We have been back one week now and "WE ARE MISSING THIS PLACE SO MUCH"

Ok....we swear by looking at trip advisor for holiday reviews, but you have to understand, its just one family's opinion. When you read all the reviews as im sure most of us do, there is so much information which is correct, and some i wonder which planet they were on or are simply "born moaners". Believe me, i research my family's holiday like no other because we, like others, have had such mixed quality regardless of price.

Yes, the extra costs list handed to you upon arrival was a little disappointing and yes the hotel does have 2 sides and only one can face the pool as it doesnt revolve, but doesnt this apply everywhere....???? cant we all just ask for a change of room view?? NOTE, Pay the extra for the Junior Suite, its well worth it.

Here is the opinion of MY FAMILY, AND MAY I ADD, THE SHARED OPINION OF EVERYONE WE MET WHILE ON HOLIDAY. Hello to Pat Sue n kids, Tony Shelly n kids, The Whole Macnamara Clan, Moritz Phillipe n Maria, Bill n Deb, Frank n Family, John n Family, JOSEF, INGO, Steve n Family, Chris n Family, All the Germans, Dutch, Italians, French(Zidane), Turks etc etc whole took part in all of the activities. YOU ALL HELPED MAKE MY HOLIDAY A TRULY MEMORABLE ONE.

The reason why we went for this holiday was basically due to the Animation reviews on this site, I wasnt prepared to be entertained all day long everyday i was there, but as others point out, you dont have to if you dont want, but i have never had so much simple fun on holiday, met so many friends from so many countries. It takes a special talent to bring all this together. The animation team led by Nino, who is such a talented bloke(9 languages, fire eater, dancer, comedian, choreographer etc etc etc) is amazing, Momo and Mike with the Kids, superb. Jo the Dancer, great guy. SAM, what a smile and ALWAYS laughing, joining in the games, all of them very hard workers who are there to make your holdiay whatever you want it to be. MIDO KANTOUI, great tunes.

BUT, MARIO, for me was the legend of them all, i really connected with this guy as did everyone, he has such a talent in getting along with people. He treats everyone individually that little bit more instead of being a "TOURIST". For his entertainment, company, abilities, BREAK DANCING, and fantastic humour alone, WE WOULD ALL RETURN to this hotel because of him alone. ANYONE READING THIS REVIEW who are going, Tell him STEVE from Sunderland, thanks him again, for such a wonderful holiday.

All of these guys are THE reason why people return to this holiday year after year after year after year, make no mistake, we can all find a better hotel for food, or pool, or rooms, but all round satisfaction, it is the best WE HAVE EVER HAD.

Look at all the positives in the reviews and you will get the real picture.

Very Clean, Great food, Excellent service especially from DERYA, EMRE, RAMAZAN, but not all are always smiling, which i think has more to do with the management team, who are very hard on the staff.

Some people have returned to this hotel 7 times, 5 times, 3 times, 5 times, 2 times etc etc and i can honestly see why...i know for certain that when next having a holiday in Europe, it will be here for certain, especially if the Animation team are still here. My wife and kids have talked about nothing else since we got back and when asked at work if we had a nice holiday "IT EXCEEDED ALL MY EXPECTATIONS" considering that i had never returned to Turkey since 1992 due to a horrific experience of poor quality, now, i wonder why we returned to greece, spain, canaries all the time, when there is a hotel like this. 45 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. You would save £100-£200 going to Menorca Self Catering but need £2000 to spend when there. NO BRAINER.

Breakfast - Boules 10:30 - Football if being played - Water Volley Ball 12:00 - Lunch 13:00 - Football if being played, Water Polo(VERY ROUGH BUT FUN)15:00 OR Archery 15:00 - Water Volleyball again 16:00.

Not once did our aged 8 & 6 kids tell us they were bored. For those who DONT like to just lie in the sun all day like me, "i must have spent only 1 hour lying down the whole holiday - except the last day when i lay a WHOLE hour to top up the tan"

The Wellness centre is very very reasonable and beautiful.

The beach is poor, the caribbean it ISNT.

They could maybe do with another bar, but there wasnt anyone complaining. If they served all inc after 24:00, people wouldnt go to bed and stay up til 4-5 disturbing sleep for the hotel, though we did manage 0300 a couple of times.

Wednesday Garden Party - MY FAVOURTITE

Gala Night, VERY IMPRESSIVE.

Slides an pools, Enough. Ear infections, no different to other european holidays.

Cost when there, much cheaper than Spain or Greece thats for sure.

English Football in bars down street or hotel, virtually non existant, they cater for germans. bothered, NO.

SIDE, BEAUTIFUL ( i never thought i would ever say that about anywhere in Turkey havn been to their picture postcard OLU DENIZ - nightmare)

Manavgat Market. Excellent, superb quality footy strips for 14euros. Cheap Bling watches etc, Ed Hardy T Shirts

BABA BOOT Boat Trips, Excellent Value for money.

Children SAFETY, 100%.

You wont be disappointed, BOOK IT.

And if you are lucky enough to meet people like we did, You will probably come back and write about it like I have.

General
We found the Saray Regency to be an international hotel with the majority of guests being German and Dutch. The balance was made up of English, Polish, Russian and small contingent of Belgians, Italians, French and Turkish.

Staff/Service
In general the waiters, bar and kitchen staff were polite. As always there were a few exceptions but that may have been due to the ill manners of some of the guests. A simple smile and bit of common courtesy helped win most of them over. Most of the staff spoke German but very little English.

