Club Turtas Beach Hotel

This is my first time writing a review, but I think it’s important to share so others can get a better idea of what to expect when booking. After all, it’s quite a bit of money to spend, and I always read reviews myself when planning a trip. Transfer from the airport: The transfer from Gazipasa Airport to the hotel took just over an hour. The duration depends on how many stops the bus makes before arriving at your hotel. We had three stops before it was our turn. The bus was an older model, but it had decent air conditioning to make the ride bearable. The hotel: We were welcomed by the reception staff, who were friendly and helped us with our luggage to the room. However, we didn’t receive any orientation or explanation about meal times or other details. Instead, there was an information sheet in the room that listed breakfast, lunch, and dinner times along with some other useful info. We were two adults and one child. The room was a decent size—not luxurious, but livable. The bathroom, however, could definitely use an update. It wasn’t the cleanest, with cracks and wear showing on the shower walls. Still usable, but not the best experience. We had a partial sea view, which was nice. However, our room was facing the stage area, where loud music was played every evening starting at 9 PM. If you have small children who need to sleep, this can be a problem, as the music continues until around 11 PM. The hotel is also quite noisy overall. If someone slams a door, it sounds like your own door is being shut. The doors are not of great quality, so it’s very easy to hear noise from the hallway. Pool area: The pool area is fantastic. There are several pools to choose from. One larger, quieter pool is perfect for adults, while another pool offers activities throughout the day. Then there’s the children’s pool area with multiple water slides, which is ideal for kids—our child absolutely loved it. Lifeguards are present and do a great job making sure the rules are followed, which is especially important when many kids are using the slides at the same time. The pool areas are clean and well-maintained. The slides are open from 10:00–11:30 and 14:30–16:30. Food: The food is just okay—nothing to rave about. Most dishes lacked flavor, and there weren’t many options for younger kids. Our 4-year-old basically lived on fries and spaghetti for the entire week. There is some effort to vary the dinner options, but honestly, nothing stood out as particularly tasty. A big downside was the dinner service. It starts at 7 PM, and by then everyone is hungry and waiting at the door to rush in. It turns into complete chaos in the dining room, with long queues and growing frustration among guests. This really needs to be addressed. At another hotel we stayed at in Turkey, dinner started at 5:30 PM, which helped spread out the crowd. Some guests prefer to eat early, others later, so offering staggered times would be a much better solution. As it stands, dining at 7 PM is not a pleasant experience—very loud and stressful due to the sheer number of people. There is an à la carte restaurant, but it comes at an extra cost of around €25 per person. This should really be included at least once per week for each group, especially considering the all-inclusive concept. During the day, food is also served at the beach area, which is nice. Again, the quality isn’t great, but at least there’s something to eat. However, kids who want ice cream can only get it between 4:00–5:30 PM, and the queues are awful. You may end up waiting 25–30 minutes. The same goes for the evening snacks—if it’s waffle night, the wait can be anywhere from 20–40 minutes. Just one person making waffles with three machines—it’s not enough. The drink options are also pretty basic. There’s barely any alcohol in the cocktails, and the selection is limited. Beach: The beach itself is nice, although there are some waves and a few rocks. Check-out: Check-out is at noon. If you have a late flight, you can pay extra to keep your room. Otherwise, you’ll need to use the shared shower facilities, which are not pleasant—crowded, long queues, and not the best way to end your stay. Overall impression: This is a nice hotel with good potential, but there are several things that need improvement if it wants to compete with the top hotels. Would we come back? Maybe—but it’s not a place we’re dying to return to.