Hotel Club Turban Thermal

Allow me to set the scene: after months of living through THE pandemic during which time several very close family members died and throughout working a very stressful job whilst doing our best to raise our first baby, we embarked on a holiday to Turkey (not our first choice, but booked for a friend's wedding before the pandemic blew up in all our grills). I booked the Grand Yazici Club Turban as a package deal with BA. For the potteries of this review I'll limit my comments to the hotel itself. The entrance itself is impressive, but you don't get any more welcome than if you were booking into a random multinational hotel chain. The room was good. We got more than we paid for as we received a suite with an extra room and ensuite. It was great to be able to have our baby in a separate room (we had brought a baby monitor with us). So things started well. Room: good. The room was in generally good repair, although to soap dispenser in the shower fell off the wall at some point when we were out of the room. The shower was decent and the room was generally as I would expect. However the bed was not comfortable which is frankly an unforgiveable sin for a hotel. Neither my wife or I had a good night's sleep due to the mattress. The lighting controls were odd and it was strange that the only covering provided was a scratchy and holey blanket type thing. Normally you have a sheet in between you and the scratchy blanket. We worked out how to use the air con. It would have been useful to have a brief explanation on check in. Food: variable. A lot of the food in the buffet restaurant was very good. The scrambled egg is probably the best I've had at a buffet, i.e. not rubber. The burgers in the steak restaurant at lunch were decent, but it was clear that most of the food in the a la carte lunch restaurants were not cooked fresh. I don't think I had a fresh chip or French fry. They were all cold and quite hard. The pizza was good except for the excessive amount of cheese. We very much enjoyed our one experience of the a la carte evening meals, which we had at the Turkish restaurant. The food and service was generally much improved. One thing that really grated on me was when we had the wedding to go to we asked for a takeaway food carton for the journey from a manager looking fellow, who duly obliged, only to be berated by one of the servers who seemed to be saying we shouldn't be taking food away. We took such a minimal amount of food considering it was for 3 people and that we wouldn't be having a lunch or dinner in the hotel made this protest seem pathetic, though still marring our experience. Drinks: poor. It was not 100% clear what was included and we felt a bit confused when we first went to the bar as there were additional drinks available at extra cost. The cocktail menu was OK, but the execution was poor and the bar staff clearly had no idea if you asked for something not on the menu (something as simple as an amaretto sour). I've discovered on my final day whilst writing this review that A. There is one barman that seems to be able to make a reasonable cocktail, and B. There are bar snacks! But you need to be aware of their existence and request them. I'm sure the lager was fine, but I couldn't say as I don't drink it. It was pretty annoying to be repeatedly given diet 'pepsi' when not asked for. The wine was extremely poor. Clearly the cheapest wine it is possible to buy in the world. I mean you can get reasonable wine in France for a few euros per bottle. This stuff came out of what looked like shloer bottles, the white was too warm and could only be drunk as a spritzer, the red was cold! The rose was just about drinkable. Service: again, variable. As mentioned a lot of the bar staff acted like it was their first rodeo. The service in the buffet restaurant and restaurants generally was mixed. Bear in mind we had a baby (small for her age of 13 months and in a pushchair), more often then not, we had to go off in search of a high chair, rarely got given cutlery etc on sitting at a table and generally it seemed like a bit of an effort to get what you needed to be able to have a meal. Especially considering the number of staff, frankly it made the majority look lazy and completely unmotivated. There was of course the odd gem. The boat trip I would very much recommend. It was a cheap day out and very enjoyable. Go on a Monday to make the most of the stop for a shop for souvenirs. We ate out of the hotel one of the other evenings at the Waterfall restaurant in Iclemer, which was very nice. I had a T-bone steak for about £13 and it was THE best steak I've had in quite a while. Essentially it was exactly what you'd want from a restaurant on holiday or anywhere really, food, drink, atmosphere and service. Sorry, I diverge. Otherwise, some other comments on the Club Yazici: the cleaning is sporadic. One day ourroom must have just been forgotten. Beware of the tiled floors, especially around the pool, they are damned slippery. If you want a spot on the beach you'd better be early as the Russians will have a monopoly on it otherwise. It seemed like the resort had seen better days. Is put the lack of some maintenance down to the Covid situation, so hopefully in a season or two they'll be able to bring it back up to scratch. So there you go. In summary, I wouldn't be rushing back.

Due to covid we changed our holiday from Ibiza to Turkey, all I can say is thankyou covid. We certainly wouldn't have got the standard in ibiza than what we received here. The hotel reception area is beautiful and nostalgic. We got taken to our room in a golf buggy. The room was very spacious and the view beautiful from our balcony. The room kept clean everyday by the domestic staff. The staff cannot do enough for you. The grounds are beautiful, large spacious main pool and the beach with the jetties was a fantastic place to soak up the sun. The food in the main restaurant was plentiful and a large selection for the fussy eaters. Food was available all day from many of the restaurants and cafes. We found the coffee corner our favourite little niche. Beautuful surroundings and so tranquil, while we drank our caramel iced latte . The live entertainment on a night was good too. Sinem, one of the entertainment staff was always around to make sure you was enjoying yourself, she's such a beautiful soul and a pleasure to meet. We arranged a boat trip from the hotel, £12 or 100tl. This trip is not to be missed. Free food but you pay for your drinks, which are cheap enough. On our last day we found the Dolphin centre just literally 2 minutes walk from the hotel grounds. What a find, we did a meet and greet with Splash the dolphin, it made a perfect end to a fantastic holiday. Grand Yazici Hotel, thankyou for a making our holiday perfect

What a lovely hotel! Given the strange circumstances we currently find ourselves in, I felt incredibly grateful to be able to get away on holiday and the measures the hotel has taken made us feel very safe. Food: An all inclusive style we’re not really used to but it works! You get served the food at the buffet to avoid everyone touching the spoons etc. There was always lots of choice and if you want more, just ask. The Asian Ala Carte is UNREAL so so delicious and we often ate at the Italian at lunch times which was also yummy and great views as it’s by the beach! Lots of choice for everyone! I must give a special mention to Faith who worked in the main restaurant.. he was so attentive, helpful and just generally lovely, it was a pleasure to see him everyday! Room: We were given a bungalow which was lovely. The decor is slightly dated but very clean. I will say.. the walls are very thin (not sure if this was just our block) we could hear conversations of people next to us quite clearly. We were at the top of the grounds where a road runs along and we could hear the road.. didn’t really bother me to be honest but you can hear it. The bedding is literally a sheet .. not a fan of that to be honest, I had to use one of the blankets which were in the cupboard because even with the air con off I was freezing! One other thing I will say is the staff need to be more considerate when dropping people off to there rooms in the early hours.. 2am we were woken up by a guest and a staff member having a full blown conversation when they were dropped off to their room (they use golf buggies to drop you to your room). Grounds: beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! THE SUNRISE IS A MUST SEE! Make yourself comfy on a sunbed on the pier and enjoy! Also... TURTLES! They visit daily so make sure you take a snorkel with you.. they can be hard to see but my goodness when you spot one.. AMAZING! The water is amazing, clear blue and lots of fish! We also used the boat trip which is organised by the hotel.. 100TL or £12 Needs to be paid in cash and you get lunch on the boat - you do have to buy drinks on the boat so make sure you take cash for that as well. They take you lots of different bays - it’s an absolutely bargain to be honest, very worth it! Overall an amazing trip and would love to return to this hotel in the future.. this time better prepared with a underwater camera!!