Calista Luxury Resort

A good 4 star that needs upgrading. Decent facilities, pool areas and slides are ok.Gym is relatively small and doesn't open till 8am. Food is ok, a la carte restaurants are extra. Service levels reflect a 4 star.

I never write reviews but thought this hotel definitely deserved it. We have never been to Turkey before & were very fussy about what hotel we picked as some of the 5 star hotels didn’t have great reviews but when I read the reviews for this hotel they were great. From the moment we arrived at the hotel it felt like luxury we were greeted with champagne & taken to a seat in the lobby while we checked in & our bags taken to the room. We then went to the 24/7 restaurant which was great as we arrived late & had a nice fresh meal cooked for us. We then went to our room which was lovely big enough for a family of 4 & the balcony was nice & big with a lounger on as well. We were over looking the carpark but this didn’t bother us as we weren’t planning on spending much time in there anyway. The pools are all amazing very clean & because there are so many areas they never seem overly busy. The sun loungers are pure luxury definitely the best i’ve had in a hotel with the thick mattress on top. As for the sun lounger situation this is something that concerns me when we book a holiday but the first few days we had no problem getting a lounger at any of the pools & we didn’t go down until 10:30am some of the days. It did get a lot busier towards the end of the holiday & people were reserving loungers from early in the morning but if your not bothered about being by the main pool there were loungers dotted around other areas so you will always get one. They also do have a policy at this hotel that towels are removed after a certain time if you don’t return which I think is great. The waiters on skates around the pool are a great touch. There isn’t ever a moment when one of them isn’t coming to check if you want a drink & you can scan a qr code from the lounger & they bring drinks over within minutes. There is endless entertainment at this hotel & the evening shows were incredible. The food in every restaurant we ate was very good & the fresh fruit by the beach so nice & the patisserie with fresh frappe coffees & cakes was amazing. The kids had endless branded ice creams & they give you pots of Doritos & Lays at the bar. Also the outside bar is absolutely stunning at night all lit up the nicest hotel bar I’ve seen. All the staff were very helpful & the added touch of them having a WhatsApp you can communicate with them for any concerns or questions was amazing. I would highly recommend this hotel you wont be disappointed.

A beautiful resort, but sadly not the experience we expected We stayed at Calista Resort in Turkey as two families of four. I genuinely wanted to write a very different review because this resort has a lot going for it. However, the problems we experienced, particularly with our room and the way our complaint was handled, left us extremely disappointed. The negatives Sunbeds: Despite the hotel repeatedly telling guests that reserving sunbeds isn’t permitted, guests were still leaving towels on them and effectively saving them for hours. There didn’t appear to be any active removal of towels, which made it difficult to get sunbeds together as a family. We complained and were told staff were not allowed to remove personal items (even just a box of tissues) but guests can although that may cause issues! Activities for teenagers: This was a big issue for us. There were no family activities that didn’t involve the kids’ club. Our teenagers didn’t want to attend the kids’ club, but they were too young for activities such as the gym and aqua/fitnessclasses. They were actually turned away from some activities, yet we saw younger Russian children taking part. This felt extremely inconsistent and left our teenagers with very little to do. This included the night club which was strictly over 18’s. It honestly felt like one rule for British children and another for others. Other Turkish resorts we’ve stayed at have offered activities such as family foam parties, which would have been ideal for teenagers and families to enjoy together. The biggest problem — our room and the humidity This is where our experience really went downhill. Our air conditioning wasn’t working properly from the beginning of our stay. We complained on the first day, but as the humidity increased, the problem became much worse. The photographs attached to this review speak for themselves. This wasn’t simply a room that felt a little warm. The level of condensation and humidity was extreme. Mirrors and glass surfaces were completely covered in moisture, with water running down them. Our clothes and belongings actually became damp. We complained again and eventually a technician came to the room. We were told that the patio door was faulty. However, nothing was done to fix the problem. We complained again, only to then be told that it was actually our fault because we were leaving the patio door open and therefore the air conditioning couldn’t work. This was incredibly frustrating. We’d already reported the issue on our first day and had subsequently been told by their own technician that the patio door was faulty. If the patio door was faulty, how could we reasonably be blamed for the air conditioning not functioning properly? It felt as though we were being called liars rather than having our genuine complaint taken seriously. We were never offered a room change, either at the beginning of our stay or once it became clear that the problem wasn’t being resolved. We were also not offered meaningful compensation. For a resort of this standard, I simply don’t believe it is acceptable for guests to spend their holiday in a room where the humidity is so severe that their clothes and belongings become damp. The positives There really are some good things about Calista. The resort is lovely and clean, the sunbeds are comfortable and the gardens are beautifully maintained. The food was good overall, although we found the restaurants with an additional charge to be better—which is understandable given the extra cost. We did question the pricing at the grill restaurant. We paid an additional charge to eat there, only to find that the steaks then cost even more on top of that. The WhatsApp service is also a great idea. It was very useful and messages were answered quickly. Unfortunately, although the responses were quick, the actual problems weren’t always resolved. The first week of our stay was much more enjoyable as the resort wasn’t as busy. During the second week, it became significantly busier and, in our experience, the hotel seemed to need more staff. Drinks service became noticeably slower compared with the first week. Overall This is probably the most frustrating part of writing this review: I really wanted to love this hotel. There are so many positives. The resort itself is beautiful, clean and well maintained, and there are plenty of things that could have made this an excellent holiday. Unfortunately, the way our room problem was handled completely changed our experience. We reported the air-conditioning problem from the first day. A technician identified a faulty patio door, yet the problem wasn’t fixed and we were eventually blamed for it ourselves. We had damp clothes and belongings as a result, and despite repeatedly complaining, we weren’t offered a room change or appropriate compensation. Following my complaint, on the day of departure, the only offer we’ve received is a discount on extras during a future stay. Unfortunately, we will not be returning, so this offer is of no benefit to us. A beautiful resort with plenty of positives, but for us the poor handling of a significant room problem, the lack of suitable activities for teenagers and the inconsistent enforcement of rules meant that the negatives ultimately outweighed the positives. I hope the hotel takes this feedback seriously, because with better management of these issues, Calista could be a fantastic resort.

The positives:- Good service at the blue bar and the main pool Housekeeping staff for rooms Ground floor room block 5 no issues and staff were accommodating bringing additional sun loungers Check in experience Meeting other lovely English people The negatives:- Service at main buffet restaurant could be non existent was often left to eat without a drink Food at all restaurants other than garden restaurant Service at Olympic pool long waits for drinks even when ordering using QR Some of the entertainment in the evenings (not all nights) was geared more towards Russian guests (Alien Band) 24/7 restaurant seems to use the same beef for majority of meals and obviously reheated, stale nachos Service at charm beach club after midnight it seems most staff clock off at this time Toilets were not cleaned ahead of scandal party and covered in sand I am a returning guest and feel that the quality of food and service has deteriorated from when we stayed previously in July 2024. I have property in the area and regularly stay at hotels in the area with friends and family to break up the stay at my villa. There are better hotels in the area.

Thank you Dilek for such a good service and wonderful evening in Calista. Really happy to be here!