Batihan Vadi Hotel

"We're a family of four, one three year old and one 8 month old.  We stayed in early June for a week in a premium villa. All villas in Vadi have their own pools, outside bath, shower and cabana as well as a decent amount of garden. The weather for the week was 30+ but we acclimatised very quickly as did our kids.  In the premium villa is a master bedroom on a mezzanine level overlooking the lounge and a separate bedroom downstairs with twin beds. Both have plenty of wardrobe space and both have their own bathrooms on the respective floors. The downstairs bedroom is by far the darkest for those needing blackout spaces. The mezzanine is far from blackout, and we had to adapt our daughter's cot, who was sharing with us so that it had covered sides to provide a bit more darkness so we didn't get woken up too early. Bear this in mind. The pool is not heated and was a breath taker when you first jumped in but, like the climate, we soon acclimatised and it became a relief to get in. There are two other pools onsite, the outdoor one by the family rooms which we didn't use and then the gym one which is indoor but has an open ceiling, this also has a toddler pool at the end. There are no toys or slides of any kind if this is what you're looking for.  Back to the villas and our thoughts. On the whole they are fantastic and provided exactly what we needed. A mini bar refill every day with beers, fizzy drinks and water as well as teas and coffees were excellent. But I can't help but feel that the owners have gone for style over substance. Example, there is an installation of control panels around the villas that seemingly are for the roller blinds, air con and lighting. Do any of them work? Not a single one…but they're not switched off…no no no…they flash the brightest light ALL the time, even at night. We ended up having to cover it with a piece of card because it was so ridiculously bright. Despite raising this on the second day and assured that it would be rectified, it was not. This coupled with a missing safety banister at the top of the stairs as well as a door handle that fell off in the bedroom meant that there were aspects which I found wholly irritating.  Moving onto the resort. It's quiet, we wanted quiet but wow this is quiet. I felt sorry for the entertainment team sometimes as they were very much out on a limb with what to do. I often found them sat around in the soft play looking bored. In terms of activities, there's a padel court, a dartboard, table tennis, mini golf, archery, a tennis court and basketball court. There's animals everywhere including a large flock of peacocks roaming the gardens which is delightful.  This also means that flies are bothersome sometimes, especially at mealtimes. Some people complain about wasps in other reviews. We saw two in the entire week. The flies and mozzies were more irritating but the maintenance team fumigates the resort every couple of days to try and keep the number down. You need to remember that we're in the middle of a valley surrounded by nature, not concrete buildings, embrace it and get over it, it's manageable.  The restaurants. The main restaurant O’Garden was our go to for the entire week. The menu was vast and nearly every single meal we had was absolutely delicious. The best by far was the Adana Kebab as well as the calamari. There are other places to eat, but we just didn't bother. Leora and Radika seemed unnecessarily pretentious and Rodolfos, the bar was too casual for us. The staff at O’Garden need a shout out, they are absolute work horses and will do everything they can to make your experience as enjoyable as possible. The attention they paid to our kids was outstanding and the genuine care and joy that our children brought them was lovely to see. Shout out to Ozger and Ahmet (Tiger) as well as Hasan for their attentiveness and making us feel like lifelong friends, thank you. My only gripe about the restaurant was the bizarre opening times. For a respiratory purporting to be family friendly, they don't open breakfast until 0830hrs. Our kids are up and hungry from 0700hrs meaning a long and painful wait to breakfast. This needs to be addressed.  The free shuttle to the other hotel was a great addition for those days you needed a bit more entertainment. Please note this hotel is VERY different in clientele to the Vadi, but don't let that put you off. The swimming pools are great and the Restaurant on the seafront is absolutely fantastic for some lunch overlooking the ocean. Thankfully you're far enough back to not be able to see the shockingly poor beach and litter. Gross. If you're all inclusive, your food and drink is also covered here. Make use of it, it's a pleasant change from the norm.  Final words. Would I come again? In a heartbeat yes but not for longer than 10 days. Do the management team need to get a grip on how they run the resort? Very much so. It's irritating how poor some of it is ran, mainly from the front of house at reception and the upkeep of the villas. But if you're prepared to look beyond that and see a holiday that feels like a private space but in an all inclusive setting, then you'd be wise to book Vadi.  PS Use the golf buggies to ferry you to your villa. It's a long walk sometimes!"

