"Just back from 8 night stay and thought I'd write an honest review.
On arrival hotel seemed lovely and we were greeted by staff who took our luggage for us to our room.
We had a superior family room which was large, clean and well equipped. Ironing board, iron, TV (no English channels), hairdryer, tea and coffee making facilities and a fridge stocked with water Fanta and coke. Shower gel, shampoo, conditioner also supplied if you don't want to take your own.
Our room was however by the road which at times could be noisy but with the door closed rarely disturbed our sleep. I have read reports that if you were over the pool area you were kept up until 3am some days so maybe we had the better deal. To be honest though there wasn't any rooms that would have had a nice view as such.
The beds are so hard which actually made me feel like when laying on my sides I had pressure bruises on my thighs. That was the biggest let down of the room for me.
Hotel facilities. There is a gym, spa, hair dressers and a shop on site. The shop is expensive though, as is the supermarket directly to the right of the hotel as you walk out. Head a little further down to Migros and it's cheaper.
Food and drink...... This was a let down for us.
Breakfast..... Weird pastries stuffed with cheese and olives etc, the usual cold meats, fruit, cereal, pancakes and other pastries. Could also get your normal eggs, beans etc.
I wasn't keen on the cooked stuff so loved off the croissants and choc spread as did our 10 year old, or toast.
Lunch and dinner were almost identical, every day!!!
The same Turkish rice, mash potato, chips, flatbreads, nuggets, curry, eggplant and then a few other dishes that changed a couple of times but looked and tasted the same. The food was pretty bland in all honesty. The better stuff seemed to be off the grill which is located in the dining area in the conservatory bit or even at the restaurant by the beach at lunch time. They had some different bits like waffles and churros too.
Desserts were all very similar too and again pretty bland. They looked fancy but that was it.
The kids buffet was the same every day. Spaghetti, neopolitan sauce, chips and nuggets.
There was always salad, fruit, cold meats and cheese available.
Overall the food side of things was a bit of a let down. Other than the spaghetti, sauce and chips our daughter ate nothing else at meal times. She's not particularly fussy but the selection and taste of what was available limited her.
The food was often barely luke warm too. Which was concerning. There were reports of people getting very ill while we were there but whether it was food or a bug going round who knows.
We didn't try the a la cart restaurants.
Entertainment.....
Again a let down. All the entertainment spaces are outside which if you have rain like we did are unusable. The main stage is by the beach and totally out in the open so we had some shows cancelled. As of the 29th October they also stop using that and entertainment takes place in the outdoor bar at the hotel. Which again if it's raining can't be used. Which leaves everyone sat in the lobby or in your bedrooms.
We did watch 2 lots of entertainment, both of which left alot to be desired.
There's a bit going on during the day. Water aerobics in the sea and the usual darts comps etc round the pool by the beach. I don't know if it happens around the pool at the hotel as we didn't spend the day there.
Pool and beach.....
There are 2 pool areas. One at the hotel and one across the road by the beach.
The one at the hotel seems to have limited sun and harder to get a sunbed. You need to be fairly early. They have a small splash park and some bigger slides. But the skids and splashpark are only open 10-12 and 2-4 which I find weird. Between those times they are turned off.
The pool across the road is better for the sun, seemed more sunbeds available and again has a splashparks with some reasonable sized slides. Again these are only open at the times mentioned further up.
There is a couple of bars and restaurants in this area also.
This is also by the beach. It's a 10 mins walk straight across the road or there is a regular shuttle from the hotel. But the amount of time it took the shuttle to drive there was the same amount of time it took to walk it. We spent every day on the beach as there were plenty of beds and shade, a beach bar and the water was far warmer than the pools that are FREEZING!
WARNING.... My husband and atleast one other girl did get stung by jellyfish. Doc wanted 150 euros to see him so he just went to the chemist who gave him creams that seemed to work. 24 hours and the sting had calmed right down.
There are watersports available on the beach too..
The surrounding area.... Is a dive!!!! Filthy dirty!
If you want shopping and fake goods then this is the area for you! But apart from that there is very little around. A few bars and steakhouses but we can't comment on those as we didn't try any of them.
Again if you have rain the shops are impossible. The floors are so slippery and they all get pretty much flooded outside.
If you don't like cats this is not the place for you. They are everywhere.
Would I rush back to the Ramada?..... No.
Would I recommend it?..... No. We are by no snobs nor do we travel in luxury etc. but this is definitely the least impressive all inclusive hotel we have stayed at. If you are happy with basic, not overly tasty, barely warm food, little to no entertainment and nothing to do in the rubbish weather then it's the place for you.
Would I recommend Lara beach resort?..... No. I missed that beauty you get when being abroad. It was like being in a warmer sunnier Blackpool.
Overall we got by. We had a few storms which obviously didnt help our stay but we are glad we didn't book any longer there. It was repetitive, boring and getting to the point that we would have ended up spending lots on excursions, meals out etc just to occupy ourselves and eat properly.
The Ramada by Wyndham Lara beach is nothing more than OK!"
