Sunis Kumkoy Beach Resort Hotel & Spa

My partner and I have just returned from an 11 night stay here. The pool area hands down is the winning attraction at this hotel. Surrounded by beautifully maintained gardens with lush greenery and bridges going over the pools, it’s just lovely. Unfortunately we had a lot more cons against this resort than pros... Pros: - Relaxation pool surrounded by the swim up villas is lovely and great to escape the loud music around the main pool - Bottles of water stocked in fridges all over the resort, never too far from a drink. There was also a fridge around the relaxation pool filled with lots of different fruit juices and soft drinks - Alcohol measures in drinks plentiful! - Buffet dessert selection very good, the macaroons in particular were delicious. Shame we only saw them once during our stay! Now the cons... - Very outdated rooms & lobby. We ended up paying an upgrade fee to move to another room just so we didn’t have to overlook a roof. The rooms apparently have been recently refurbished but certainly don’t look that way. They are the level I would expect to get in a 3 star hotel - No air-con throughout the hotel, only in bedrooms due to COVID-19, which is understandable but makes everywhere feel very uncomfortable - Areas of the hotel are very dark due to no lights being on - maybe they are trying to save money they lost during lockdown by not switching them on? Who knows - Only one pool bar open, and social distancing doesn’t exist when queuing for your drinks - This hotel & whole area in general is very much catered towards Germans & Russians. Staff automatically assume you speak German and often don’t understand English - Frequent smell of sewage when sitting outside - Most of the a la carte restaurants are closed, and the ones that are open are always fully booked - Buffet disappointing, much more selection needed - Staff are constantly trying to sell you things. We were roped into booking a spa session for a Turkish bath each (which we loved), however at the end of the treatment we were taken into a room for a sales pitch trying to flog us other treatments. Tried to sell my partner lymphodrainage massages for €35 each, but told he needs minimum 8 sessions! Photographers constantly trying to sell you photo packages - Evening entertainment often laughable. Very tacky discos, and the live singer on one night was scrolling through his phone whilst performing on stage! - Cocktails were a huge disappointment for me. The pinã colada was pretty much made from rum and milk, no decoration just served in a plastic cup. As basic as you can get - Lifts frustrating, 3 lifts to service 5 floors, and with a 2 person max occupancy it was very frustrating waiting for one This hotel has potential to be amazing, but just needs attention to detail. I would only return solely for the pool area.

Booked hotel and flight package with Tui to Turkey. Flight was run by easyjet - no issues. Busier than I'd expected - no gaps between seats but face coverings all the way throught airport and duration of flight. Arrived at Turkey Airport and had a bit of a wait to get through passport control. Temp sensors on way in, social distancing, masks etc. Sanitiser stations everywhere but toilets weren't great ( I went in 2018 and seem to remmeber similar thing to be fair). Coach transfer ( inc in package) was good. Smallish coach with the driver, myself and 4 others. About an hours drive, air con was ok. Arrived at hotel - not a particularly grand entrance ( I'd expect it to be for a 5 star) but check in waa simple enough. Filled form, got a little map and some brief instructions. English was ok but not great ( map translation is pretty poor, felt like fixing it for them... Teacher in me!). Room was clean but quite basic. Had a balcony, that faces the street so won't be using that(!). Toiletries include body wash in a dispenser in shower, conditioner and body lotion ( no shampoo). Bar soap, cotton buds and shower caps. Shower waa powerful, no bath though. Toilet has a douche cleaner built in. Ample storage in the room, fair few sockets, although really had to force my adapter in. Safe in cupboard and air con. This won't work unless sliding doors are shut. Tea and coffee facilities, with an array of herbal type teas, whitener etc.. All in clear packets so good hygiene. Room has large chair and 2 chairs and table. Bed fairly firm and duvet thin ( needed as it's scorching!). Slippers and bath robes provided too, as well as minibar that had coke, sprite, fanta, 2 beers ( i think... Don't drink so just took them out) this is