Hotel Meryan

After spending hours reading reviews before booking our holiday, I promised myself I’d write a detailed one when we got home because they were so helpful to us! We stayed at Meryan for a week as a family of four with our two teenage daughters, and there is honestly so much to mention. So, apologies in advance for the long review, but hopefully it helps anyone currently doing what I was doing and scrolling through TripAdvisor trying to decide whether to book! We travelled with TUI and our transfer from Antalya Airport was on a comfortable, air-conditioned coach. The journey itself was absolutely fine, although we did spend quite a while waiting at the airport for other passengers to board. It eventually turned out they had booked a private transfer and hadn’t informed TUI, so we had essentially been waiting for people who weren’t coming! Obviously this had absolutely nothing to do with the hotel. The only thing we would personally do differently next time is book a private transfer so we can get straight on our way after landing. ARRIVAL We received a really warm welcome on arrival and check-in was quick and efficient. We paid €5 for a card for the safe and the porter took our cases up to our room. As we arrived late, we were also told there were late-night snacks and drinks available in the main reception area. There was delicious soup, bread, cheese, ham, olives and juices, which was very welcome after travelling. ROOM We stayed in a family room and were really impressed with both the size and layout. The main bedroom had a double bed, TV, coffee-making facilities and a minibar which was replenished daily. Dressing gowns and slippers were provided along with a beach bag, which was a really useful little extra. There was then a separate sleeping area with twin beds for our girls, another TV and access to the balcony, so as a family of four we never felt cramped. The bathroom was a great size and had a fantastic walk-in shower. The water pressure was amazing and we never had any issues whatsoever with the temperature. Housekeeping was probably one of the few areas that could have been a little more consistent. Our room wasn’t cleaned every day and on one occasion we had left our towels down to be changed, but when we returned that evening they hadn’t been replaced. As they had been left damp in a pile all day, we did have to ask for fresh ones. One of the little things our girls always love on holiday is coming back to find towel animals on the beds and we only had this once. That said, we completely appreciate how many rooms the housekeeping team have to look after, so this certainly isn’t something we would mark the hotel down for! FOOD The food was fantastic and there was SO much choice at every meal, including plenty for fussier eaters. We never struggled to find something everyone wanted. In addition to the main restaurant, there is a beach snack bar serving freshly made pizzas, burgers and kebabs, as well as a lady making traditional gözleme fresh to order. There is also a lovely café serving coffees, including iced coffees, alongside cakes and pastries. There was genuinely always something available to eat! DRINKS & BARS The lobby bar is open 24 hours and serves pretty much anything you could want! Alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, coffees, teas and water. The lobby had a really relaxed atmosphere during the day and in the evenings there was a pianist playing, which made it a lovely quieter alternative to the main entertainment. The pool bar is the main bar during the day and was incredibly well stocked. There were frozen daiquiris and margaritas on tap, slushies and milkshakes for the children, soft drinks on tap and a fantastic cocktail menu. And the cocktails were genuinely GOOD! The bar staff actually took the time to make a proper cocktail rather than just throwing a random concoction into a glass and hoping for the best! The pool bar also serves the evening entertainment area and each evening they set up a separate cocktail table where they would make special cocktails or serve glasses of fizz. It was such a simple touch but made the evenings feel that little bit more special. POOL & SUNBEDS We absolutely loved the main pool and spent most of our week there. It is a large pool and this is where lots of the daytime entertainment happens, including water polo, aqua aerobics and even spinning in the pool. The animation team were brilliant at getting everyone involved who wanted to join in, but there was absolutely no pressure if you didn’t. We really liked that balance, they created a fantastic atmosphere without constantly pestering people who just wanted to relax. There is also another pool with waterslides. We didn’t use this one during our stay but it looked great fun. The sunbed situation is worth mentioning. You do need to be up fairly early if you want beds around the main pool. My husband is naturally an early riser so this wasn’t a huge drama for us, but from what we saw most beds were reserved by around 8am. There are signs stating that towels will be removed if beds are left unattended for more than an hour, however this didn’t appear to be enforced at all during our stay. We regularly saw beds