"We've been to Turkey six times and this was comfortably the worst hotel we've stayed in. Calling it five star is a stretch. Family of four, with an 18 and 15 year old.
Rooms: The corridors are run-down (see photos of the missing wooden surrounds). We arrived at 8.40pm, were told we had 20 minutes of the buffet left, and then went up to room 4201 (block 4, second floor). The kids' twin room had no window. Not a small window. None. We were on a corner, apparently, which explains it but doesn't excuse handing that room to a family without a word. Our balcony barely fit two chairs. I went straight back to reception and we were moved to block 1, room 222, which was a genuine improvement: the kids got a balcony and we had doors onto two of them.
The rooms themselves are old and tired regardless of which one you're in. (see photos). The safe won't take a laptop. The air con is ancient: not digital, a fight to switch on and off, and barely effective once you win. One plug beside the bed, for two people, in 2026. The minibar is technically stocked. The balcony railings have been painted over so many times the paint has lost the run of itself (see photos). Beds were comfortable, which is about the height of the praise available.
Bathrooms weren't great either as they're also very run-down (see photos).
Food: Really, really poor. For a five star all-inclusive the variety was close to non-existent and there was almost nothing aimed at Western European guests. Breakfast had no omelette station: not a broken one, not a queue, just nothing. Croissants were the sum total of the pastry offering. It got worse the longer we stayed, as you start seeing the same tired trays every morning. The house beer was Tuborg, which tells you everything about the era this hotel is still living in.
The one exception was the pool snack bar. The grilled chicken ciabatta and chips, the grilled beef ciabatta and the chicken strips were all decent and came with fresh salad. The gelato was fresh and they do packaged ice creams: Magnums, Cornettos, Feasts, Tangle Twisters. The Lynchburg lemonades and pornstar martinis at the bar were good. When the best food on site comes from the snack hatch, something has gone wrong in the main kitchen.
Pool and waterpark: The pool is the hotel's one real asset. It's lovely and the staff serving drinks on rollerblades were a nice touch. But the ladders are rusting at the bottom, the umbrellas are old and ripped and the sun loungers are nothing like the photos: plastic frames with a soft strip down the middle. (see photos of broken chairs, ripped umbrellas and rusting ladders) and some areas of the pool are filthy too (see photos). The woodwork around the complex is in very poor condition with splinters on the wooden bridge (see photos).
At the waterpark, the scariest part of the ride is the tower you queue on, because it shakes underfoot. That's not a thrill, that's a maintenance issue.
Shops: Poor. Cheap replica tat, badly made, not worth your time.
Games Centre: Complete rip off - you have to pay for everything and the guy running it is very rude and obnoxious. It's also run down (see photo of the broken floor on entrance).
Getting out: Taxis into Belek are €10 each way and drop you at a specific shop that you then have to trek back to so they'll call one for you. We tried to get a normal yellow taxi and were told flatly that they aren't allowed come to the Spice Hotel. Draw your own conclusions.
Verdict: A nice pool attached to a dated, poorly maintained hotel with bad food and a five-star price tag it hasn't earned in twenty years. Six trips to Turkey and this is the first one we've regretted. Spice Hotel? More like Old Spice."