stocked everyday but it wasn't particularly cool. Lots of fridges outside with bottled water and recycling bins, which i thought was really good. Buffet is fairly varied with meats, lots of shrimp ( seemed quite popular) lots of desserts, ftesh fruit, pasta bar and ice cream station. Opened at 7pm. Sat outside but this was pretty unbearable in the heat. Waiters were nice enough and although struggled with English, did try and help me out as best as possible. ( yet to hear another tourist speak English to be fair). Food served by kitchen staff (due to covid I'd guess which is good) but labels on food vague. If you had any dietary requirements e.g gluten /dairy/vegan, I think you'd struggle! Shrimp was cold, which was fine, but meat wasn't exactly hot either although it did taste nice. They didn't do hot drinks at table, which is a shame as I'd have liked one with my dessert. Served at the lobby bar. Quite a few al a cartes but small and obviously restricted due to covid so have to book day before and they don't all open - they're on a rota. You need to book between 10am-12pm. ( typo says 10 - 22, so glad I asked). Large hotel to walk around, with a few bar/seating areas and a cake/ice cream place open most of day. Ice cream nice, waffles look good and a wide range of desserts ( although no signage so not easy to know what is what). Lunch stuff stops at 4 ( didn't know on my first day so ended up starving and having ice cream twice to keep me going!) Pool area is pretty big, 1.4m deep... Doesn't seem much space if you wanted to do laps or anything but nice area, lots of seating. Pool temp just right for hot weather (35 degrees). There is an indoor pool area and a small fitness area too so guess if you wanted to swim lengths you could there. You need a towel from the spa ( they give you a card to exchange) this is on the ground floor. Beach is short walk ( 2mins from pool) and soft sand, loads of seating and shade. Sea warm and lifeguards looked attentive. WiFi is fine around hotel but not on private beach. Pros and cons to that. Evening entertainment was good - they had a talent show on the main stage. Served popcorn and nacho tubs at the pool bar. Mix of dancing and music. Started at 9.30pm. Nice resort but it's not 5 star in my view.... I'd say more like 3.5/4 at a push. After a few days exploring a bit more... There is a whole other pool area! ( relax pool it's called) Super quiet, in front of what seem like the lake apartments. Lots of shady spots if you can't handle the sun. Also visited the Turkish hammam and booked a spa treatment. Wash and exfoliating scrub, with soap bubbles. Massage was really good. Normal price was €55 but i got it for €35. Entertainment team are pretty good. They have lots of stuff on duirng the day like pool games. This was near the pool bar/music spot. Seemed quite popular with the 20s/30s year olds. They also do evening shows at the large amphitheatre. Food during the day... Posedian snack bar ( open till 4) is really good - fresh fish frilled, had some stew dishes, burgers, salad and fruits. There is also a little area that has large jacket potatoes with cheese, olives, sweercorn, peas and sauces. Really yummy... Probably because of the butter! Can also get pizza slices from here too. Lara restaurant, which opens till 2.30, serves more stew dishes, salads, fruits... Bit like the main dinner buffet. They had some grilled meat on the bbq too. They have indoor games area for a small fee, things like pool, table football, bowling, PlayStation etc. Appears to be a disco but that's obviously closed at the minute. Booked at Okeanos a la carte for dinner on Wed 2nd Sept, which is a seafood restaurant . Arrived at table already made up with my starter which was lovely! Waiter (Yuksel) was lovely and spoke excellent English too. Food was so nice - I would highly recommend. Really calm and relaxed 5 course evening meal - good ambiance, great service and tasty food. ( FYI, think it was a bit rich for my palate as in the evening I found it difficult to sleep with stomach cramping 🙄) All in all, pretty good holiday 😊 and after a few days here and exploring properly, I would give it a strong 4* rating. Top features : - Pools - Beach - Ice cream, fresh fish & fresh fruit - Clean - Spa facilities - Okeanos a la carte dinner Things to improve on: - Quality of toiletries - Signs for food & drinks e.g bit more description e.g meat sausage... ( what meat??) and dietary information - Hotel information in the room, including menus for a la carte restaurants, what is nearby to explore - Bit more food variety at main dinner