reserved for long periods with nobody using them, so this is one area where the hotel could perhaps be a little stricter. A special mention has to go to the gentleman who looked after the pool area because he worked incredibly hard to keep it immaculate. There were a few occasions during the week where glasses were accidentally smashed and the clean-up was taken very seriously. On one occasion a glass was broken in the pool itself and they temporarily closed the pool while it was thoroughly cleaned and checked to make sure there were no remnants of glass left behind. We were really impressed with how seriously they took everyone’s safety rather than taking any chances. BEACH The beach isn’t your postcard-perfect white sandy beach, so it’s worth knowing that before arriving. It is a mixture of sand and pebbles, but don’t let that put you off because the sea was beautifully warm and crystal clear. The sunbeds on the beach were lovely and had cushions for extra comfort, and the sunsets in the evening were absolutely beautiful. We HIGHLY recommend booking a sunset photoshoot with the hotel photographer. We had family photographs taken on the beach at sunset and were so happy with them. The photographer was absolutely fantastic, made the experience really enjoyable and we thought the photographs were very reasonably priced. They’ve given us some gorgeous memories from our holiday. ENTERTAINMENT The entertainment was one of the highlights of the holiday for us. The hotel has an outdoor amphitheatre where some of the evening shows take place, with other evenings moving back to the pool area for discos and themed entertainment. What really impressed us was the amount of effort that went into setting everything up. The staff clearly had it down to a fine art and would completely transform the area depending on the theme that evening. You could see how much work went on behind the scenes and it made the evenings feel like a proper event. And something we nearly forgot, there is even a nightclub in the basement! It was open two nights during our week-long stay and we had a really fun night there. It’s a great addition if you fancy carrying on after the main entertainment has finished. SPA & SALON The spa area is beautiful and includes a salt room, sauna, steam room, indoor pool and treatment rooms. We would have booked a traditional Turkish bath had we not already spent the summer working on our tans before arriving in Turkey! We couldn’t quite bring ourselves to have them scrubbed off! There is also a hair salon and barber within the hotel, which looked great and uses professional L’Oréal and Redken products. HOTEL, SHOPS & SURROUNDING AREA The hotel itself was absolutely immaculate. Staff were out from early in the morning cleaning, sweeping and washing down the different areas and there always seemed to be somebody working to keep everything spotless. We particularly liked that each evening the pool area and sunbeds were thoroughly washed down ready for the following day. Considering how busy the hotel was, the standard of cleanliness throughout the communal areas was incredibly impressive. There are several shops within the reception area, including one that seemed to sell everything you never knew you needed! There are also shops selling the usual “branded” clothing, handbags and shoes. We actually found the prices surprisingly reasonable considering they were located inside the hotel. We walked to the nearby Alara Bazaar during our stay. Some of the initial prices we were quoted seemed crazy, although the sellers would then immediately start knocking them down as part of the haggling process. I’m personally not a fan of haggling, so we didn’t stay particularly long! If you enjoy negotiating for a bargain you’ll probably have a completely different experience. WI-FI The Wi-Fi was fantastic throughout our stay and we never had any issues with the connection, particularly important when travelling with two teenagers! STAFF Finally, the staff throughout Meryan were incredibly friendly and genuinely couldn’t do enough for you. From reception and the restaurant to the bar, entertainment and pool teams, everyone seemed to work incredibly hard and we always felt really well looked after. OVERALL We genuinely cannot recommend Meryan highly enough. I’ve been recommending it to people ever since we got home. It gave us everything we wanted from a family all-inclusive holiday, fantastic food and drinks, brilliant entertainment, a great atmosphere, lovely facilities, hardworking and friendly staff and an exceptionally clean hotel. There were a couple of very minor things that could be improved, such as more consistent housekeeping and better enforcement of the sunbed rules, but neither came close to affecting how much we enjoyed our holiday. The only thing we would personally change next time would be booking a private airport transfer, purely to avoid waiting around after landing at Antalya and nothing whatsoever to do with Meryan itself. We came home with some absolutely brilliant memories and would happily recommend Meryan to families looking for a fun, friendly all-inclusive hotel with plenty going on, but also the option to relax when you want to. We absolutely loved it!

