Korumar Ephesus Beach and Spa Resort

Full disclosure - we went in August 2023 and this review was in my ‘drafts’ as I never published it!

Korumar Ephesus

It’s our last day here at Korumar Ephesus resort and we have had a fantastic time! In our minds, we had booked a 4-star holiday and got a 4 and 1/2 star holiday instead!

This resort is huge.. we loved how big the resort is and how big the pool is. Overall the guests seem to be a mixture from different places, and there were not that many British people. The overall resort was also maintained really well and kept very clean!

Rooms

We paid for a bigger room and it was definitely worth it! The room width was probably the same as the standard room width, it was just a lot longer. There was a super king bed, and then a separate section with a sofa bed and extra single bed for the kids. There was a minibar that was stocked once a day with water, Pepsi and Turkish beer. Coffee and tea making facilities were available but only downside was, there were no snacks. There was a bathtub with a jacuzzi (very lush!) and a separate shower area. Toiletries were provided, which was really good!

The room was clean and looked really well-maintained and new. I would say the rooms were definitely of 5-star quality!

Housekeeping came once a day and replaced what was needed. The staff were friendly and didn’t speak much English but that didn’t affect us. They weren’t super responsive when we asked for extra things, but would get there eventually. (For eg when we first got here they didn’t have any duvets or comforters for us, but just a thin blanket. We all were crazy cold on the first night but the next day, we were provided with thicker blankets when we asked for them)

The best thing I liked about this resort is how quiet it was. There were no rowdy guests running around and no unruliness. Even the music from the nighttime entertainment did not seem to travel to the rooms.

Room tips: the first floor big rooms seem to have a bigger balcony than the second floor big rooms.

Buffet restaurant

Overall the quality of food on offer was average to above average, and that was acceptable given that it isn’t a Michelin-starred restaurant.

I’ve seen bad reviews about the restaurant and don’t quite get it, we didn’t have a single negative experience.

The wait staff were excellent and worked really hard, serving us drinks regularly and clearing plates away. We found that during super peak times they are busier obviously, but still did a great job. Most of them didn’t speak that much English but understood basics and they were all friendly/smiley (ie not grumpy). We found that the seats that got the best service was the kids area! The most impressive thing about the kids area were the tables which had differing heights, to accommodate for both adults and kids! The wait service was also extra impressive as they wouldn’t let guests carry their own hot drinks to the table, and would always offer to carry it. They actually encouraged us to order the drinks from the wait staff!

Breakfast was decent, with a large array and variety of healthy and cooked foods. Lunch was my least favorite as there were the least impressive, and some days we ended up eating lunch at the Snack Bar by the pool instead. Dessert was quite impressive as there was always two rows of different Turkish cakes and sweets, along with fresh fruit.

There were different themed nights for dinner but not on every night. The best night was hands down, Turkish night! They had staff dressed in traditional Turkish dress greeting us at the door and the most delicious grilled Turkish dishes! I wasn’t a fan of the Turkish stews I have to admit, but the grill stuff was done really well! There was baklava on most nights (which is my favorite) but unfortunately, the quality was only average. It didn’t appear to be baked on site either, which is a shame. Nevertheless I ate my fair share of baklava and what I liked most was the variety of baklava, as there was always plenty of different types!

A word about meals for kids. There were French fries, pasta and hamburgers for every meal, but I have to admit that I struggled with healthy choices of proteins for kids. There were some days there were chicken nuggets but most other days, there were barely any proteins that would suit my British kids. The proteins were either too spicy or not suitable for kids. Just something to be aware of if you’re going with kids!

The restaurant served red and white wine as well as beer (I think!) but as you would expect in an all-inclusive, this wasn’t of the highest quality so didn’t taste fantastic. There were plenty of options of juice and soft drinks.

Pretty sure the food was halal too!

Pools

The best thing about this hotel is obviously the pool area. The main pool was one huge interconnecting one with lots of space and room to swim, it was gorgeous! It was however similar in depth (1.4m) throughout, so there wasn’t really a safe space for kids to swim on their own.

There was never any problem getting a sun lounger, and we never struggled to get a good space even though we only went down at about 10+ everyday. (The only day we did struggle was when we came down at 12.30pm, which is fair enough really) There wasn’t really a problem with people booking loungers etc, and as mentioned there were plenty available. What I liked most about this place was that it did not feel overcrowded and even though the hotel was fully booked, it didn’t seem like there were hoards of people there. There was always a lovely and calm atmosphere, and no rowdiness or hooligan-type behaviors. People were polite and courteous. We noticed that majority of guests were families, with kids ranging from babies to teenagers.

There was a splash pool with a kids water structure; with multiple slides, fountains which poured water down. However, what was not made known to guests were the fact that the water was only turned on between 10-12am and 3-5pm. Outside these times the water did not run, which means that whilst you could still play in the smaller slides, you couldn’t slide down the bigger ones as they were bone dry. Once we knew that, we planned our swims around this, but it would’ve been helpful to know these things in advance.

This was also the same with the adult slides (opened from 10-12 and 3-5). The adult slide attraction was pretty awesome, as there were plenty of different slides available. You never had to queue for long and this was great.

What I also liked about the pool, were the plentiful lifeguards patrolling all the pool areas. There was always one if not more lifeguards in one’s view so that felt really nice and safe.

There were 2 negatives about the outdoor pool area. The first is that SMOKING IS ALLOWED!!!! And I found this really horrible, especially if you end up with a smoker sat beside you and your kids whilst you’re at your loungers. I have fed this back to the hotel and hope this is something they change.

Secondly, which is less of a problem, is that there isn’t a clock anywhere in sight. Personally I would’ve preferred this we felt like we were in a land where time didn’t exist. Whilst in theory this would be relaxing it also meant we wouldn’t know when it was time to go for lunch etc

Finally, the pool bar - this was awesome! Very friendly staff serving an array of cocktails, juices and non-alcoholic drinks. I personally loved the iced coffee! The cocktails weren’t quite 5 star but were decent enough. What was impressive was how they used proper alcohol ie Smirnoff vodka, Malibu rum, Baileys etc.

Overall, we had a WONDERFUL stay and will highly recommend this place to anyone and everyone!

Wow what a brilliant holiday we had at Korumar! The pool was incredible! The best I’ve ever been in. It’s massive. There was always sun beds available at 9-10am so no need to get up early. The kids (ages 11 and 9) loved the waterslides and the kids pool The hotel is spotless. There are people cleaning all the time. Rooms are cleaned daily & are a great size. The entertainment in the day was great. We took part in the pool games, darts and archery. The kids also really enjoyed kids club where they made cookies & pizzas. The entertainment at night was good but the bar can get a little busy. Ensure you have some decent bug spray/bands as I got bitten a few times in the evening.

The food was really good. Buffet restaurant was as you’d expect & the kids loved the snack bar & patisserie. Ice cream cones available from about 11-6ish. Would we return…..yes!