I stayed in July with my friend and her family. This was my second time to turkey and my friends 7th. We normally love turkey but this time we were a little disappointed. The hotel was lovely! We were in one of the top gardens room. We had booked 3 rooms and two were next door to each other while our room was about a 3 minuet walk away!
We had paid extra for a sea view room so were disappointed when we had arrived to our rooms to find out that all we could see was gardens. We went to the other two rooms to see that they had the same sort of view as well and in one of the rooms the sofabed had been pulled out and there was a cot! we rang down to reception and the cot was removed and sofa bed put back to normal efficiently and were brought up some drinks to compensate bearing in mind by this time it was nearly 2'o'clock in the morning and it took them 20 minuets! We decided to wait in till morning to deal with the sea view.

The next morning we woke up to lovely sunshine and the nice warm air. Looking out at the view now you could just see a glimpse of sea in the background. Because the hotel was so big the sea is actually a distance from the hotel rooms. The garden views however were lovely and we noticed we were meters away from the quiet end of the pool which is a lovely quiet spot to get the sun beds.

The rooms were lovely and were cleaned everyday which was very nice and they topped up the bar and left fresh fruit! The rooms were spacious and the bathroom was clean and white and looked very modern. Top marks for rooms!

Every morning we got up we went and got our sun beds before going to breakfast otherwise you'll notice people reserving sun beds and then not using them all day! A little annoying especially as they have picked the ones under the shade! But there are plenty of sun beds to go around and we saw the pool staff go and get extra sun beds for late arriving people who couldn’t find any.

The hotel has 2 main restaurants and 6 a'la carte restaurants. Which are lovely I would defiantly recommend paying the extra 15TL 3/4 course meals all freshly cooked! We tried the BBQ (You cook your own on little bbqs) which was fun and very tasty, Italian, Chinese and Mexican. We didn’t try the Turkish or fish ones but I expect they were just as yummy and the big thank you to the guy who runs the Chinese very nice and polite! The main restaurants are good but very busy. I would recommend going to the one downstairs as it is a lot less busy but not as much choice but the waiting staff are brilliant! But there was sooo much choice and even for me and my friend who is very fussy could find lots to eat! In the day there is also two snack bars which you can get burgers/kebabs/pizza and pastas from. After 2pm ice-cream pots are available from the drinks hut near the beach and whippy ice-cream and cakes from the inside room near the disco (which we only found on the last day!)

There are all different things to do around the hotel but I would say it’s more for kids or older people. There was the classic entertainment during the day with pool games and archery/football/bowls/belly dancing/aqua erobics..etc two lovely pools! If you go round by the Italian restaurant it is nice and quiet to relax. There are a few shops within the hotel some outside and some inside. There is also water sports on the beach but at a price. There are quite expensive so its good to try and knock them down a bit as £40/50 for 10 minuets on a jet ski is a little too much even thou it is fun!

There our plenty of bars in the hotel and the main one being by the amphitheatre. I would recommend if being English then don’t be polite you will never get served and people just barge you out the way. There is plenty of drinks available on the all inclusive and you do get your moneys worth as they do make the drinks very strong!

As have a lot of people have said on here the hotel is full of Russians. Who are very rude we spent almost a week at the hotel before bumping into some one English! This didn’t really bother us but it is nice to hear someone your own language talk and maybe have the chance to make aquatics on holiday.

The animation team were funny but not the best we’ve come across. At night they do a trip for the over 18s to a club in the evening for 20TL it is fun if you’re already drunk but if not don’t go there! The drinks are majorly over priced and the club is more like a strip joint! (They call it burlesque) Great for men I guess. All night I and my friends were getting chatted up by the animation team and being followed by weird Turkish men asking to take us back to the hotel themselves and not with the hotel team! We defiantly declined this offer! One night one of the animation team asked us to meet him on the beach (away from the hotels private beach) at the end of the night. Be very careful is all I say and the hotel should stop there animation team from doing this with vulnerable drunk holiday girls.

The entertainment is good in the evening if you not been to turkey before but we found it quite boring and inadequate to what were previously used to. When they got the outside circus act in thou that was brilliant!! Every night it was the same thing a show in till about 9/10 and then a live band! Every single night! Gets very repetitive.

The Spa in the hotel was lush! I had a chocolate massage and the smell was amazing! Defiantly worth paying for. You can bargain a bit with them on the price as they need the service. Don’t go with the one the reps say they can do for cheaper price! We did it and it was NOT relaxing AT ALL! We felt we were like on a conveyer belt you were ordered to take your clothes of then go in the steam room then they would shout at you to go to the Jacuzzi which is just like a big square bath. It was cross between a conveyer belt and a concentration camp not the relaxing day we thought after all and when there giving you the massage they go and get some one speaking English half way through to tell you that you have something wrong with you and should spend another 80TL to sort the problem out. con if you ask me! However the spa in the hotel is gorgeous and lovely and so relaxing!

All in all the hotel and holiday was a good holiday the sun shone everyday and was very hot the staff were nice enough some much more then others but then our last day came and all holiday there were these black kittens by our hotel room that were friendly and we fed everyday and on the last day while we were going to breakfast the garden attendants were catching the kittens and put them in a black bag and tied it with a knot! Now us being animal lovers got very upset and think that this was disgraceful to do this in front of the guests while on their way to breakfast. I can understand that in turkey the cats can become a pest as they would over breed and over populate so might need to take them of the hotel grounds but the way they handled this was disgusting and seeing that kind of ruined the holiday for us!
We will return to turkey again but not this hotel or chain! LARA BEACH ALL THE WAY!!

The hotel is very good and I can only recommend. Wide range of activities.
The food is very good.
The staff is helpful, but sometimes very slow.
One of the few hotels with squash. Squash courts is with specialty, along the rear wall on the floor is the ledge.
There is advertised as water sports without engine is free of charge. To get to ride the windsurfing, local license is required. If you have not, then have to pay. If you have paid for, does not even require to wear life jacket.

I was in this hotel for the eighth time, and I am very pleased. Staff sometimes could be kinder, but in general it is welcoming. Food is very good. If you wish to engage in exercise, then here are very good entertainers.

Firstly, a big thank you to Guest Relations, especially Baris, who helped us greatly when Thomas Cook let us down with our transfers. They are friendly and polite and are a credit to the hotel.
This hotel has a great energy througout the day and in to the night with great entertainment provided, most notably The Michael Jackson Experience put together by their in house entertainment team. Staff are very polite and happy to help even when you're asking them to make pina coladas at midnight.
Buffet food is excellent with a selection from many cultures (Indian, italian etc) but, if you do get bored of what's on offer, there is a great selection of a la carte restaurants. These do carry a small fee but with the extra service you get, it's well worth it.
As an English guest, you may feel a little isolated as guests are mainly Russian or German but this is due to location rather than the hotel itself.