"My friend and I have recently returned from a stay at the Batihan Vadi Hotel in Kusadasi. And overall this Hotel has to be one of the best I’ve stayed at. At pretty much every turn I have been impressed with the staff, the facilities, and the place in general. On arrival at the Hotel we were greeted by smiling, friendly staff who helped us with our bags and took us into the reception lobby area. Check-in was lovely and simple. We provided the hotel receptionist with a phone number for WhatsApp messages which they communicated with us on for the duration of our stay (for making reservations, requests, and general information). Once we had our key card we were popped onto a golf buggy by a friendly staff member who gave us a tour of the resort- pointing out restaurants, cafe, bakery, bar, sports facilities, gym, spa, cute little artisan souvenir stalls and the various animals they have on-site (peacocks, guinea fowl, ducks, flamingoes, a couple of resort cats, emus, deer, and antelope). When we arrived at our room we were so impressed. We stayed in a 1+1 Superior Pool Villa. This consisted of a modern looking villa with two rooms and a bathroom - a bedroom with with a double bed and living area. We asked them to put up a single pullout bed too whilst we were there which was also put up in the bedroom (this wasn’t the most comfortable pull out bed but that would be my only criticism of our room) The outside of the villa boasted a decent sized private pool, table and chairs, two sun loungers, an outdoor shower, a jacuzzi bathtub, and a pergola with cushioned seating. Overall it was really great. With regard to housekeeping etc, my only criticism would be that the floors were not mopped whilst we were there. However the room and outdoor area was kept very clean and tidy by the helpful and friendly housekeeping staff. We received fresh towels every other day (Beach towels and bathroom towels), as well as being provided with fresh Batihan Vadi slippers, dressing gowns, and toiletries too. The bathroom is equipped with shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, hand soap and body lotion- all of which smell amazing and are of a very nice quality. The living area also has a kettle, nespresso machine and pods, various teas and sugars; as well as a mini bar which can be refilled on a daily basis via your hotel WhatsApp (they ask everyday if you would like it refilled). Both the bedroom and living room are fully fitted with air conditioning and all windows and doors have sliding bug screens too. The grounds of the hotel are immaculate. With peacocks, guinea fowl, ducks, flamingoes, and a couple of resort cats all roaming the grounds (all are friendly and used to humans, bur also make no attempt to come near you. They are simply there) The emus, deer, and antelope are all in their enclosures around the resort. When travelling around the resort you will always be asked by staff members if you want a lift anywhere on the golf buggies. However we found the distances between places easily walkable and enjoyable. The grounds are also sprayed with human and animal- safe insect repellents daily to minimise mosquitos and bugs in the area (I usually get bitten to bits on holiday but I came back with three tiny bites after the whole week). The Gym is very good. It has a wide range of equipment and was very clean and hygienic. No extra charge to use the gym too. My only criticism would be that they need more air conditioning in the gym for when it gets very hot in the middle of the day. We didn’t use the spa but the staff there all seemed friendly and the prices seemed fairly reasonable -with an extensive list of treatments available. The sports activities that you could book were things like tennis, table tennis, boccia, paddle etc. These are available to book at no extra cost at reception or via WhatsApp. The Rolling Hills Bakery was good. The cakes and biscuits etc on offer were all beautiful to look at and tasted fantastic! We found that we could select what we wanted by having a look at the Bakery itself then they can be ordered at Rodolfo Bar/Cafe. The Rodolfo Bar/Cafe has a nice menu for lunch, cocktails, coffee and tea etc. It’s a nice relaxed setting but the staff at this eatery seem to be the younger staff- who are all extremely friendly but are perhaps not as “on it” when it comes to giving out menus or taking orders. However this being said their friendliness and the quality of the food and drinks more than made up for their slightly slower timings. The Leora Wine Bar was beautifully modern. We were the only people booked for our night and so we had the restaurant and a waiter all to ourselves. Our waiter offered to set out our table out on the balcony so we could enjoy our wine with a view…so thoughtful. We had a few glasses of the House White which was a Spanish dry white wine. The waiter “Negati” was knowledgeable about all the wines on the list and there was no pressure to buy bottles or glasses of other wines. Just to enjoy whatever we fancied. The O’Garden Restaurant really is a triumph. The setting is very relaxed with a lovely ambiance. You can choose to sit either inside, on the covered terrace area, or on the grass of the garden areas. The Breakfast has a healthy choice of dishes on the menu which were all delicious. I particularly recommend the toast with traditional Turkish fig and walnut jam and also the pancakes with Batihan Vadi Honey…divine! The senior waiter at Breakfast “Ahmet” was so helpful and kind- offering us a friendly smile and conversation every morning and also giving us helpful advice for our explorations into nearby Kusadasi. With regard to dinner; on arrival you will be offered room temperature or cold bottled water and given a selection of home-grown olives, homemade bread and herby butter (and sometimes also authentic Turkish mezze bits as well). After that you can choose starters, main courses and desserts from an extensive menu- choices vary from traditional Turkish dishes, to fresh homemade pasta dishes, to steak, to salads etc. The food here was, without exception, some of the best tasting and best presented food I have ever experienced at a hotel (not your typical all-inclusive buffet etc). I would recommend some things off the menu but if I’m honest I loved everything I tried! The standard of the food and the service was just amazing. Special shout out to “Ahmet”and “Negati” for being so fantastic and looking after us so well on our holiday. These two are simply amazing chaps who are absolutely fantastic at what they do. If you fancied something extra special you can also book to enjoy a Tasting Menu at the Radika Restaurant. This has to be booked a day in advance via reception or WhatsApp. Here we had a choice of three tasting menus to choose from (we opted for the menu where lots of the ingredients were home-grown or harvested on the Batihan Vadi complex). The food was of an exceptional quality (like all the food at Batihan Vadi) and the evening was wonderful. I would recommend not having any lunch before this experience, as although it is a tasting menu, the portions are still fairly large. So overall, if you want a really relaxing, luxurious, delicious holiday in a place that’s quiet and beautiful, with extremely helpful and kind staff who are keen to share their culture, language and hospitality with you…then this amazing place is a must!"

"We are currently staying at this hotel and have been having a wonderful experience. The hotel itself is beautiful, very clean, and well maintained, with a welcoming atmosphere throughout. The staff are exceptionally friendly, professional, and always willing to help. A special mention goes to Selim and the entire animation team, who work tirelessly to ensure guests have a great time. They are engaging, approachable, and always bring positive energy to the resort. We would also like to thank Celal, the lifeguard, who does an excellent job around the pool area. He is attentive, professional, and always makes guests feel safe and well looked after. The food quality has been excellent, with a wide variety of fresh and delicious options available every day. The restaurants and bars provide great service, and the hospitality shown by all staff members has been outstanding, few names I could mention and special thanks to Ozzy, Aytaç, Ahmed, Hasan from the restaurants and Günay from the Bar area. Overall, this hotel offers excellent service, fantastic food, and genuine hospitality. We would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a relaxing, quiet in the nature and enjoyable holiday , and we look forward to returning in the future. Thank you."