Hotel Side Star Elegance

This hotel was awesome, my partner and I stayed for a week with his parents in two of the swim up rooms. The swim up rooms are well worth it, waking up and taking a swim in your own pool before breakfast is unbeatable. The room is a decent size with minibar which was stocked every day with water, soft drinks and beers. Cleaning staff were lovely and friendly and always said hello in the mornings when passing in the corridors. The hotel is large with many pools, bars and restaurants spread over a wide area with the result that the place never felt overcrowded. Everything is very clean. There are numerous cats about (quite common in Turkish hotels/resorts) but there are feeding stations around the hotel for them and guests are discouraged from feeding them at the main restaurant with the result that there were very few cats begging for food which we've seen at other hotels. The hotel also partners with an animal/vet charity who looks after them, they all looked pretty healthy. The food in the main restaurant was good with enough variety for a week. The main pool veranda bar and ficas bar have a small set menu which you can order to your table. We ate there for lunch every day. There are also snack bars serving, sandwiches, baked potato, hot dogs, pizza and waffles. We tried the Turkish and Italian a la carte's which were also fantastic. The spa was good, we used the sauna daily. As the hotel is quite large and on a hillside there are quite a few stairs, however each staircase had a ramp beside it and there are plenty of lifts. Once you've found a route to and from your room it's pretty easy. The main pool was not too loud, there were two activity sessions each day for aerobics/games etc when the music was turned up, but it's a short time frame and not that intrusive. I've been at hotels before where the pool music is on all day and it's so loud and annoying. There is an 18+ pool here as well if you prefer things even quieter. There are numerous beverage fridges and ice cream freezers at the pool areas as well which were always well stocked. The hotel also has a private beach area. Drinks at the bars were great, good selection of branded alcohol and cocktails. Cocktail strength varied a bit depending on which bar tender was working. It's a short 25 mins walk into Side from the hotel, you can walk along the promenade at the front of the hotel. In Side there are the usual shops selling handbags and designer clothing, but there are also some interesting ruins and mosaics. All of the staff were friendly and helpful, there are tip jars at the bars and you are free to tip individual staff as you see fit. We only had one experience with a staff member overtly asking for a tip which we politely declined, it was definitely not the norm. Entertainment - there was live music every night at the Duden bar and we saw an acrobat show at the auditorium one night which was very good. All in, we had a very relaxed holiday. I'd say this hotel is good for couples and families with small children.

We have had a nice break without it been great. I am trying to be even in the review The Hotel has a lot of steps and we are fairly fit - pools are good and the food is ok. It’s not a 5 star hotel. Main let down is the entertainment on an evening , it’s awful why they can’t get good external acts in for the price we pay I really don’t know. It’s miming to songs and dancing - it’s not good. The al a carte restaurants are very good and I am gluten free and they do cater for me. We are here for 9 nights , going back on Monday we won’t be returning

Excellent hotel brilliant staff they treat each individual with respect and kindness. The food was just amazing the snack bar food was 10/10 my favourite was the pizza delicious and fresh. Hotel is deffintly a 5 star can't fault it ideal location. Highly recommended

An excellent stay at this hotel, our 4th in 3 years. Guest relations cannot do anymore to make it special. A la carte restaurants were 5 star quality and service, sat outside was an added bonus. Variety of restaurants, food and drinks to try throughout our stay. Walking distance or dolmus to Side Old Town. Huge hotel but it didn't feel too busy. Hard working staff keeping the hotel impeccably clean. Highly recommend. We will be back! Worth every penny!

Excellent Hotel. Lovely staff including Merve