Rooms
The maid service was good. The rooms were a bit on the small side with limited storage space and the air conditioning did not work as efficiently as perhaps it should have.

Pool area
Generally busy and if you wanted to secure a place by the pool it was the usual towels on the sun beds at dawn! Having said that, there was a large grassed area very close to the pool where you could also sunbathe and play games. The main pool had a small shallow end which was often used for activities such as water polo, water volleyball & aqua aerobics with the rest of the pool 2m deep. There was no lifeguard! The small pool was 0.5m deep and was covered by a canopy to protect the youngsters from the strong sun. The pool surround was marble and was very slippery. The water slides were not open all day and although there should have been a lifeguard/attendant there it was not always the case. Also there was a very pungent aroma in the surrounding area which was quite off putting. The area surrounding the pool was kept very clean and tidy by the diligent cleaning staff throughout the day.

Beach
The beach was clean, mostly sand with some small shingle. The light conditions there were excellent for photographs in the early evening. The beach bar was a nice place to while away a few hours and relax over a few drinks and simple food. There are numerous water sports available including parascending, jet skis, wind surfing, mini catamarans etc.

Medical
Beware, if you visit the hotel doctor you will be charged (Turkish Lira 170). If you are then referred to the medical centre you will be charged again, as well as for the ‘courtesy car’ which we found out to our cost!! Tip: Local chemists can dispense medication for ear infections without prescription.

Activities/Entertainment
I’ve saved the best until last. The Animation team headed by Nino were superb. They were responsible for the daytime & evening entertainment and worked very hard from 10 am until the early hours. Without exception they all made you feel really special and were a major factor in our enjoyment of the holiday. Nino is a multi lingual, multi talented, exceptional man. He was ably assisted by Mario, Momo, Sam, Joe, Mike & Mido (DJ).

Summary
The Saray Regency is a great family orientated hotel with plenty to do and is great value for money.

We were a party of three, two adults and a six year old who arrived at the Saray Regency at approximately 7.30pm on a Saturday evening. The transfer time from the airport is about one hour or so. We had no real problems with our check in and were taken straight to our room. The size of the room was fine for us three and it was very clean and tidy and cleaned daily. The entire hotel both inside and out is kept to a good standard.
They have two pools one of which has three slides which adults and kids alike loved.
There were a few things about the Saray Regency which niggled us during our stay and they were....
Charging for ice creams (1 - 3 Euro's), milkshakes (2.5 Euro's), cocktails (5 Euro's if cocktail of the day, otherwise expect to pay up to 9 Euro's) and 2.5 Euro's for fresh orange juice. We paid 2.5 Euro's a day for the hire of the safe in our room and paid 150TL for a deposit for the beach towels (refundable though). They also charge for anything ordered after midnight.
We have stayed in five star all inclusive hotels previously and I'm afraid to say the Saray does not compare. I would say it is probably 3+ or 4.
They have a waiter service at lunch time and also at dinner. We found it easier to get a drink at the bar and then go in the restaurant as the waiter service could be slow and we found it difficult to order a second drink if we wanted one. All meals in the main restaurant are buffet style and they seem to have a wide choice but if you are vegetarian (as I am) be prepared - the choice is very limited but I did expect that. On a couple of occasions we had to ask three times at the Jardin Restaurant (at the pool side at lunch) for a second drink. The waiters and waitress ignored our request completely much to our annoyance. I think if you can speak German you'll get along much better. The waiting staff can speak English but it is broken.
On the plus side.......
The grounds are well maintained and we always found sunbeds even though we didn't arrive until 11am.
Staff come round offering punch during the day.
The animation team offer a good programme of activities during the day which include: Water volleyball, water polo, water aerobics, archery, darts, aerobics and football. There is a mini club and they keep the children entertained playing games and even taking them to the beach to go on the banana boats (5 Euro's). The mini club picks the children up at 6.45pm for dinner and then takes them to watch a film and then off to the mini disco. Every evening at approximately 9pm the animation team do a different performance and they are really very good and sometimes very funny.
The DJ plays music all day but that is sometimes drowned out by the music from the hotel opposite who were very loud indeed.
The beach is about a five minute walk from the hotel and all the sunbeds on the beach are under cover which is a blessing in the scorching heat and as mentioned by previous people the mattress is taken away at 6pm.
We paid a visit to the spa at the hotel during our stay and paid 35 Euro's for a 'Saray Regency Special'. This involved a Turkish bath, a mud face mask and then a full body massage and it was very good!
All in all we had a good holiday at the Saray Regency but it was marred slightly by their insistence on charging for silly things whilst claiming to be all inclusive.

Traveling with my 11 year old daughter and not knowing what to expect is always a concern, but on this occasion there was no need. The hotel caters superbly for children of all ages, right from the little kids club up to bigger things for the older children. Not to mention the entertainment for the adults too... The hotel has good facilities, with a wellness centre, indoor pool and next door a bowling alley & pool tables (chargeable though)
I was there for a week, in which time we had a garden party, (superb fun with all the countries competing against each other) a Gala dinner arranged around the swimming pool, and a beach party, ... not bad for a hotel entertainment. With the hotel beach five minutes away and Sun beds always available by the pool, it certainly was a relaxing place to be. All in all, a good hotel with nice people, catering well for a families. The food is continental, but chicken and chips are available. Drinks are freely available up until midnight . So go as you could do a lot worse....!