Villa Side Residence

The hotel is beautiful. Everywhere is clean – polished – sparkling. Rooms. The rooms are also clean - polished. However, I was bothered that my room was vacant all morning and the cleaning lady was waiting for me to return to the room and just then came to clean. I heard one guest ask another – she gave the cleaning lady 5 euros and a chocolate and the cleaning lady looked sour. So she didn't know what that meant? 5 euros is not enough, since the cleaning lady is just doing her duty, for which she gets paid? Does she want to receive money from guests every day? And how much?! Doesn't the hotel pay the cleaners for their work? Why do the cleaners ask for money from guests? Disadvantages of the hotel. I had a room facing the street, which was quite noisy even at night. The hotel only has a small concrete area, the rest is made up of slides and pools - in the summer there must be a battle for sun loungers. You have to walk about 10 minutes to get to the beach through an uncomfortable tunnel and then along a rather rough road. The hotel provides transportation by electric cart, but you have to wait for it, you never know how long. Indoor pool. The pool has set opening hours, but not once during my stay was it open on time. I always had to wait for someone to show up and make the pool available. It was at least 5 minutes, but it was also 20 minutes. The pool does not have its own changing room or toilet. You have to walk quite a long way through a cold corridor. You're dripping water onto the floor. There is a SPA nearby with towel exchange at the reception. There was a young woman sitting there with a man next to her. Both of them didn't even have the decency to respond to my greeting. I had to throw the used towel into a 3-4 m high towel basket. With a problem, but it worked. I would like to see how others fared – older guests walking with a cane or crutches. The guests probably don't exercise much, so the SPA staff introduced a training program for them - throwing a towel high. That ill-mannered, arrogant, rude man from the SPA one day forbade me from going into the changing room at the SPA and drying my hair there. I should dry them in my room! Why should I walk around dripping water on the floor when there's a hairdryer in the guest dressing room? I had to go complain. Gest relations took care of it right away, but my whole day was ruined. Food. The food is excellent and varied. Patisserie There is a patisserie in the hotel, but there were no special Turkish sweets there. There were just some pretty disgusting cookies. Good cakes were also missing for lunch. Tempting sweets appeared at dinner, but I didn't taste any because it's too late for sweets after dinner. I'll have coffee from the coffee machine in the patisserie, but the Turkish tea is behind the bar and is poured by the waiter. I went for tea a few times, but I had to stop after an incident that happened. The waiter came to pour me tea. The second waiter approached him in such a way that I couldn't see what they were doing with my tea. They were both doing something with my tea and laughing like crazy. What did they throw in my tea? Dirt – cleaning agent – drugs? I took the tea, carried it to the table, and left it there. I didn't dare drink it! I really like Turkish tea, but I didn't drink it anymore because I couldn't pour it myself and I couldn't risk the waiter mixing something in it again. It would be nice if there was a tea stand next to the coffee machine, and anyone who wants one can bring their own. Tip - money There's probably a problem here. Drinks are brought by waiters and they ask for a tip for bringing them. If guests poured themselves drinks, waiters would lose their tips. They do it so arrogantly that guests are embarrassed when the waiter stands at their table with his hand outstretched, waiting for money until they give it to him. Guests prefer to give them money so that others don't look at them. During my stay, many guests were aged 60+. I don't know their financial situation, but the waiters don't care if the old woman (about 75 years old) has money to give away, and they greedily took money from her. I didn't see how much she gave them, but it probably wasn't enough, because the waiter's face reflected dissatisfaction and a grimace. The guests were saying among themselves that the waiters were happy to receive at least 2 euros for bringing coffee! Isn't the waiter's job to bring drinks? Doesn't he get a monthly salary for this? If someone is