"We booked this holiday through TUI as a late booking, just two weeks before departure. While there were some positives, overall this hotel fell well below our expectations and did not represent good value for the price paid.
Transfer Issues
The first disappointment was the airport transfer. TUI advertised an 80-minute transfer, which was already about our maximum acceptable travel time after a flight. In reality, the journey took approximately 125 minutes, which was significantly longer than expected and not a great start to the holiday.
Accommodation Problems on Arrival
The main reason we booked our specific accommodation was because it was advertised as a two-storey apartment with a bathroom on each floor. Travelling with a 16-year-old son and 13-year-old daughter, this layout was important for privacy and convenience.
Unfortunately, when we arrived late at night, we discovered there was only one bathroom, located within the upstairs master bedroom. This meant our children would have needed to walk upstairs and through their parents' bedroom whenever they needed the bathroom during the night.
We went straight to reception to explain the issue and request a room change. The staff were rude, dismissive and essentially told us it wasn't their problem. We were informed that the hotel no longer had the two-bathroom apartments and that TUI had been told about this.
This explanation didn't make sense considering we had only booked the holiday two weeks earlier. If the room type was no longer available, it should never have been sold to us.
Fortunately, our TUI representative, Tolga, was excellent. He advised us to submit an official complaint to TUI and worked hard to negotiate a complimentary upgrade to a Select Villa. The villa was much closer to what we had originally booked, offering accommodation over two floors with a bathroom on each level.
To be fair, we were clearly told that although we would be staying in a Select Villa, we would not receive the additional Select benefits such as the private pool and exclusive restaurant access. That was perfectly reasonable as our priority was simply getting the accommodation we had originally paid for.
Positives
There were several aspects of the holiday that we enjoyed:
The water slides were excellent and great fun for both teenagers and adults.
The beach foam party was very well organised and clearly had a lot of effort put into it.
The beach itself is lovely, particularly the smaller pier area with comfortable loungers and a platform for jumping into the sea.
The nightclub event held on the football field was another well-executed evening activity.
Lunch was consistently the best meal of the day. The beach restaurant and the so-called Asian restaurant (which served very little Asian food) were both enjoyable.
Food and Dining
Sadly, dinner was often very disappointing and nowhere near the standard I would expect from a hotel marketed at this level.
The only evening meal we genuinely enjoyed was at the Mexican à la carte restaurant, which required an additional payment. It seemed wrong that the best dining experience of the holiday was one that cost extra.
We also arrived in the middle of the night and had been told that food would be available 24 hours a day. While technically true, the overnight offering was extremely limited and underwhelming.
Service and Cleanliness
While there were a handful of friendly and helpful staff, the majority appeared uninterested and unhelpful.
A particular example came on our departure day. I informed reception that there was a dirty nappy behind a sofa in one of the public areas near where we were leaving our luggage. Four hours later, when we returned to collect our cases before departure, the dirty nappy was still there. This summed up the hotel's attitude towards cleanliness and customer service.
Entertainment
The evening shows themselves were generally decent, but every night's introduction was repeated in six or seven different languages before the performance began.
The hotel caters to a very mixed European audience, with plenty of Turkish guests as well. That's absolutely fine and may appeal to many people. However, it certainly didn't feel like the typical TUI hotel experience we were used to.
If you're expecting the sort of predominantly British-focused entertainment and atmosphere found in many TUI resorts, you may be disappointed.
Comparison with Other TUI Hotels
For the previous two years we stayed at Atlantica Dreams in Rhodes, a TUI Sensatori property. Unfortunately, this hotel was nowhere near that standard in terms of accommodation, service, food quality or overall guest experience.
If Atlantica Dreams is the benchmark you're comparing against, I would strongly advise looking elsewhere.
Final Thoughts
There are undoubtedly some good features here. The beach, water slides, foam party and some of the daytime facilities are genuinely enjoyable. However, poor communication about accommodation, disappointing food, indifferent service and weak value for money ultimately overshadowed the positives.
To make matters worse, my wife was unwell for around a week after returning to the UK, suffering from nausea and sickness.
Overall, this holiday did not deliver the experience we expected from a TUI all-inclusive resort. While some guests may appreciate the hotel's international atmosphere, we left feeling disappointed and would not return, nor would I recommend it at the current price point.
Rating: 2/5
The facilities and beach save it from being a lower score, but the accommodation issues, poor service and disappointing food mean it falls well short of expectations."
