"Extremely Disappointing Stay at Bitez Garden Life Hotel
I have been to Turkey around 10 times, so this review is absolutely not coming from someone who simply “doesn’t know what Turkey is like.” I know what to expect from holidays in Turkey, including the standards and style of accommodation. Unfortunately, our stay at Bitez Garden Life from 17th to 23rd August was one of the most disappointing hotel experiences I have had.
I stayed with my friend, my 5-year-old child and my friend’s 9-year-old niece. We booked an all-inclusive holiday, but the hotel simply did not feel equipped, organised or managed as an all-inclusive family resort.
The food was extremely disappointing
The food was one of the biggest problems.
For an all-inclusive hotel, the choice was very poor and there was very little variety. There was no fresh fruit at breakfast, and at dinner there were no potatoes or chips. The same or very similar foods appeared on the menu on most nights.
There were also no ice creams, which is particularly disappointing when the hotel is catering to families with children in the middle of August.
Because there was so little that the children would eat, we ended up eating at the hotel for only around three of the six nights we were there, despite having paid for all-inclusive accommodation. We had to find and pay for food elsewhere.
Even basic things such as bottled water were lacking. The hotel provided small, flimsy cartons of water, with no bottles available. We ended up buying our own bottled water despite having paid for an all-inclusive package.
The Turkish night was chaotic
The Turkish night was another example of the hotel not being able to cope with the number of guests.
We arrived for dinner at around 7pm, when the restaurant opened, expecting that getting there early would give us a reasonable chance of finding a table. Instead, the restaurant was already completely full and there was a queue out of the door.
People were having to sit on sun loungers to eat.
That is not what I would expect from a hotel selling itself as an all-inclusive family property. If there are more guests than the restaurant can accommodate, there needs to be a system in place to manage this.
We went to reception and asked if they could call us a taxi or recommend somewhere nearby where we could have dinner. The receptionist laughed and said, “Do you want burgers or pizza?”
I explained that we were looking for somewhere where we could have steak, chicken, salads, pasta etc. Rather than helping us, they told us they didn't know anywhere and refused to order a taxi.
In the end, we simply walked out ourselves and found some lovely restaurants near the beach. Ironically, the restaurants we found ourselves were much more enjoyable than trying to eat at the hotel.
The “entertainment” was bizarre
The entertainment was also extremely disappointing.
There was no proper stage or suitable entertainment area for performers. Instead, the activities and games appeared to take place in a narrow strip in front of the pool.
It felt improvised rather than like an organised hotel entertainment programme.
There simply wasn't enough space for the number of people staying at the hotel.
Our room was dirty and in poor condition
We arrived at around 11pm and were shown to our room.
Nobody properly explained anything to us when we arrived — where facilities were, when meals were served, or other basic information you would normally expect at check-in.
Then we saw the condition of the room.
It was dirty. There was chewing gum stuck to the wall and toilet paper stuck to the bathroom door. The sofa was ripped, and one of the reception staff appeared embarrassed by its condition and covered it with a sheet.
The balcony door lock was also broken when we arrived.
This was particularly concerning because we were staying with two children. A broken balcony door lock is not something that should be present in a family room, and certainly not something that should be left unrepaired.
The shower incident was unacceptable
The worst part of our stay happened on Friday.
Our shower broke and continually fluctuated between boiling hot and freezing cold.
I contacted reception at around 5:30pm. A maintenance man came to the room and told us there was nothing wrong with the shower, explaining that the temperature fluctuated when lots of people were using the showers at the same time.
That explanation might have been more convincing if the shower wasn't still fluctuating when we had it on the coldest setting.
More importantly, the shower had already scalded my child.
My friend's 9-year-old niece was still waiting to have her shower after we had been swimming in both the pool and the sea.
I called reception again and was told the maintenance man would return in 15 minutes. After waiting 20 minutes, I called again and was told they didn't know when he would be back.
Eventually, somebody else from reception came to look at the shower and agreed that it was faulty. We were told somebody would come to repair it within 20 minutes.
After another half an hour, I called reception again. This time we were told they couldn't get the required part and that the shower would be repaired the following morning.
I complained because we had two children who needed showers and we were also waiting to go out for dinner.
We were then told they would take a part from another room and that someone would come up within five minutes.
Fifteen minutes later, nobody had arrived, so I went down to reception myself.
At this point I asked for our room to be changed or for us to be moved to another hotel.
They refused to move us to another hotel and told us they didn't have another family room available.
I had to beg simply to be allowed to use a shower in another room.
Eventually, at around 10pm, maintenance staff finally arrived with a new shower tap.
By this point we were trying to get the children settled and ready for bed. The maintenance men abruptly left again, telling us they would return in 15 minutes.
At 10:45pm I called reception again and was told they didn't know when they would be coming back.
They had also left their tools in our bathroom.
Eventually, I told reception that they needed to come back in the morning because the children needed to sleep.
Then the situation became even worse.
During the night, one of the children developed diarrhoea. It was only then that we realised the maintenance men had turned off the water and left it switched off.
We couldn't flush the toilet or even properly wash our hands.
This was completely unacceptable, particularly in a room occupied by two children.
No manager available
The following morning I went back to reception to complain again.
I asked to be moved to another hotel and asked to speak to the manager.
I was told that the manager doesn't come in very often and they never know when he is going to be there.
That response sums up the management of this hotel for me.
When a guest has experienced a serious maintenance problem, has children in the room, has been left without usable water and is asking to speak to management, there should be someone available to deal with the complaint.
Instead, we were left feeling completely ignored.
Overall
This hotel is simply not equipped to operate as a proper all-inclusive family resort in my opinion.
There does not appear to be enough restaurant space for the number of guests. There isn't enough space for the entertainment. The food is repetitive and extremely limited, particularly for children. Basic amenities such as bottled water and ice cream are lacking. The room we were given was dirty and damaged, and the response to a serious shower fault was slow, disorganised and frustrating.
Most importantly, the way our shower problem was handled was completely unacceptable. A child had already been scalded, we were left waiting for hours, we were refused a room change, maintenance staff left tools in our bathroom, and then our water was turned off and left off without anyone telling us.
We paid for an all-inclusive family holiday, yet we ended up paying to eat elsewhere for much of our stay simply because there was so little suitable food for the children. We also had to buy our own bottled water.
I have visited Turkey around 10 times and I am fully aware that different hotels have different standards and that Turkey isn't the same as holidaying elsewhere. That is not the issue here.
The issue is poor management, inadequate facilities for the number of guests, poor maintenance, limited food choices and a lack of basic customer service.
There were some lovely restaurants down by the beach, and we actually enjoyed the meals we had outside the hotel far more than those provided as part of our all-inclusive package.
Sadly, I would not return to Bitez Garden Life and would not recommend it to families looking for an all-inclusive holiday. The experience was stressful, particularly with children, and certainly not the relaxing family holiday we had paid for."
