Any Türkiye experts?

[crumpetandcoffee]

Hi. We've booked a nice looking AI near Side (Barut B suites,). The hotel looks nice but there doesn't seem to be much around in walking distance apart from lots and lots of clothes shops. We booked this hotel as it's a suite so a closed off bedroom as adult DD is sharing with us. I wonder if we'd have been better off in Oludeniz as there seems more going on. Has anyone been to both and can advise? We are AI so not too bothered about restaurants but would sometimes like to walk out for a drink in the evenings.

I went to side last year and didn’t like it. Very built up with clothes/ handbag shops and didn’t rate the beach. We were AI and did try and find a pub one day to show the rugby and couldn’t. Much preferred Sarigerme/ Dalyan/ dalaman area, much more green and lush. I would go for olu Deniz.

We stayed in that area last year and there are a lot of fake clothes, bags etc. we managed to find a bar playing both our teams ‘ football matches at the same time by asking the concierge. However, you can get a cab into Side easily and there are lots of shops, restaurants, ruins, harbour etc which is the old Side.

Thanks both. I've had a look at Oludeniz but it's working out very expensive for a hotel there that seems as nice as what we have. Can I ask where you stayed Shirleyburly? And can you remember the name of any bars? I am conscious the world cup is on while we're there !

I had stayed at Barut Hemera several times and the brand has high reputation great food branded drinks etc.

old town side is nice we got a cab for about 8 euros and it has all the historic ruins there and can do about trip. Also has the tat shops but they are not over bearing

I can’t remember but it was a Barat one and we had a suite as our daughter isa teenager. It was a lovely hotel and we’ve been to Side a few times but used to stay at the Barat Sorgun which is in a quieter area but still easy to get to Side town centre. The bar was opposite the hotels and a 5-10 minute walk in the direction of Side in a small square with shops. It was rough and ready but friendly and the food was ok.

I haven't been to Side but we did a day trip to the Oludeniz beaches from Fethiye and hated it. It's nothing like the pictures anymore, completely spoilt by over tourism. Just horrible. I wouldn't recommend Fethiye or Bodrum either as holiday destinations.

I agree with a PP that Dalyan area is much, much nicer. Amazing visiting the tombs and ruins as well. Or we went to Cirali a number of years ago and that was beautiful, watched turtles hatching - the village gave me Thailand vibes.

Thank you everyone for all the really helpful replies. I'm leaning towards sticking to what I've already booked as it does tick all the boxes but I'm going to keep looking!

Oludeniz was the worst holiday I’ve ever had. Horrible place

Old Town Side is absolutely lovely

The last 2 comments have helped. Thank you. I think I'll stick with Side. The old town looks really good

Manvagate is nice for a visit. It’s more a Turkish town/ city than side so prices are more reasonable. It costs less than a £1 I think on the bus.

We went to Side and stayed at the Barut Goia. DD is still raving that it is the best holiday she has ever been on.

It was hot though!

I have also been to Fethiye, Olu Deniz, Bodrum - they all have different things going for them. Hisaronu was pretty grim, was glad not to be staying there.

Very happy to hear this as we are staying there this year but was thinking of changing Anda Barut

The staff were all nice and helpful, pool party was hilarious, room fridge was filled up every day, food was pretty good and DD loved the kids buffet. We had a garden room next to the not so party pool and it was great!

We ended up changing hotel in the end. Barut B suites looked a bit quiet of an evening. We've kept to Side but gone for Side Star Elegance. All inclusive plus so more to do I think. If anyone has been I'd love to hear what you thought!

@crumpetandcoffee We stayed there last year. The food was good, although I didn’t rate the Chinese. The buffet at dinner time was plentiful. We went to the pool restaurant for lunch a few times and it was nice, as was the one nearer the beach. There are loads of fridges and freezers around where you can grab ice creams and soft drinks. The only thing I found was that they couldn’t make a Long Island iced tea very well 😂.

The hotel itself was spotless and the staff were lovely. The mini bar was restocked every day with soft drinks, water and beer. The main pool is really busy, but we preferred the quieter pool near reception and we always managed to get a sunbed.

Make sure you get a sea view, our land view room was right beside the main road and it was really busy all the time. We actually ended up changing rooms at 2am on the first night because we couldn’t sleep. A big selling point for my DD was that they had UK TV channels for when we were chilling at night 🙄

Thank you so much. Brilliant to hear from someone who's been. We have booked a Suite which I believe is sea view so hopefully that will be quieter. It sounds very good so we're getting excited now. Can you easily walk to Side ruins from the hotel?

When we swapped rooms we couldn’t hear a thing so it makes such a difference. I changed from the GOIA to the Sidemarin Kirman because of the location to the road.

Walking to Side i think it’s about a 20 min walk along the promenade. We just jumped on the local buses or got a taxi there. I think it might have been about £1 on the bus or £10 in a taxi.

That’s one thing I didn’t like is that the beach is separated by this main walk way but that’s a me thing.

We went to Barut B Suites in 2023. Amazing place. Bonus is it's by the beach & has its own section with a AI beach bar therefore the pool doesn't really get busy. We went for a few walks outside & not much to do except go shopping but we didn't mind that 😊