Legendary Porto Hotel

"My wife and I spent a lovely week at this hotel and had a great holiday! The hotel is set in lovely grounds over a large area. Staff are outstanding to a person, and the location is idyllic. I found my happy place in Bar Boho - so nice sitting in the shade looking out to the Mediterranean with a lovely breeze and cold beer. What a top place this is to unwind!! If entertainment was better, this would easily be a five star review. We stayed in a larger style ‘bungalow’ with sea view. To be clear, these are not bungalows - they are single-level terraced rooms with accommodation over two floors. The rooms are nice with walk-in shower and double sinks. Ours, on the ground floor, was accessible with a nice patio area outside where we could see and hear the sea which was lovely. Air con was great, and the room was cleaned to a good standard each day during our stay. The main pool is large and a perfect temperature. The sunbeds are fairly comfortable, although the parasols are a little tired and the hotel would benefit from a few more. They are nicely spaced out which is appreciated, but we definitely were aware of times when people just couldn’t get them, and some beds don’t have a parasol at all which was less than ideal considering the temperature probably averaged 40 the week we visited. Big shout out to the parasol man though who was lovely, friendly and really helpful - trying to sort folks out as best he could. And the pool bar guys are brilliant too - one of the barmen expertly weaved himself around the sunbeds all week on rollerskates, ensuring holidaymakers remained hydrated and happy! This was also made possible by the ‘adults only’ policy which was brilliant! The animation girls were lovely, but I think it is fair to say that the activities were few and far between. Activities included aqua aerobics on exercise bikes in the pool, water polo, darts and yoga with one or two offerings each day. There is a second ‘relax’ pool in the zen garden which was very quiet and looked really nice. Both pools are .4m deep all round. Ladders into the pools were OK, but those with mobility issues might struggle to get in and out - the ladders are the only access points. The sea is also excellent and easy to access with safe swimming areas clearly marked out. Sadly it’s not as sandy as we’d have liked, but it was definitely a welcomed feature of the hotel!! There are a lot of what at first sight looks like broken tables all over the beach, but we think these were used to mark out and protect turtle eggs with the turtles regular visitors to the site (although we weren’t lucky enough to spot any during our stay). The beach bar was also good and well staffed. There are various options when it comes to eating. The main restaurant was ok but a bit repetitive. We like boiled eggs in the morning for breakfast, but were annoyed that the hotel was unable to actually boil them - they were consistently too soft and undercooked. And the toaster just didn’t work - putting the bread through four times still left the bread untoasted. But again, the staff were lovely and did their best. There is a truly brilliant QR code system across all other bars and restaurants which ensured speedy service and removed any language barriers. Our favourite place to eat was the snack bar across from Bar Boho at lunchtime - highly recommended. We did not try the a la carte options during our stay, so I cannot comment on them. There is an excellent coffee shop on site (part of the all inclusive), and a spa and hairdresser (which understandably come at an extra cost). Beach towels are managed at the spa, with only one towel issued per person. I read some comments before our holiday which inferred loads of stairs and that it would be challenging to get around for anyone with mobility issues. Overall, we didn’t think the stairs were a significant issue. To be fair, there are quite a number of stairs which definitely helps to navigate the various venues across the site more easily; however, we met a lovely couple where one used a wheelchair. They fairly quickly identified routes to get around all parts of the hotel which were wheelchair-friendly so personally I wouldn't be too concerned about that - except perhaps as earlier mentioned for access to the pools for some. There was a lull every day between 4.30pm and around 9.30pm. Snack bars close at 4pm, and the pool bar and Bar Boho close at 7.30pm. On most nights, the only bar which opened later was the Blue Bar, which was soleless, with entertainment not the best. We only went once as personally we didn’t like it at all. There is one other bar which remains open all day (the Piano Bar), again with great staff - but it has limited seating capacity and the worst tables I have seen for quite some time (very large, heavy and solid so legs cannot go under them). There was an entertainer here one night too, but again not one we were impressed with. One other aspect of the hotel I need to mention which I was disappointed by is the vast amount of single-use plastics (mainly cups and straws) which really should have been addressed by now. We went on a trip one of the days, which was truly excellent and fantastic value for money - highly recommended!! It was a visit to a mosque and waterfall, two shopping stops, and then a cruise on the Manavgat River with a lovely lunch. Great day out - we thoroughly enjoyed it! Overall, this is a brilliant hotel and we had a cracking holiday - but addressing some of the issues outlined above would certainly help make it excellent! In summary: Positives * Staff: Outstanding service from all staff members, including the pool staff, bar team, and the helpful pool attendant. * Location: The hotel is set in lovely, expansive grounds and boasts an idyllic location with great sea views. * Rooms: Nice, clean rooms with walk-in showers, double sinks, and efficient air conditioning. Ground-floor rooms offered lovely patio areas. * Pools & Beach: The main pool is large and a perfect temperature. There is also a quiet, relaxing secondary pool in the zen garden. The sea is excellent for swimming with clearly marked safe areas. * Dining & Bars: Bar Boho is a highlight for unwinding with a view. The QR code system for ordering at restaurants and bars ensures speedy service and avoids language barriers. The snack bar near Bar Boho is highly recommended, and the on-site coffee shop is also great. * Facilities: The ‘adults only’ policy was appreciated. * Excursions: The excursion, including a Manavgat River cruise and lunch, was excellent and fantastic value for money. Areas for improvement: * Sunbeds & Parasols: The parasols are aging, and there are not enough of them; some sunbeds have no shade at all, which is problematic during hot weather. * Pool Access: Access is limited to ladders, which may be challenging for guests with mobility issues. * Dining: The main restaurant menu was repetitive, and could be improved easily by, for example boiling eggs correctly, and getting an effective toaster. * Entertainment & Atmosphere: Organised activities, although good, were infrequent, and there was a noticeable "lull" in services and atmosphere between 4:30 pm and 9:30 pm. The Blue Bar lacked atmosphere, and the Piano Bar suffered from limited seating and uncomfortable, oversized tables. * Facilities: Only one beach towel is issued per person, which may be inconvenient. * Sustainability: There is a significant reliance on single-use plastics, particularly cups and straws."

