We returned from here yesterday, stayed 12 nights with a child of 1.5 years. Standard room in a bungalow (the smallest in the houses), ultra all inclusive, from Moscow. The hotel is not a "five", definitely. This is a 100% old "four", somewhere with a minus, somewhere with a plus. For a real "five" in July in Turkey, we would have given the same amount of money for a maximum of 7 nights. A 12-night trip here cost almost 400k. Yes, these are the current realities.
About the hotel.
Positive:
- very beautiful territory, the eye is happy. This is the first thing here for "five points".
- houses away from the noise of the pool and the night show
- there is a private beach, although a very small water area for swimming, there are generally enough sun loungers, but the best places in the shade or by the water are occupied already before breakfast.
- a gentle entrance to the sea, convenient for children, sand, there is beach care, we got very good, clean and affectionate water. These are the second "five points". Dirt in the water was noticed at a minimum and not every day.
- good serviceable air conditioning in the room, without which it would be simply unrealistic
- drinking water is always unlimited everywhere.
Minuses:
- the bungalow rooms have old furniture (although the bathrooms have been updated), the closet doors did not work well, the floor lamp did not work if there was a light bulb, old crumpled ceiling lights, chips on the finish.
- there are no bathrobes, slippers, no mini-bar in the room, but maybe there shouldn't be in ultra all inclusive? I honestly don't know. An empty mini fridge is available (but there is water - two large bottles, a kettle, instant coffee in a sachet, tea in a bag, sugar, and that's it)
- Wi-Fi is intermittent in the rooms. It is good on the territory, on the beach and in public areas.
- for a family of three people, they gave only one key card, the door cannot be opened from the outside without a card, even when someone is in the room. It was inconvenient when I was putting the baby down and couldn't open it, and my husband came. He had to enter through the balcony door.
- the gym is a tiny room without air conditioning, two treadmills, a few weights, and that's all, there was a real lack of a normal comfortable gym. There are no turnstiles, exercise equipment on the street is one name. There is a tennis court, but it is not popular, the surface is curved, overgrown, small races (hard).
- decent air conditioning only at the reception. The restaurant has, but not enough, it is not fresh enough, because the doors are always open, it is difficult to eat in the afternoon and evening at +36. In the building in the entertainment area, where there is a kiosk, cafe, gym, spa, the air conditioners do not work at all.
- the playground is in the sun all day, it is comfortable to get in and really use it only after sunset. The playground itself is small and boring. The kids' club is very weak.
- there is a kettle in the rooms, but there are no normal cups, upon arrival there were 4 paper cups, but they did not bring any more new ones, they took them themselves.
- cleaners are not shy about asking for tips, although I know that it is customary to leave them here
- the sun loungers on the beach are a little old, the mattresses are a little dirty, not quite clever, but it's possible to do better. They don't seem to change during the season.
- old furniture in the restaurant, tables and chairs gather dust quite quickly on the street, high chairs are so-so, there are broken ones, poorly washed, although they always were and always had enough.
- flies. Alas. I read about them, I was afraid of them. Not a few, but they are there. Sometimes they do not interfere, and you can eat without thinking about them at all. They fly in a restaurant, sit down for a shared meal right in front of you, and on your plate. It's weird. It's very creepy, especially with a child. We tried to abstract ourselves, but for some it can be a huge disadvantage.
- during our stay, the heat was 35-40 degrees outside. The freshness of the buffet food is difficult to maintain in such weather. Many cheeses and vegetables, unfortunately, periodically looked faded, absolutely not appetizing. I didn't want to eat it.
- there are a lot of questions about the kitchen, a lot of strange and spicy dishes, but, as I understand it, these are local Turkish nuances. There are few neutral flavors and dishes, all cheeses are too salty, even mozzarella, boiled broccoli is always kind of sour, as if with vinegar, etc.
- we don't drink juices, but who drinks - there are no normal ones here, only divorced yuppies from the vending machine.
