AQI Pegasos World

We recently stayed at **AQI Pegasos World in Side, Turkey**, from **23rd September to 3rd October**, travelling as **4 adults and two 3-year-olds**. Overall, we had a fantastic holiday and would definitely consider returning. 🏨 The rooms We stayed in **rooms 1223 and 1219**. The rooms themselves were fairly basic and, unfortunately, the views were disappointing. However, as a base they were absolutely fine — clean, spacious and perfectly adequate for what we needed. One small thing that would make a difference would be having tea and coffee-making facilities as standard. With young children and early mornings, it would have been lovely to be able to make a cup of tea or coffee to have on the balcony without having to leave the room. 🏊‍♀️ The pools The hotel itself is fantastic and the pools are a huge highlight, particularly for families. We were slightly worried about the pool temperatures before arriving. Having been to Cyprus the previous year at a similar time of year, we found the pools absolutely freezing and even the children didn't want to go in. Thankfully, the pools here were much more pleasant. Even though they weren't heated, with temperatures still reaching the mid/high 20s, we were in the pools every day, and the children happily played for hours. We particularly liked basing ourselves around the pirate ship, which was brilliant for the little ones. The splash park slides were so much fun and there really is an incredible amount to keep children entertained. The only downside was that we found the splash park water (little area) far too cold , so although we played around there with the children, we couldn't spend as much time there as we'd have liked. The indoor pool was another disappointment, It is advertised as heated, but unfortunately we found that it wasn't heated at all the outdoor pools were warmer. With a couple of rainy days towards the end of our holiday, this would have been a great option to play with the children if it had actually been warm. 🌧️ What happens when the weather isn't great? This was probably our biggest criticism. The hotel is fantastic when the weather is good, but like the UK melts down when it’s hot 🙈 the hotel doesn't seem particularly well set up for periods of bad weather. When we had rain, there wasn't really anything for the young children to do indoors. An indoor soft play/play area would be a fantastic addition, particularly for families with younger children. A genuinely heated indoor pool would also make a huge difference. 🏖️ Beach The beach and sea were lovely and we really enjoyed spending time there. 🍽️ Food We thought the food was very good. There was plenty of choice and, despite being there for 10 nights, we never felt particularly bored with it. We especially loved the children's buffet, as it meant the little ones could easily see and choose what they wanted themselves. Another lovely touch was the children's toilets in one of the pool areas — something you don't necessarily think about until you're travelling with toddlers, but it made life much easier. 💷 One important tip – BRING CASH! This is definitely worth knowing before you go. Bring cash with you! We found that taxis accepted cash only, many of the shops preferred cash and would give better discount for cash, and unfortunately none of the cash machines we tried seemed to work and when they did we could take a minimum of 50 euros each time. 🌴 Overall Overall, we had a fantastic family holiday. AQI Pegasos World genuinely feels like a little town within a hotel — there is so much there that you could easily spend the entire holiday without needing to leave. For us, travelling with two 3-year-olds, the amount of entertainment available was a massive plus. The pools, pirate ship, slides, splash park, beach and children's facilities meant there was always something to do. There are certainly areas that could be improved, particularly the indoor facilities, pool heating, room tea/coffee facilities maybe a bit less “basic”, but these didn't stop us having a brilliant time. We'd happily return and would definitely recommend it for families with young children.** 🌴☀️👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

Location About 1.5 hours from Antalya Airport, and a 15-minute walk to an area with a variety of shops and bars. It’s nice to venture out and have a wander. Room The air conditioning worked reasonably well, although the ‘lounge’ area was colder than the sleeping area. The fridge was noisy, and the curtains are not blackout curtains, so I would advise bringing an eye mask. Make sure you book a room with a balcony. We accidentally didn’t, and really missed having one. The room itself was okay, albeit somewhat dated. However, and this is very important, it was cleaned very well by Aysen. There is no housekeeping on Tuesdays, which is absolutely fine, but they didn’t provide extra water or towels to get us through the day. These were provided after we requested them. The water pressure in the shower was absolutely amazing. There is no kettle in the room, but one can be rented for a whopping £3 a day. This does not include tea, coffee, milk or sugar. Coffee and cake are offered opposite reception from 4:30 pm to 5:00 pm. This isn’t particularly practical when you’re in your swimwear, and the short time window is a little peculiar. Meals We enjoyed the meals overall, but sadly experienced quite a few occasions where the pizzas and kiymali pide were burnt. This was a real shame, because the bread and pastries were otherwise really good. Turkish night was on a Wednesday. The staff also had the annoying habit of using a trolley to clear the tables and then leaving it right in front of you. I also noticed one member of staff taking pictures of guests in the restaurant and laughing about it. I mentioned this to the supervisor, Okan, but I’m not sure whether he spoke to the member of staff about it. Bars There are several bars spread throughout the resort, although they don’t all serve hot drinks. Unfortunately, the tea often comes from the coffee machine, and the regular tea bags were frequently unavailable. One important highlight for me: every time I ordered a Coke Zero, I actually received a Coke Zero. This might sound silly, but when you’re diabetic, it makes a massive difference. Pools There are lovely pools, but they are really cold. When entering the pool via the steps near the fountain, you cannot see that one of the steps is missing. I badly hurt my back because of this, which had a negative impact on the enjoyment of my holiday. The hotel is aware of the issue but, at the time of our stay, had not done anything to make the difference in the steps visible. Smoking areas & sun loungers Non-smoking areas are available, but they are too small. We often couldn’t find a table or a suitable spot on the beach or around the pool. There was also an issue with the lack of sun loungers. Rather than adding more loungers, staff actually removed some from the pool area. We eventually ended up moving the loungers ourselves.