"Very amazing place.. and animation team very friendly they have a lot of activity water polo is best. Sera and isilay best!!"

"Food - there was a very good choice at breakfast; fresh omelettes and fruit etc. During the day we went to the beach snack bar which was lovely, the snack bar around the main pool wasn’t very nice and the bread was stale. The food in the main restaurant was hit and miss but the hotel is catering for multi nationalities and we always found something. One of the issues is the food is topped up with hot food so if it is running out the bottom food is always cold or luke warm; It is just luck. One of the female waitresses; Tugba was always very friendly and helpful and such a credit, although I can honestly say we felt as though all of the staff were very pleasant and helpful and we did not find any “miserable” or unhelpful people. Men’s shoe situation – between 7 and 8pm men can’t enter wearing nice leather sandals/open toed shoes. We witnessed some men quite scruffy in attire; some went in with sport shorts and vests and trainers and were allowed in although a man very smartly dressed was not allowed in because you could see his “toes”. Women can wear what they want even if you could see their underwear – what on earth is the dress code? Entertainment - We spent most of our evenings in the Piano bar purely because of the air conditioning and bar staff who were absolutely amazing and made perfect cocktails and were given nice cold which wine. The lovely gentleman always had our drinks ready and was so friendly. The sunset here on an evening was fantastic. If any improvements were made this could be the variation of live music. A female saxophone was on for nearly every night of our 14 day stay who played the same music and sometimes it was extremely loud which made us sit in the lobby. It would be nice if there was other live music in this location. Efes can be given in bottles which is a lot colder than draught. On a night, the only information provided was the same poster showing “live entertainment” at the Blue Bar where all of the entertainment is held and it was never specified what type? A bit more information would be helpful. The bar itself is located near the beach, it gets so busy down there and very humid, people were sat on the floor it was so busy, they have “low chairs” at the back and sides and “high ones” at the front so if you’re at the back you can’t see? which doesn't make sense. The real let down was the actual bar – this is makeshift, looks run down, often ran out of wine (which was always warm and kept on a shelf as no refrigeration facility). Considering the Boho Bar is nearby and quite the opposite, a refurbishment with more staff is well over due. Note; they don’t serve drinks here until 9pm so take your own down at 8pm if you want a seat and drink. Well, what can I say; we were in a wooden bungalow which was near the Zen Gardens (lovely) which is furthest away from everything. It was very quiet as people were upgrading to be closer to the hotel; we didn’t feel this warranted the upgrade. The room itself looked like it had been renovated and the shower was lovely but it looked very scruffy on the outside and the furniture was shabby. Upon arrival the room was extremely hot so we purchased an extra A/C card for £10 so we could leave it on all day. The room was always kept clean although dirty pots, bottles were left outside by someone and were there for 4 days? We spent most of the days at the beach for the breeze which is a conservation area for Turtles who nest on a night. The beach was lovely although some upgrading could be done with the sunbeds. You do need sea shoes. The Boho bar opens at 1100am so take drinks if you arrive by then. The main pool gets busy with music and you have to be there for 0800 to get a bed, more needs to be done about “reserving” beds for hours, its just not fair. Also we witnessed several people smoking in the pool and putting their cigarettes out in the water and putting the cigarettes out in the filter – disgusting. "NO SMOKING IN THE POOL" Please. The pool guy keeps this area spotless and is very helpful. The bar people are lovely and sometimes bring drinks to your bed depending how busy the bar is. There is also a quiet pool, we didn’t use it as it was “too quiet for us”. None of the pools have walk in steps, they all have ladders."