happy with him and wants to tip him, please – let them. But asking for money like this is arrogant and rude. Waiters treat guests according to the amount of the tip. When they are happy, they smile from ear to ear and wish you well. When they are not happy, they look at each other with such contempt. If they don't get anything, after three days they stop smiling, stop greeting the guest, and ignore him. The one waiter hated me so much that he wanted to punish me? Humiliate? When I wanted to sit at my favorite table, he ran over so quickly and put empty glasses on it that the table was occupied. When I sat down somewhere else, he took the glasses away and the table was free again. He didn't take the used dishes off my table. I saw that he forbade it from others as well. The used dishes – a bowl of soup, a plate of main course – remained on the table until I finished my coffee and left. what did he achieve. It's just that he humbled himself and showed how shallow and primitive his character is. I was under scrutiny there. The cooks looked at my plate while scooping up the food, and the waiters looked at it so intently while carrying the plate to the table, that I felt like the portion was theirs and I was eating their well-deserved meal. Some waiters stood about 1 meter from my table and stared at me so intently that they could see right down to my stomach, counting how many spoons of food I ate. Give those waiters something to eat so the guests don't feel like they're eating the food of these hungry poor people. It also happened that the waiter stood behind me and tried to rub his body against me. My stomach was so upset that I couldn't finish my meal and had to leave. I saw him rubbing himself against another woman a few minutes ago. What audacity! What does he think about himself that makes him irresistible? Where are the rules of decency? It is extremely annoying when waiters pester you to exchange small euros for paper ones while eating. (The room cleaners do this too.) I have heard other guests say they made an exchange and later noticed that some of the coins were fake. Is the hotel happy to have a currency exchange office in the restaurant? There are hotel staff everywhere who want to make money from guests. But in this case, it was so exaggerated that it was almost scary - when the staff approaches the guest, they haven't even done anything for the guest and already stick out their hand - give me money. It's so over the top that guests are making fun of the staff. One incident for all. They are all similar. Several people were sitting at the table. The wife asked her husband to hand her glasses. He did it, extended his hand like the waiters – 5 euros. Everyone laughed. The waiter standing at a distance just grimaced. Later, he brought them drinks and stood at the table with his hand outstretched until they gave him euros. Hippo skin. I don't know how those waiters are paid. But I don't understand why some waiters are willing to humiliate and demean themselves so much just to extort money from women who were there without men. My stomach turned as the waiter, quite handsome, about 30 years old, focused on three women who could be his mothers, maybe even grandmothers. Smiles, compliments, hand holding, a hug around the shoulders. Oh, that love – even if it was 3 times bigger than him. If he wants to do it, I guess that's his business. The waiter shouldn't do it so loudly that everyone around him looks. (Some of us have weak stomachs.) I was talking to the employee and after a few minutes he started whining about wanting to buy a car and not having the money for it. Should I buy it for him?! Because I have the money?! Because my money "just fell from the sky", I didn't have to work hard all my life?! What audacity. He is young and healthy, his wife is young and healthy. They just need to work, save, and buy a car. They have their families too, why don't they ask for them? Why is he bothering me with this – I'm not responsible for his standard of living. If he's begging for money from many guests like this, chances are he has more money than I do. And that without work. I don't understand - doesn't the hotel pay the waiters and other employees for their work? Doesn't the hotel mind that its staff beg at every turn and are so rude and arrogant? We go on vacation to relax. They gained strength for further work. Not because we are addressing the standard of living, incompetence, laziness, or the rudeness of the staff who beg for money from guests.