This was our second time staying at Hotel Meryan, and once again, we had an amazing experience. Honestly, there is absolutely nothing to complain about! The food was delicious with a different theme in the restaurant every single day, and the dining area was always clean and well-maintained. Our room was cleaned daily, and the minibar was regularly restocked. Both the pool area and the beach were fantastic. The staff spoke English fluently without any communication issues. A extra special touch was the front desk welcoming us in Polish upon our arrival, which made us feel really valued and right at home. We also noticed that the hotel was refreshed and updated this year, which made the stay even better. We highly recommend Hotel Meryan and will definitely return in the future!

This holiday was me and the two kids. We only went for 5 days. Hotel is spotless, service is great, the food was truly amazing. The hotel is compact so everything you need is within a short walk of each other. Kids loved the slides, not many but they were super fast and they spent ages on the kids are 9 and 14. Sun-beds very good, no reserving them and there was always some dotted about. It also wasn’t long until you had more available so again wonderful and not stress full by the pool. There were always beds on the beach although this was too hot for me so we stayed by the pool. Entertainments team were great. Evening entertainment was good, and the. It was followed by extremely loud disco or karaoke . We went to bed after the main entertainment but it was so noisy you couldn’t sleep. Beds are comfy though. It goes on u til 12, which has made my 9 yr old extremely tired. This is the only drawback of this hotel is the noise at night. Once quiet we slept brilliantly. Take ear plugs, I slept like a log with them. Meals, wow we always got a table easily, and didn’t tend to queue much at anytime. Unless we were lucky with the times we Went in, but I was truly amazed by this. Snack bar by the pool is unreal. Order what you want and they cook it and bring it to the table, this is busy but delicious, fresh and hot and despite the number of people waiting it didn’t take very long at all. Very efficient. Pool side bar great service too queues short if there was one. Guys working the pool bar were fabulous. The 24 hr bar inside, service is slow and I’m sure that’s the vibe they want but they could be a little more vigilant with the order they serve people. I was seen at the bar by the barmen, and waited and waited and waited, no one else there but he was wiping the bar top. So I waited. 15 minutes wait, 7 customers walked In and straight to the bar and got served before me when I asked if I was in the wrong place for serving. I was told I serve this side. Yet the bar was quiet and he hadn’t indicated for me to go round and had Managed to serve a man standing next to me. This was the only upset I had this holiday but Maybe he was a little out of sorts with himself. As this was very out of character for the staff. As all the staff I encountered were warm And welcoming. The shops, well worth a look in we got some great deals. My daughter loved her shopping trip. The guy in the clothes shop was great with my very fussy daughter. A wonderful 5 days, Just remember the ear plugs if you like an earlier night than 12…

Meryan is a really great hotel, and we are very satisfied with most of the services. Unfortunately, there is one significant weakness – the current animation team. The problem is not a lack of activities. There is a daily programme, and the animators walk around the pool inviting guests to join darts, volleyball and other games. The problem is the complete lack of energy, personal interaction and genuine effort to entertain the guests. The animation team is quite large, but many of its members are very young and come across as shy, unenthusiastic and often without a smile. There are no strong personalities capable of engaging the guests and creating a lively atmosphere around the activities. Inviting people to participate often consists of simply walking around the pool and shouting the name of the activity several times. That is usually where the personal interaction ends. And this is exactly what we miss the most. At other Turkish resorts we have visited, the animators interacted with guests, joked with them, got to know them, remembered them from previous days and were able to turn even a simple game into an entertaining event. Here, the activities are usually just announced and moderated, the programme is completed, and that is it. As a result, the games and competitions lack energy, humour, friendly encouragement and any real added entertainment value. Unfortunately, we have also repeatedly seen members of the animation team using their phones during the day. Combined with the minimal interaction with guests, this creates an impression of disinterest that an animation team at a five-star resort simply should not give. It is a real shame because we rate the rest of the hotel very highly. In our opinion, Meryan has the potential to be an excellent resort, but in its current form the animation team is clearly the weakest part of the entire experience. The hotel does not necessarily need more activities. What it needs most are animators with energy, charisma, a smile and a genuine desire to interact with guests and entertain them.

Location: far out from most places it took an hr by bus to get to Alanya which we were disappointed with when we got there. Two hour transfer from the airport. Atmosphere: Not really for English tourists felt quite isolated at times, staff were not very friendly and entertainment team were off with us as we didn’t want to join in the constant games. Rooms: We had two seperate bedrooms as a family of two adults two children which was nice could have done with somewhere for us all to sit when back in the room. The rooms were cleaned everyday basic cleaning never cleaned under the bed as my daughter dropped something under the bed on day two only to grab it along with a handful of dirt. Value: for the price stopped in better. Food: Boring same food all the time even though Sunday, Tuesday and Friday were different themes couldn’t really tell. Lots of flies round the food, cats walking on laid tables probably why we all ended up with stomach problems. Not somewhere I will be going back to.