Aska Lara Resort & Spa

Upon arrival we noticed that the hotel is not close to the beach , it’s in fact on the other side of the road about 300 m away but the hotel provides a shuttle bus service . There are coronavirus measures in place , hand sanitiser and face masks available at the main restaurant and when you use the shuttle bus, well done for implementing these measures and making us feel safer . The big let down is the staff , except A la carte staff , maids , entertainment team , shuttle bus drivers ,security and the staff working at the brasserie most of the staff are unwelcome and give you dirty looks . The menu at the main restaurant Is poor , we expected a lot from this holiday but in comparison to other 5 stars hotels we’ve been in Turkey this one is more likely 3 star hotel. The food is ok but not a lot to choose from , if you check the instagram page and trip advisor pictures you’ll be disappointed to see that that food is not actually made here . Going through trip advisor reviews i see a lot of comments from management about how coronavirus affected the services but let’s be honest is more like a budget & staff issue , the menu has to be relooked at as is definitely not a 5 start hotel menu , most of the time they served cheese, eggs , some aperitifs, reheated meat ( especially fish ) some stews and Ask a la Chef snack restaurants calls the cheese and pasta dish as noodles with cheese and walnuts🤦🏼‍♀️ . Most of the snacks restaurants offer more of a junky type of food , a lot of it being served with chips. In the main restaurants there are plastic dividers and all staff here wear mask , they seem to be trained with regards to the amount of food you are given and if you ask for more they give you dirty looks . Very rarely they make eye contact or smile , but they need to understand we paid for all inclusive and we actually pay their wages . So please stop blaming the pandemic for something you can’t offer in terms of food, most of your guests worked during the pandemic and we all understand how this affected the economy and our day to day life , is not the pandemic that creates the menu and give services . We all understand the idea of social distance but this is not the case here To book a reservation at A la carte restaurants you need to be lucky , we’ve been told that everything is booked but in fact for about 2 days some of the restaurants weren’t opened . However we managed to book an appointement for the Turkish and Italian restaurant and the service was amazing , well done , if only all the other staff was the same. A la carte restaurants come with a charge of £10 euro per person , which is surprising for a so called ultra all inclusive 5 star hotel. The guys at the brasserie are great too , together with the maids , and just a few other staff. Even the guest relations staff don’t seem friendlier , this is a major issue as your staff are your CV. You say thank you and they just ignore you . Is hard to work with the mask on in the heat but let’s face it you are not the only ones, we work too and we know how it is , there is no time for excuses . The rooms are clean and the maids are doing fantastic , the furniture is a bit old but it’s ok. Pools are great , and kids seem to enjoy the water park but pls spend more staff observing your staff and understanding what can you do better . Drinks are served in paper cups , when my hubby asked for a glass beer the girl working at the bar was very rude and kept serving him beer in the same glass without washing it. The drinks aren’t great , don’t ask for cocktails as this is not their strength . If you want to drink a good coffee pls ask for a turkish one . If i ‘ll come back? Definitely No

Booked a cheap all inclusive deal with Otb to this hotel after being wowed at the pictures, could see the hotel was Covid safe aswell. Arrived 12am and was told by the reception staff our reservation was room only? I showed paper work stating no I have all inclusive booked. They said I have room only river suites economy room booked.. refused to give me all inclusive and was told to come back to the reception at 10am so they can sort it out. We were put in a room at the river suites for the night. Got to the reception in the morning the staff was rude said I have to pay €600 for all inclusive! Rung Otb and eventually got my money back after the weeks stay but I would never book with them again! The hotel is stunning, not as 5 star more a 4 star as the entertainment was poor, due to Covid. The food and drinks were okay not to 5 star, all the al a carte were booked out so couldn’t get a reservation. We were limited to the buffet which we had to wear masks in whilst the servers were behind glass screens picking food. Hotel very clean and Covid safe! Have to get a sunbed before 9am in both main and water park bit as they were all gone! Water park is a 2 minute shuttle or 5 minute walk. Looks like a lot for kids which is great but not much for adults, the nightclub was closed due to Covid. The spa was amazing deffo recommend this! Overall experience a 4, considering the poor start to the holiday, very nice and relaxing and would recommend to families.

Just returned from a week at this fabulous hotel. On arrival the hotel was at 50% capacity. Check in was expedited quite quickly. We’d booked two pool view rooms, unfortunately we were given rooms on the seventh (top) floor which were really small and the family in between our rooms had a screaming child so we returned to reception to ask if we could move. The reception manager was extremely obliging and promised that we could move to connecting rooms on the fifth floor the following day. We booked this hotel due to the four a la carte restaurants as we prefer to sit down together to a meal so we called in to customer services to book and were told they were fully booked for a week! But we’re only here for a week! TUI didn’t inform us prior to travelling that a lot of the services were not open/available. There were 45 people on the wait list - we understand that they have to operate at 50% capacity but why not put more nights on? We went to see the TUI rep, who is absolutely lovely, to ask him to speak to management with our suggestions and as we were sat there the customer services manager came in to say there had been a cancellation in the Italian on Friday and he’d booked us in - Result! We subsequently were offered the Chinese on an extra night they put on, on Sunday. Both restaurants were lovely, the food was delicious and the service good. The buffet restaurant was extraordinary, hand gel and masks at the entrance, all the food stations were surrounded by Perspex screens with serving hatches so you don’t help yourself, the staff serve your food. The quality of the food is excellent with absolutely loads of choice. Our second rooms on the fifth floor were spacious and spotlessly clean, mini bar was filled every day with soft drinks and EFES beer. Lifts were restricted to four people and all contained hand sanitiser - majority of guests wore a face mask. Everywhere in the hotel, pool areas and beach is extremely clean. We had a day on the really comfy beds on the jetty where there was a lovely breeze - only downside is the hike to the bar in the Aqua park. We booked the cabanas on the beach for three days - €25 per day, for up to four people, if you’ve been before (€50 otherwise). First one we booked we asked for an extra sun-bed on the decking as there was only two and were told we couldn’t have three due to social distancing, we had to explain that we were in a social bubble and asked to see the manager before we were allowed three! The butler service was brilliant - cool box with soft drinks and beer, fruit, pastries and beach towels on arrival, ice cream at 11am, melon, bread and cheese at 3pm as well as being asked about every 30 minutes if we needed anything. Well worth the money. There was some entertainment on in the Aqua park but we tended to stay in the bar at the hotel. There wasn’t any entertainment at the hotel apart from a guitarist in reception some afternoons. Majority of the staff are lovely and can’t do enough for you. The shops are reasonably priced and often cheaper compared to the mall next door to the hotel. I had a small tattoo at the Aqua park and the guy is a perfectionist and very professional - highly recommended. The hotel is excellent especially for families with children.