Had a brilliant 9 night visit to Aqi Pegasos World and loved it. Huge hotel with plenty pool sections and separate kids pools with slides, this apart from the water theme park. More than enough sun beds and some areas covered, ideal for young families, or anyone seeking a bit more shade. Plenty bars I counted 6 and (despite a previous review oh here recently). there is a bar in the food hall serving alcohol and soft drinks, it might be some people prefer a soft drink while eating, we do. Staff around side were very attentive and couldn’t do enough for us, to many to name but a special mention to Habil, who told us he’s been there 17 years and loves it, he was always willing to help us, and asks us if we were enjoying our holiday. JiJi who’s from the hamman team it was a pleasure to meet such a lovely and genuine individual who like us, enjoyed a chat. Our room cleaner and I must apologise as I have forgotten her name sorry, little things like stopping us in the corridor and running into her storage cupboard and then present a flower to my other half, she absolutely adored that. The food was plentiful and varied there was even a Vegan corner which was handy for us, we were not disappointed with the variety on offer. Ice cream kiosk, a potato truck serving fries and three restaurants on site. Entertainment was first class throughout the site from live shows at the amphitheater and live shows and music at the island bars, to karaoke at the beach bar and also a disco. A a mention for the daytime foam party. Plenty of added extras everyday from darts, archery, Boccia, Football, table tennis and lots more free of charge for adults and kids, you just had to book the activities that you wanted to do all included. Honestly we loved it and thought it could’ve been a better if we had brought the grandkids with us. Got to mention that they do have shops on site selling bags, shoes, gold and silver jewellery and more. WiFi throughout the site was fantastic in our room at the pool on the beach, there was no issue being connected. One thing that did happen a few times was the loss of power on site, only for a minute or so, we thought it was quite funny and romantic lol. A little gripe was the on site shop for snacks, soft drinks, beer, and various other goods, we thought was quite pricey. Overall we enjoyed it and next time we will take the grand kids as we think they’ll love it.

Hotel pool area and beach is super clean and very pleasant ! Atmosphere at hotel is friendly with mixed nationalities. Rooms very dated and if sleeping in the seperate area unfortunately all you hear is the slamming of doors all night . It was a fair price we paid and the weather was good except the day we left the rain and thunder came . Entertainment is excellent for children and families . Altho but too much dance troupes . But the Michael Jackson show was brilliant . Now the real negatives Food very average and the lack of any kind of waiter service at lunch and dinner . There wasn’t a bar in sight to fetch a drink yourself a beer or anything else . Observing most people were just drinking coke or juices from the machine . Not quite 4 star standards . Drinks at bars were clearly watered down ! Not a chance of even getting just tipsy !! This could be a wonderful hotel if certain things could change .

We checked out of the hotel at 12:00 noon. However, since our flight was late at night, we left our luggage in the hotel’s luggage room and continued to stay at the hotel until the evening while waiting for our flight. During this time, we were not informed by the reception that we were no longer allowed to stay at the hotel, that we had to leave by a certain time, or that any additional fee would apply. As we had stayed at the hotel before, we specifically informed the reception that our flight was late at night and that we would need to wait at the hotel until our departure time. We were told that there would be no problem and that we could stay and wait until our flight. We did not use the aquapark during this period. We simply waited by the seaside and, when it was time to leave for our flight, we went to collect our luggage. However, while we were collecting our luggage, a staff member named Murat, who introduced himself as the night manager, stopped us and told us, in a very uncomfortable and accusatory manner, that we had used the hotel facilities and that this was subject to an additional charge. He also stated that we should have left the hotel around 5:00–6:00 PM. We explained to him that we had already informed the reception that we would be waiting at the hotel because our flight was late at night and that no one had warned us about any additional charge or a specific departure time. We also explained that we had not used the aquapark, pool, or similar facilities. Nevertheless, his attitude towards us was confrontational rather than helpful or solution-oriented. We also pointed out that guests who arrive before the official check-in time may use certain hotel facilities, and similarly, guests whose flights are late in the evening may need to remain at the hotel after check-out. Since we had informed the reception in advance about our late flight, we expected clear guidance from the hotel regarding what was and was not permitted. The situation became even more uncomfortable when another reception staff member named Volkan spoke to Murat about us in a way that appeared to escalate the situation. As we were short on time and needed to leave for our flight, we did not want to argue further. We simply removed our wristbands and handed them back. Our complaint is specifically about the attitude of Murat, the night manager, and Volkan from reception, as well as the way this matter was handled. The main issue is not the possibility of an additional charge itself. The problem is that no one informed us beforehand, and the issue was raised only when we were leaving, in a blaming and confrontational manner. If guests are only allowed to remain at the hotel until a certain time after check-out, or if an additional fee applies after a certain hour, this should be clearly communicated to guests in advance. Unfortunately, this incident had a very negative impact on our overall experience at the hotel. We believe the hotel management should improve its communication with guests and establish much clearer policies regarding the use of hotel facilities after check-out.