
• The cats/kittens, while cute, were not wanted in our rooms (as a family with cat allergies) but we had no way of stopping them entering. One jumped on our child’s head as she slept when another one of our children briefly opened the balcony door. It’s probable they have fleas. There are signs asking guests not to feed them but otherwise nothing is done to keep them away from guests/rooms.
• When my niece unexpectedly got her period, the front desk was spectacularly unhelpful - actually contemptuous - when asked for advice about where we could procure period products.
• As in many places in Turkey, you are advised not to flush toilet roll down the toilet, but instead put it in the bin. You would hope that the binbag would therefore be taken away by cleaning staff each day, especially in 30+ degree heat, but it is not, even when it is evident the staff have been in (to fold the sheet on the bed).
• The folded sheet was the only consistent ‘cleaning’ that happened. Our towels were rarely changed, we had to request toilet roll when we ran out, shampoo/conditioner weren’t replaced and the rooms were frankly not very clean.
• The whole hotel felt generally shabby and unclean. Many of our party developed a rash at some point over the holiday, which we suspect was due to the pool - maybe due to a high level of chemicals or the very rough surface around the edge and the steps. Avoid the sides and bottom of the pool!
• Not really the hotel’s fault but other guests would come and sit at our table at breakfast and smoke (we have asthmatics and children in our party). It just wasn’t a very family-friendly vibe.