Arum Barut Collection

We are just back from a 13 night stay at this lovely resort hotel. Should have been going to Tenerife but cancelled and picked this instead and not disappointed. We had a lovely room (1446) which had all the expected amenities although the wardrobe was restricted which did not reflect the quality of the room. The resort has a modern open layout with great facilities, well maintained gardens and wonderful leisure pools. The hotel is not at full capacity to accommodate Covid 19 requirements which meant plenty of space and sanitising facilities. Unfortunately some guests still ignore reality! The hotel caters mainly for Turkish, German, English and Russian guests as reflected in the menus. All credit to the wonderful staff who had to wear masks all the time and generally without exception were very attentive and helpful. Special thanks to Reception and Guest Relations. The food and drink throughout were good quality. Especially enjoyed the elegant Akaysa international restaurant and the Petunya Turkish restaurant with its lovely sea views; great for lunch and dinner. More facilities opened during our stay as guest numbers increased. Evening entertainment especially in the Theatre was good and varied as well as the daily entertainment and activities. My thanks to Zarina for the pilates most mornings. The resort is located right on its own beach with loungers and parasols plus a new boardwalk. The beach and promenade run in both directions with a walk into Side taking approximately 45 minutes. Nice touches; we did not have to wear wrist bands, complimentary beach bag and sanitiser and masks in the rooms. Also the currency exchange rates in Reception were better than outside. Great resort and area; will return.

A new normal for Holidays ... Well its ok and if anything is to go by with this hotel I would happily do it all again but we do wish we had booked longer ... Fantastic week, we thoroughly enjoyed our time and felt safe and to this we felt the hotel was very good with COVID measures and lots of sanitiser stands outside restaurants/lifts and bars, all staff wearing masks, distanced tables and distanced sunloungers. The Staff were Fab and couldn't do enough for you and certainly a big positive for the hotel. Whilst wearing masks and gloves must have been a lot warmer with the unusually warmer temps between 31 and 40 degrees. The food was good standard and we reserved for the A La Carte as soon as we checked-in. Whilst the Served buffet food was good the A La Carte and Snack bar was a few notches upwards and a credit to the hotel. Only con regarding would be as the resort was at limited capacity some things are not open were Burger Inn, A La Carte Breakfast, BBQ and the Pool Bar Snacks. All the Bars had great staff, some people prefer the Pool Bar, the Beach Bar but we did like the quietness of the lobby bar which was pretty much vacant our entire stay. We would pop there for the air con and a coffee or a beer.. Huge pool with an excellent pool bar, walk-in sections to the pool, ledges and at the pool bar side seats. The temps were Fresh in the morning but refreshing later once the it hit the afternoon and during our stay it was 31 - 40 degrees. Pool wasn't crowded and a couple of smaller pools for the kids. Whilst the beach not pure sandy style you hope for it was ok but we didn't spend much time there and the pier was not to our liking as the bar on the pier served non alcholic drinks and seemed like it go perhaps too hot there but that does depend on what you want out of it. Sun Loungers do seem to go earlier and perhaps this may not be the case with more beds. Although that being said we always managed to get one when needed. Whilst some staff did go above and beyond in many cases like Bayrum in assisting with room issue (booking side) and Taxi Transfer. We met some lovely Brits (Many may have already reviewed), and a lot of fantastic Turkish people. We had a lovely time and already have booked to go again next year. Hopefully we can try the other parts the reduced capacity limited from being able to try. We did check on the policy regarding masks and they said inside masks to be worn as this protects guests and staff. However this seemed not to be enforced. We did ourselves but seemed to be in the minority however as the hotel got more busier it did seem more were wearing inside.

After lock down I was so worried about going on holiday. However, from start to finish everything Tui provided was 100% perfect. Tui had made the flight safe by seat allocation that adhered to social distancing, face masks to be worn at all times seemed daunting, but ok. In flight services were excellent. Arriving at the Arum Barut Hotel, they had everything in place to provide every traveller with total protection. The hotel is immaculate, the staff are the most helpful and respectful, my sea view room was stunning, the food was 5 star and the sun shone every day at 36 degrees and above. I found my way to the Viola Spa which is on-site. I had a Turkish bath and massage by Ozlem, which was the best I’d ever had, so good in fact I booked another 5 treatments. Each treatment was bespoke and addressed the issues of my ageing body, in fact I felt 20 years younger by the time she’d finished. Every member of staff at the spa were first class, and a special mention must be made to Atilla (the Spa Manager) who was there every step of the way to make my experience simply the best. This is a must go to holiday.