My elderly mother and I stayed at the Villa Side Residence for 16 nights, 11th-27th March 2025. It was my 6th visit to the VSR, once per winter since 2019, and my 84th hotel stay in Antalya Province since 1999. Overall it is my favourite winter season hotel though there have been changes, some for the better and some for the worse from my first visits. Arrival and rooms We were greeted by the smartly-dressed bellboy who immediately relieved us of our luggage while we went to reception to check-in. This comprised handing over passports and accommodation voucher and filling in name, address, email address and signing one form per room. The bellboy then escorted us to our neighbouring rooms. Due to our previous visits, we skipped his offer to show the features of the room. My mother has walking difficulties and we had only booked the cheapest 'economy' rooms so my one request in advance to Hanife, the guest relations manager, was to have rooms near the lifts. This request was granted and with my preferred 'graveyard view' - because these receive the sunshine from dawn to early afternoon, are not overlooked by any other hotel and avoid the noise of a pool view. The rooms on the higher floors facing the pool or the graveyard have an obscured sea-view if you want it. Our rooms were spacious with a queen and a single beds, a three seater sofa, minibar refilled daily with cola, sprite, beer, water (sparking and still) and mini cartons of juice. There is a dressing table/desk large TV with mirror above, unusually, DVD-player and adequate storage in drawers (bedside, dressing table and wardrobe), plenty of wardrobe hanging space and included, easy-to-use room safe. The bathroom has a large walk-in shower, WC, inset counter-top washbasin and the most generous collection of toiletries I have ever encountered right down to dental and shaving kits. The protocol is to put towels on the floor if you want them changed but they and the bedding get replaced every two or three days regardless. The lighting is adequate throughout with dedicated reading lights and even a picture light on the abstract work of art. There is an individual heating/cooling control. Overall these are high-quality, spacious rooms well worthy of the five-star rating of the hotel. Ten items of laundry are included per week for stays of 15 nights or more in the winter season. Orientation The two main bars are of similar size, both occupying the entirety of opposite wings of level 0, either side of the 7-floor atrium with the reception between them - the 'Senfoni bar' (24 hours) with tables and chairs used for the entertainment in the winter with the 'Patisserie & Bistro' beyond it and the other, quiet 'Lobby Bar' (08:00-midnight) with comfortable sofa sets and the 'smoking conservatory' beyond it. The latter is technically an outdoor area as smoking is not permitted inside a hotel. However, it is fully encased in glass with all the doors closed in winter so it is actually an illegal smoking area. The main service of this bar is on the smoking side of the bar. The opposite, non-smoking side is largely abandoned, reminiscent of the film, The Grand Budapest Hotel. There is also a card-playing area with the guest relations desks opposite, and a few shelves of (mostly German) books. The main and a la carte restaurants are on level '-1'. The main buffet restaurant is cleverly laid out with the cooked items and food islands running the full-length of the wing and the seating area divided by screens into smaller inter-connected sections so that each feels like a smaller restaurant. Apart from the standard meal times in the buffet, the Patisserie & Bistro is used for late breakfast (10:00-11:00), Cakes (15:30-16:30), Night Snack (21:30-23:30) and Night Breakfast (midnight-07:00) On the lowest '-2' floor, there are the shops, hairdressers, spa, gym, indoor heated pool, games room and exit to the pool terraces. The tunnel under the road runs from the pool terrace and is serviced by electric golf buggies, although it is only a 4-5 minute walk to the beach & beach bar. Beach Bar The beach bar is the stand-out feature of the VSR. It is a full-service restaurant and bar with a full kitchen with team of chefs, extensive buffet, barmen, waiters and seating, covered, uncovered and inside for a few hundred guests. Some other five hotels have such extensive beach bar/restaurant facilities but none I have encountered are fully operational every single non-rainy day of the year, i.e. all through the winter season. On rainy days there is a more limited operation from the bar and self-service coffees, teas, water and ayran, in the inside section. The food offering is typically, pasta fried to order with a choice of ingredients, doner kebab, rotisserie-cooked chickens, burgers, hot dogs, toasted sandwiches, chips, rice, salads, cakes/desserts and fresh fruit. During our stay, the gozleme lady started cooking to order from a separate station (11:00-12:30 & 13:00-16:00). Impressive! Service It is very easy to be spoilt by the service. While it is possible to visit a bar or coffee machine in person, in practice it is never necessary. The at-table service is sublime everywhere and another stand-out feature of the hotel. Even in our first week when the hotel was near capacity, the service remained superb. Main Buffet Long as this review already is, there simply is not enough space