- during the peak of the heat, there are power outages, it is quickly restored, but still.
The rest was generally successful, but the impressions of the hotel were not very good. There is definitely no desire to return.
Staff attitude: nobody cares.
We booked 2 rooms a week before departure with the note "rooms nearby if possible", because we have a family with four small children. Upon arrival, we were accommodated in rooms in different bungalows and then, despite repeated requests to move us to the same building (each bungalow has 4 rooms), we were not moved in 10 days, although rooms next door to one room or another were vacated several times.
Cleaning/room service: rare and poor.
They cleaned every other day, then every 3 days. After cleaning, there was a solid puddle on the floor. And the bathroom floor has not been washed even once!
The pipe under the sink leaked. I had to call 5 at the reception! once to call the master for repairs. We managed it in 2 days. The maid, of course, ignored the puddle while cleaning, because she did not wash the bathroom floor.
Restaurant/bars: we are not thrilled.
The service is off, you can only drink water and ayran from drinks (in refrigerators at every step), sodas are all wildly diluted, the rest of the drinks from the vending machines are sugary concentrates, the food is decent, but very selective. Fresh vegetables, grilled fish/meat, fruits are delicious.
The main restaurant is wildly hot. They save money on air conditioners. They just don't seem to be included for breakfast and lunch, and barely for dinner. It is uncomfortable to eat in such conditions. We haven't seen this anywhere else. There are no teaspoons - plastic tablespoons instead, all knives are so blunt that even grilled vegetables cannot be cut with them. The glasses are plastic or paper. The cloth napkins on the tables have not been changed for weeks. We always sat at the same big round table and the food stains were the same all 10 days. All this does not fit into my head and spoils the impression very much.
You come at 7.30 for breakfast, and there are no fried eggs anymore. You ask the manager where the eggs are? Satisfy: They'll be back from 8. Some kind of strangely contrived egg frying schedule... and at 8, of course, no one starts frying them again...
no one is in a hurry to bring a high chair or offer drinks, everything has to be done on their own.
At the snack bar by the pool, sparrows are right trampling on food, none of the staff pays attention to this.
The beach: unexpectedly small and cramped, the sea - every other day with some dirty foam. The descent to the beach with a stroller is quite steep - in the heat, climbing back with it is still a test.
You can sit comfortably on the sun beds only from the edge, where there is water transport. There are several sun beds in one row. The rest of the space - sun beds in three rows with a narrow passage between the rows - is a madhouse, where it is wildly noisy and crowded. But, there are many sun beds on the pier - they are definitely suitable for vacationers without children. The entrance to the water is good, the water is clear in the morning, while few people have reached the beach. Then the pleasure boats from Didim begin to pass by en masse... and after them, all the water on the beach is covered with a layer of foam - sometimes white, sometimes yellow. The desire to swim in this mud disappears and you have to go to the pool. If you stand in the water for more than 30 seconds and do not move, the fish begin to bite.
Territory: the only thing that pleases the eye and delights. Well-groomed vegetation, lots of fruit-bearing mulberries... it's beautiful and delicious.
Departure: lunch boxes are not collected, because the restaurant is supposedly open all night. Yes, it is open, but apart from baking, there is nothing to take with you when you leave at night. No fruits, no boiled eggs/cheese/vegetables. Laziness? Savings? It doesn't matter. But it also speaks about the attitude towards vacationers.
Distance from the airport: far away. We drove there for 2 hours, because there were 2 hotels in front of us, back a little less.
Smoking: horror.
Everyone smokes. Vacationers, staff. There is no escape from them anywhere. They smoke right in the face of the children and feel normal.
The contingent of tourists: Turkey, Poland, Great Britain, Bulgaria, Germany. There are not many tourists from Russia.
Nice family hotel. The vacationers are mostly Turks. There are also many Poles, Germans, British and other Europeans. A large, beautiful beach. Good nutrition.
Also, this location is a plus, it is located in the city of Didim, near attractions, shops, markets