My wife and I wanted a golfing holiday with some sun and a little relaxation.
On arrival, you really do think that you have come to Toon Town with the buildings painted in bright reds, green and yellows. Once over that shock, the hotel (aparthotel) is very well laid out and virtually on the beach. I liked the idea of the rooms being away from the entertainment area; a bit like Butlins. The shrubs around the rooms are wonderful for shade, wildlife and great aromas, like wild garlic and rosemary.
The hotel was absolutely spotless throughout, in fact the staff went overboard on cleanliness, and they were very helpful too; nothing was too much trouble for them, but beware that 95% of guests are German, so English is not widely understood.
Our room was well cleaned daily and the chamber maid did some great displays with our towels. The TV is mostly German, Turkish or Russian with only the BBC World Service News in English. A big disappointment is the minibar as it contains 4 bottles of water and 4 soft drinks.
The evenings were a bit of a chore really, not much to do and the entertainment was almost non-existent. The bars allow smoking throughout, so non-smokers beware. I really wanted to try ALL of the restaurants advertised, but just the one was open during our stay. We had good food with plenty of choice, but the meats used are the cheaper cuts, so don't expect rump steaks or even filleted boneless fish. Breakfasts are OK if you like eggs and different breads, but the absence of pork products is noticeable to the English palate.
The all-inclusive alcoholic drinks are local beer, wines and spirits. Imported products like Bacardi are very, very expensive. The wines are a little harsh but bearable, the spirits lacking in finesse, but the beer glasses only hold 25cl, and most of the time are only 2/3rds full.
For me, a big let down was the continual pestering by the Spa salesmen. They are the equivalent of the time-share con artists in other countries. They continually pester you to book for massages and other treatments, which are not cheap, and they do not take NO for an answer. In fact on two occasions I was quite rude to them, which I regret, but I was on the golf range at the time so they deserved it.
The best part of the holiday was the golf; Belek is a golfer's paradise. The Kaya Eagles (200 metres from reception) is superb and very well maintained. I liked seeing the wild tortoises and the small snakes on the fairways and hearing the birds and frogs - a great experience.