to describe the variety of the food available in the buffet. Needless to say, there is enough to suit all tastes and diets - always soups, meat, fish, stews, salads, cheeses, cakes/desserts, ice cream and daily specials. At breakfast, on top of the usual massive selection, there are cook to order omelettes and strained yogurt. Thursday is 'Turkish Night' and Monday 'Fish Night' which are a little special and well-worth choosing the dates of a stay to include as many as possible. Sadly there has been a reduction in standards at the buffet restaurant during the years I have been visiting. The food is still very good but not as exceptional as it once was. This may be due to a change in head chef and/or a reduction in the food budget. Similarly, there always used to be two sets of cutlery and a cloth napkin per place at every lunch and dinner and every table had a little vase with flowers. Now there is only one set of cutlery per place at all meals, cloth napkins appear only a couple of dinners per week with none at lunchtime (i.e. usually it is just impractical and useless small paper serviettes) and the flower vases have gone altogether. All these reductions accumulate and chip away at the reason to return to the hotel. Two English friends who stayed for a week were horrified that there were no cloth napkins even at dinner. This does not compare favourably with most five star hotels in the region. We did not visit the a la carte restaurants because we don't like to be over-faced with food that we didn't choose. Entertainment There is the usual mix of animation team-led entertainment but with a good selection of professional acts - live music, magician, African acrobatic troupe etc.. There is a daily programme including boccia, darts, hoops, morning gym and so on, for those that want it. Karaoke is on Thursday but there have been few takers during our stay and the animation team appear not to encourage it! As with most hotels, the animation team can be a nuisance to those who wish to have nothing to do with them. They should be trained not to bother everyone! Other I measured internet speeds, both download and upload, of 63 Mbps in my room. Free wi-fi now also covers the beach bar area. The bar stools have been removed from my favourite 'Lobby Bar' and while there is waiter service at the sofa sets, I miss the most sociable area of the hotel in the best bar! The piped background music in the hotel is incredibly repetitive and none of it by the original artists. Some classics like Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Edith Piaf and popular classical music on a far longer, less repetitive playlist (e.g. 7 days), would be far preferable. There are beautiful light fittings - chandeliers and matching wall lights in the bars and main restaurant - but they are never in use! Instead the lighting is rather harsh and bright. My mother calls them 'cleaning lights'.To me, this is an absolute tragedy and a huge missed opportunity for the elegance of the hotel. The guest demographics of the hotel during our stay was around 95% German, mostly older, plus a tiny minority of other nationalities e.g. Russian, Polish, Turkish families (especially at the weekends) and we few Brits. Regardless of whether I speak English or Turkish, almost all the staff reply in German. German is the first language of the hotel. All front-line staff speak English, as it is the international language, to varying degrees. If you are a native English speaker, you will find the staff with better English than German will want to speak to you. The dress code is minimal in the restaurant - basically just 'no swimwear'. I still wore my linen suit on certain nights but only ever saw one other man wearing a jacket once. The World is getting forever more casual and scruffy. There could be a couple of nights when guests are encouraged to dress up. Branded drinks are available in both main hotel bars upon request. There is an extensive menu of popular cocktails and others, not on the menu, can made. The barmen I encountered were knowledgable, had great English and were good company. Pros + Spacious, well-equipped and well-furnished rooms with generous toiletries, included safe and fast wi-fi + Exceptional beach bar/restaurant open throughout the year + Two main bars, one quiet and comfortable, the other 24 hours, both with branded drinks + Food available almost 24 hours across different venues + Excellent service everywhere + Better than average entertainment if you want it + Beach buggy shuttle especially useful for those with walking difficulties + Helpful guest relations + Very personable bar staff Cons - The better of the two main bars not run to its full potential (no bar stools or at-bar service) - Beautiful light fittings not in use - Repetitive, irritating piped music - Reduction in standards in the main buffet restaurant (cutlery, flowers, food quality) - Some animation team members won't leave you alone Conclusion The Villa Side Residence remains an excellent winter season hotel - the best I have found in 84 hotel stays. Despite the rates more than doubling in GBP terms from pre-pandemic, standards have gone down a little in the main restaurant and the lobby bar but have risen at the beach bar/restaurant. If this review has been helpful, please help the Tripadvisor community by giving it a ‘helpful’ vote! Tim Millea, March, 2025.