"We stayed at Gazipasa Star for 12 nights and honestly had such a lovely stay.
I’ve travelled to Turkiye more than 16 times and used to work here, so I know the area quite well. We would usually stay All Inclusive, but after enjoying the freedom of Room Only holidays in the USA, I decided to try the same here when Gazipasa Star came up at a great price.
I travelled with my 14-year-old son and we stayed Room Only, although the hotel also offers Bed & Breakfast and Half Board.
The hotel is in the Side area and is around a 15-minute walk from Antique Side/Side Old Town, with its huge choice of shops, bars and restaurants. We walked it several times and found it an easy walk. There are also dolmuş stops nearby, and reception were really helpful with directions and information about getting around.
We had a lovely pool-view room above reception in what I would describe as the main building. The room was clean, spacious and practical, with a double bed and single bed, bedside tables, desk, wall-mounted TV, mirror and a fridge with a small freezer compartment. The bathroom had a very large shower, toilet and sink. The room also has a kettle. The room came with a balcony with two chairs and a small table.
Housekeeping has been excellent. Our room was serviced daily, bins emptied regularly, and towels and bedding changed a few times during our stay.
The pool area is really pretty, with orange and lemon trees and beautiful pink flowers around it. The main pool has shallow steps and a handrail, which could be useful for anyone with reduced mobility. There is also a separate smaller pool with two waterslides, which my son loved.
The hotel also has a lift to each floor and ramps. I've seen a few people using wheelchairs and/or mobility scooters and walkers.
Even when the hotel was busier during our first week, we always managed to find a sunbed. Some guests do reserve them early, but in our experience there really wasn’t any need. During our stay, the main pool kept the sun until around 5pm, while the smaller slide pool stayed sunny until roughly 6pm.
The staff have been excellent throughout. Every single member of staff haslve been friendly, welcoming and helpful. Reception helped us with directions and transport information, and the pool bar staff were brilliant too. Nothing ever felt like too much trouble.
We ate at the hotel’s poolside bar and restaurant several times and every meal was excellent quality and very reasonably priced.
The Turkish Night was particularly good value, with chicken döner, meatballs, chips, rice, salads and more than 20 different meze dishes plus Turkish dancers. We also did the BBQ Night twice because we enjoyed it so much, they also have karaoke and bingo. Again, the quality and portions were excellent.
We loved the strawberry milkshakes too and the strawberry daiquiris are delicious and so fresh - they do a non alcoholic version too.
There are plenty of restaurants within walking distance too. Some of our favourites were The Flying Horse, Red Lion, Via, Koreli and Glow Coffee Lounge. There are several shops nearby, a chemist within walking distance, and McDonald’s is around 5–8 minutes away if you want something familiar. There’s also a small bazaar/shopping area nearby.
One thing that was especially important for us was how comfortable my son felt here. He is neurodiverse, and staff both at the hotel and in local restaurants were very happy to adapt menu items for him. Although the hotel could be busy, there were always quieter areas available. He often used the seating around reception to cool down and have a little break when he needed it.
The hotel offers a shuttle to the beach. The beach they have access to is called Coppa Beach and it's a great Beach club, with free sunbeds and has a great restaurant and bar area serving food and drinks. They have shower area and changing cubicles.
The mosque is located nearby and can be heard several times a day starting around 05:30 - it didn't wake us up (I was sometimes already awake) and our room was in the block closest. We love hearing the call to prayer from the mosque. What I found very respectable from the hotel is that during the day they'd turn the music right down when the call to mosque could be heard. I've never seen this in any other hotel I've stayed at in Turkiye.
Gazipasa Star is clearly very popular with repeat guests, and having stayed here I can completely understand why.
After being away from Side for several years, it has been wonderful to return. Turkiye has always felt like home to me, and this stay reminded me exactly why – the hospitality, friendliness, food and culture are just wonderful. As a single parent and being female I never once felt unsafe at the hotel or within Side. We often walked out at night and a few times walking back around 11pm and I still felt perfectly safe.
We would absolutely stay at Gazipasa Star again and are already planning to return next year as it's my 40th birthday - I'd planned on a 5 star All Inclusive but now I've decided on here due to how comfortable, friendly and at home we have felt.
Thank you to everyone at the hotel for such a lovely stay. We genuinely cannot wait to come back."
