Otium Family Eco Club

We had an amazing family holiday at Marvida Family Eco. We arrived late in the evening and had a lovely greeting at Reception and we were informed that the restaurant would be re-opening for late snacks if we were hungry. It is fair to say, you won't go hungry at this place, there is food available almost every hour of the day. We booked a Family Villa which was perfect for our needs having a separate living and bedroom area and large terrace that was accessible from the living area and the main door into the villa. I agree with some other reviews that the villa decor is a little dated, but the format of the villa and location in the garden area more than made up for this. The gardens are beautiful and despite being sold on the appearance of the main pool areas and slides, we spent most the time at the quieter and more spacious relax pool which is situated near the villas. The areas around this pool were much less crowded, and we never had an issue getting sun beds. Whilst we preferred the relax pool, the main area was also great with activities going on throughout the day, and the kids (and us) loved the slides which never had any more than 2-3 people waiting. This area is definitely more crowded with little space between sun beds that are arranged in rows around the pools, but it did seem there were sun beds available throughout the day. The food in the restaurant was fantastic, particularly the Turkish themed evening. There was a fantastic selection of salads as well as hot dishes. I'm not sure how anyone could complain about the food unless you are particularly picky. However, if you don't like queuing for food then you do need to arrive fairly early in the dining slots for both breakfast and evening. Away from the main restaurant the pool bar also had a typical selection of hot dishes and a good selection of salads and fruit. The Turkish pancakes were also a nice addition, being prepared to order. The beach was easily walkable or there was a shuttle bus that ran around every 15 minutes. There were ample sun beds available at the beach at any time of the day, with plenty of space between them for children to play in the sand. The sea was quite rough, but it is possible to swim within a dedicated area that is covered by the lifeguard. Some reviews mention the beach as a shingle / shale beach, which is not strictly true. The beach is golden sand up to the point where the sea meets the beach, at this point and where the waves crash there are small pebbles that aren't particularly comfortable to stand/walk on, past that point is a steep incline where the sea deepens but you can still stand. Children can safely dig / build in the (ample) section of dampened sand between the pebbles and first row of sun beds. There are two water sports providers available just a short walk from the beach (not provided by the hotel). We booked the evening speed boat trip through Hugo which was one of the highlights of our trip, and would highly recommend. The food at the beach was fantastic; good selection of hot dishes, fresh pizza, lots of salads, roast vegetable dishes, and Turkish pancakes made to order. As a British guest, and first time in Turkey, I have to say I was particularly pleased to get a proper cup of tea on holiday! The Turkish tea on offer from all areas of the hotel was lovely, and if you want to drink it British style, there is also milk available :). Additionally, there is a cafe that serves espresso based coffees as well as tea and Turkish coffee, with a great selection of cakes, baklava and sandwiches. We enjoyed visiting here in the afternoon. All drinks (except for juices and hot drinks at breakfast) are served by staff. This does result in some queuing, particularly at the main pool bar, but it was no big deal. I found the other bars were much quieter and got served right away. There is some inconsistency in which bars offer particular drinks (spirits and cocktails), so if you have a particular favourite drink, it's worth checking the other bars. We're not big drinkers, but I would say the cocktails we had were a little weak, but found the lobby bar staff were a bit more generous on measures! :) There were loads of activities for children available, and the staff were all lovely. Most are free, but there were a couple of paid activities. We didn't make the most of this at all, as our children wanted to stay with us, so can't add much more, but there seemed to be more on offer than in other hotels we stayed out. The evening entertainment took place mostly in the seated amphitheater. We didn't have any trouble finding seats but we did arrive early as our children like the mini disco. There were a couple of occasions where all the seats were taken, and there isn't a lot of space to stand if this happens. However, I'd say it was certainly no worse than anywhere else we've been, and the layout allowed for a good quantity of seats whilst still being able to easily exit and move around. As we have young children, we didn't attend every evening, but we did find the shows to be quite similar, specifically were 3 dance+acrobatic acts over a short period. However, the quality of the shows were good. The photographers based in the hotel were really friendly, and we booked to have a family photo shoot. I would recommend doing this, and the price of the photos was generally in line with similar hotels. It's fair to say that whilst there's a price per photo, they want you to go away with all the photos, and will work out a deal. We didn't really have any problems during our stay, except for the safe reporting low battery when we arrived, which was resolved within an hour or two. However, guest services called twice to check everything was OK, and were walking around the hotel talking to people, so they were certainly proactive in identifying any issues or possible improvements. Some other things that I hope might be helpful to readers: The hotel provides towels free of charge, which can be exchanged throughout the stay if desired, so no need to pack your own. There is a kettle and a selection of teas in the room (at least in the villa, can't speak for other types). Maybe bring some clothes hangers as there were not many in the wardrobe. No need to get up at 07:00 to reserve sun beds, there are plenty and the hotel discourages reserving. The bus to Side and Manavgat goes from the "D" stop just up the road, next to Aquajoy waterpark and runs regularly. Reception or guest services staff will give you details on the bus numbers. The bus to Manavgat was particularly busy on market day so be prepared to stand or try to get an early bus. This will be the same (or possibly even worse) for the bus to Side. We got the bus to Side on a non-market day, so it was much quieter, and it's a short walk (or very cheap land train) into Side old town. Almost everything is priced in Euros, though they will accept Lira. The market vendors will give you a better price for paying in Lira, and the bus worked out cheaper, but generally they just do a straight conversion from the Euro price. The ATM machines near the hotel all charge around 8% to withdraw cash, and I found the same at the airport. However, there are banks in Manavgat that you can withdraw for free, and apparently there are some that are free in the airport if you can find them. I ended up withdrawing a little from the ATMs near the hotel for the bus fare, and then got more out in Manavgat. If you care about the nationality of other guests (as it seems to be commonly mentioned in other reviews), there was a diversity of nationalities (British, German, Turkish, French, and others I couldn't identify) with no obvious weighting towards any single nationality.

I had a great stay at this hotel. The staff were friendly, the rooms were clean and cozy, and the food was absolutely delicious. There was a wide variety of dishes, all freshly prepared and full of flavor. Breakfast was especially good, with many options to choose from. I would definitely come back and highly recommend this place

Hebat the waiter in the aqua bar was fantastic waited on us hand and foot really could do enough for us. All round brilliant hotel and staff.

4th time loved it every time. Layout very Kids friendly. Very helpful guest relations. Celebrated lil one’s birthday. Very flexible