"Family of 4 adults and 2 children.
We booked 2 rooms, the first being for 2 adults with a sea view room. The second being a duplex double level room, with sea view and both located in the main building. The rooms were perfectly located for access to the resturant, lobby bar and main pool. Given that the weather temperature reached a whopping 47 degrees celsius, the location of these rooms meant that we could easily access areas without having to sizzle in the heat whilst walking from place to place.
The rooms were spotless! Air conditioning worked perfectly, so much so that the little ones said it was too cold!
Our maid Melike was so attentive and gentle when the youngest of the children had a spot of heat stoke. Thank you Melike for your kindness and generosity. And the convenience of streaming Netflix to the TV made for an entertaining day spent in the room. You can stream any App from you mobile to the Samsung TV which helps when the channels are limited in choice for children. WiFi covers the entire grounds really well.
The main resturant is huge. But all areas are clearly divided so that you dont have to wander around aimlessly to find what you would like to eat. Sections include pasta and pizza, vast cold salads, meats and cheese, numerous hot live cooking stations with everything from fillet steak to whole seabass. Lots of fresh bread varieties, all of which were delicious. Fruits, traditional Turkish cakes and small bakes, and the vegetable dishes were out of this world. The resturant is busy, but we always found a table for 6 without a problem regardless of the times we visited.
The snack bar near the beach was equally satisfying. And you can take food from there up to the pool, which was great to get the little ones to eat in between jumping in and out of the pool. There is so much to chose from, so you never feel that you are eating the same things over and over. The soup kitchen opens at 22.30pm until 5am, great for late night arrivals of if you fancy a snack before bed. The little ones were thrilled with Dairylea triangles and a slice of fresh cut bread to nibble on whilst settling down for the night.
We visited the Asian Al a Carte, the menu is small, and even though we didnt pre order everything (you do this on the App when booking the reservation) we were still offered every dish, which was a pleasant surprise as the soups and salads were really nice, and we would have missed out on these. We also reserved the fish resturant but this was cancelled at short notice due to the low volumes of bookings on that evening. We were saddened by this as this was our child free evening. But we made up for it by visiting the beach instead.
The main pool has two water depths, 1.15m in the shallow area and drops to 1.50m in the deeper parts. The water temp was 33 degrees celsius so it was pleasant to walk right into to. Life guards are observant and they respond quickly to incidents. The main incidents were drinks glasses being dropped. I was surprised that plastic beakers are not compulsory around the pool as are in other hotels. But given that the hotel holds high prestige in sustainability, this may account for not overly using plastic.
The activity and entertainment arrangements are out of this world! Foam parties on the beach and pools, fireworks, traditional dancing, one of the funniest bingo games I've been to (be prepared to be thrown into the pool if you call bingo incorrectly 🤣). And the prizes were great. We got a full house and won a package which included a jeep safari (held lion cubs - adorable) a massage, haircut, facial, free games token, I've forgotten the rest.
I would recommend booking a private transfer to and from the airport. It takes around 80 minutes, where as the communal transport takes over 2 hours. We just googled a local transfer company and their prices were cheaper than the travel company private transfers.
If shopping is your thing, the Bizaar market in Side will cost you €50 for a private return journey. The reception will arrange this for you. The market is open on Monday and Thursday. However the shops local to the hotel withing walking distance were equally as cheaply priced and the quality of the clothing, bags and trainers were better than the market. The shops on site are slightly more expensive, but again, the quality and finish is better than at the Bizaar.
If you are genuinely looking at having a tattoo, there's a chap consistently walking around the grounds called Hero. He will arrange your designs and transport to the God of Ink studio. He is rather persistent so avoid being overly enthusiastic as you may find yourself pretending to be asleep or jump in the pool when you see him approaching. If you want the service he will arrange your appointment for the day before you are leaving, but if you are just being polite like I was, and said "that sounds interesting" he won't forget. So just say no thanks.
Water park was wonderful. But this was when the youngest had too much exposure to the sun. Choose a resting place in the shade.
From a safety perspective, there is a Doctors office on site and 2 pharmacies near by.
The bar staff are really friendly and they do wait on tables in the evenings. This helps to reduce the queuing at the bars near the main stage area. Cocktails are consistently satisfactory and enjoyable.
The hotel has been operating for 28 years, yet everything appears newly renovated and well kempt. The hygiene and attention to detail was exceptional. CTPW holds great esteem and a reputation locally as being one of the best holiday experiences and employers in the Antalya region. I couldn't agree more as we thoroughly enjoyed our visit and everyone we met appeared satisfied and pleased to be there.
The best family holiday we have visited by far. It's like Disney Land, just on a teeny tiny scale."
