Disappointed by Turkey hotel

[Missmydog20]

Currently doing my first Turkey holiday with my two young adult DC. Backstory- we usually do Greece self catering but I wanted something different and more luxurious and relaxing as they’ve both just finished exams. And perhaps a bit busier than quiet backstreet Greece as we are alone and usually go with family. I was told Turkey 5 star was amazing. Booked through Jet2 (we are UK based) and paid £6600 for 9 days AI at a 5 star beachfront hotel. And I’m really disappointed.

Hotel is at least 95% German. Food is pretty much all German. Entertainment is mostly just in German. Staff speak German - they can’t understand us and we are wasting drinks due to communication problems (and I’m only asking for coke, sprite, and water). Now I don’t like the Brits abroad hotels, I love multi national but if I wanted to be this immersed in German I’d have gone to Germany.

There are other issues. Sunbeds!!! There are not enough. I’m up at 8 to get ones. The bathroom is open plan - the wash hand basin is off the DCs room so I’m teeth brushing by torch light at 7.45 so we are not all up at that time. The shower and toilet are only separated from communal room areas by frosted (but still slightly see through) glass doors so privacy isn’t great. The WiFi is really poor (I know I know but it’s the DC’s holiday too and they want to watch stuff like today’s F1 race).

I have gone to one other AI in Cape Verde which I love. Amazing food. Plenty of sunbeds. Animation staff speak an amazing variety of languages. All nationalities there. WiFi reaches all over the resort. It’s cheaper than this holiday.

Advice please from those who go to Turkey. AIBU to be disappointed in this for my money? Were my expectations too high?

Oh no! Can I ask where you’ve booked? I’ve booked Lara barut in Antalya for next year but reviews look good and was also recommended to me. Also my first trip to Turkey.

Making a complaint based on what, exactly? If you don’t want to encounter anyone who isn’t British, don’t travel overseas 🤷‍♀️

It's not the Sunlife Magic hotel is it ? I'm going there ..
Hope it gets better for you soon especially at that cost

Thank you.

How disappointing for you! We had this once in Crete, no other English speaking children for ours to talk to. Risking disappointment ourselves is the reason we are returning to the same hotel (again in Crete but not the abovementioned one) for the forth year in a row next month. We literally can't face spending thousands and looking at each other and saying "We wish we were at the B hotel"

edited to say would recommend asking rep if any chance of moving.

I found Coke Zero definitely replaced Diet outside the UK and often is the standard unless you really say you want the full fat one. Fizzy water is standard in most countries as well, not just Germany.
Maybe look at the brand they are serving.

German for still water is "Ohne Sprudel" if that helps.

I had a similar situation in Egypt. First things first, talk to the rep and explain the issues. How far into the trip are you? Because they may see if they can move you to a different hotel if necessary (if you have the energy for all that!). I would also take pics of sunbeds, food choices, record the entertainment etc and ideally get written evidence of the correspondence between you and the rep/Jet2 so that you can make a complaint when back in the UK. Chances are you will get a partial refund or a voucher for future travel. When we had our issue, the biggest thing they wanted was some kind of proof that we had complained while at the hotel and given them a chance to fix the situation. I think for what you spent, and considering its AI in Turkey, you should be having a way better experience! We've spent less than that to go to the Maldives for 2 weeks!

Its so hot there at the moment isn't it? I have friends there right now who are melting

I'm a German speaker. The words coke, sprite and fanta are the same

HTH

I am not surprised that a hotel for Turkeys failed to meet your expectations. Next time try booking a Turkish hotel

Based on the fact it was not stated in the hotel description that it catered mainly for Germans. If you are paying for entertainment etc that you can’t enjoy you should be refunded. This is the consumer programme’s advice, not mine!

Turkey is a big place OP. Where abouts is your hotel side?? I've been twice. I have done Magic life Masmavi in Belek and Paloma Orenda in Side I knew there would be quite a few German people. Masmavi was my favourite.

It's best to watch YouTube videos or join the FB groups before booking a hotel.

Slightly concerned as we go to Turkey for the first time on Monday. I freely admit I am an absolute hotel snob so this would be my worst nightmare, not so much the German tourists but the hotel not being what I have expected. Which hotel was it? We have booked with Tui.

Maybe the sort of thing I once saw advertised outside a seaside restaurant in Italy: (in German) - ‘Potatoes like Mutti makes!’

Sounds like you've been unlucky.
I've been to Lara Beach a couple of times for short breaks, never paid more than £300 per person for 3 night All inclusive in a fairly luxurious hotel with amazing food and facilities.
There were a variety of nationalities there but we were made to feel very welcome.

Sorry that your holiday has turned out disappointing 😞.

Overrun? They're not rats you know!

@Peoniesandcats We've been to your hotel every year for 11 years. Safe to say we quite like it!!! Like any hotel it depends what you want. It's not lively and foam parties etc, but the food is amazing and the grounds are beautiful. There's an active FB group if you have any questions - I don't really want to link my MN account with my FB account so won't point you at my review if our most recent stay.

What hotel? You need to pick carefully in Turkay as lots of the reviews on TripAdvisor are fake.

You have been unlucky though, for that much you should have got pretty much all you expected.

Went to a 5 star in Turkey last year that gets full 5 star reviews on TA and was SO disappointed .
Never again . Food underwhelming , air con inadequate . Cost 9 k for a week for the 7 of us . Biggest waste of money ever .
This year went to Slovenia and Austria and the contrast in food, service, amenities could not be greater .

Clearly you didn’t fully research the hotel, trip adviser would have made you aware that it’s a predominantly German hotel! I go to Turkey most years as it’s our favourite destination and only once went to a poor hotel and that was because I booked it last minute! You will find that Turkey is a popular destination for German tourists.

Why would it state who it caters for? People are people.

Op sorry to break it to you but you can end up in a hotel you dont like anywhere in the world and not specific to Turkey. I would speak to your rep instead and go from there. Ive been to Turkey a few times and food was amazing and hotels amazing but that's not to say I couldn't have ended up in a bad hotel. Speak to jet2! If it was a German led hotel they should have documented this on the advert as seen in a recent rip of britian episode about holidays.

There was a couple complaining about being in a hotel dominated by Germans the other day. I think they got moved and the travel company updated their details to say mostly German was spoken at the hotel.

Yes same happened to us last holiday abroad. Paid for 5 star hotel in Turkey and everything was for Germans. Couldn't communicate well with staff. Ended up pointing at drinks we wanted. Food was German. My husband had to get up early.to secure sun beds too! Was very annoying, not relaxing in the slightest! We're going back to Greece this year, self catering.

Ours was Barut Hemera . The reviews are all amazing , same with Facebook groups etc . People on a group became annoyed with me because we were disappointed in it . It's like you are not allowed a different view .

We stay in top hotels and I always do my research .
But after that I don't trust reviews so much .