Bayou Lara Luxury Suites and Villas by Barut

"Where do I even begin? We stayed at BAYOU for 5 nights and 6 days as part of our honeymoon and first wedding anniversary celebrations, and I honestly cannot put into words just how incredible our experience was. This was supposed to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, something special for our honeymoon, but we loved it so much that we are already planning to return. In fact, it has completely changed how we think about future holidays! There were quite a few things we hadn’t fully appreciated before arriving, so I wanted to share a few things that might be helpful to anyone considering booking. The service is on another level. From the moment you arrive, everything feels luxurious. The private transfers for BAYOU guests are an experience in themselves – complete luxury and such a lovely way to start your stay. You also have access to 24/7 food service, with everything ordered conveniently through the app. Your personal assistant is available via WhatsApp and can arrange practically everything for you, including restaurant reservations. It really is as effortless as a holiday can get. A very special thank you to Vera and Enes, who were absolutely incredible. They were attentive, thoughtful and genuinely couldn’t do enough for us. Nothing was ever too much trouble, and they made our stay even more special. Every member of staff we encountered was polite, welcoming and fantastic, but these two deserve a particular mention. One little tip we’d give future guests is to take a little extra cash for tipping. We transferred £60 before travelling, which we thought would be plenty, but we genuinely wished we’d taken more. The staff absolutely do not make you feel that tipping is expected, but the level of service is so far above and beyond that we wanted to show our appreciation wherever we could. A few practical things worth knowing before you arrive: • The pools: The heated pool is the smaller rectangular saltwater pool. The freshwater pool is at the back of the property and isn’t heated. We actually used the freshwater pool multiple times a day. Yes, it’s cold initially, but your body soon acclimatises and then getting into the lovely heated saltwater pool afterwards feels amazing! • The televisions: We had some difficulty accessing streaming apps directly through the televisions. However, there is an Apple TV box in the living room which we could sign into and all our apps worked perfectly. If we wanted to watch something in the bedroom, we simply moved the box upstairs. It wasn’t an issue for us at all, but something worth knowing if you’re travelling with others who might want to watch different things in separate rooms. • The villa upgrade: We originally booked a one-bedroom villa but were incredibly fortunate to be offered a complimentary upgrade to a two-bedroom villa. We were absolutely blown away. The space, facilities and overall experience were fantastic, and we were so grateful for the gesture. The freedom BAYOU offers is what makes it so special. You can make your stay as active or as relaxed as you want. If you want to explore, enjoy the restaurants, take part in activities and make the most of everything on offer, you can. Equally, if you never want to leave your villa, you genuinely don’t have to. Everything is taken care of. Our usual holidays involve a backpack and a city break, so this was quite a departure from our normal style of travelling. We never expected to enjoy this type of holiday quite so much, but BAYOU has genuinely changed our perspective. Our future holiday plans may look very different! I honestly cannot express enough how perfect this break was. From the accommodation and facilities to the food, the little luxuries and, most importantly, the people who made our stay so special, everything exceeded our expectations. If you’re even slightly considering booking BAYOU, just do it. You will not regret it. Five nights simply wasn’t long enough, and we left already wishing we could stay longer. Thank you, BAYOU, for giving us memories we’ll treasure forever. We came for our honeymoon and you stole our hearts, hopefully we will be back very soon ❤️"

"Fantastic experience, staff and service were all superb. Villa was amazing . Special thanks to Oguzhan for helping us with Villa booking, exemplary service."

"What a truly amazing holiday we have just experienced! Our group consisted of grandparents, parents, teenagers and a 2 year old toddler, there was something for everyone. The helpful staff, the immaculate facilities, the wonderful food, and the varied and fun activities, everything was perfect from the moment we arrived to the moment we sadly had to leave. From a burger bar to fine dining restaurants, and everything in between, so much choice. We cannot recommend this hotel more highly and we certainly will be visiting again and again."