Royal TAJ Mahal

Food excellent, animation team and shows are great , hotel is a like small town, you can find something for yourself to enjoy

We are very disappointed with our stay at Royal Taj Mahal and unfortunately cannot recommend this hotel. It certainly does not meet the standards expected from a 5-star resort, and we will definitely not be returning. Here are the main issues we experienced: • Every evening there was a very unpleasant smell outside, which made it uncomfortable to spend time outdoors. • The air conditioning was not running in the hotel hallways, making the common areas extremely hot. • We experienced electrical problems and were left without power for more than an hour. • The rooms are not up to the standard you would expect from a 5-star hotel. They feel outdated and need improvement. • The staff were not very friendly or helpful when we reported problems. • One of the biggest disappointments was the language barrier. Only about 10% of the staff spoke English, while most spoke only German and Turkish. This made communication very difficult. • The minibar refrigerator worked only on the first day and then stopped working completely. • The children’s water slides are old, worn out, and appear to be in need of renovation. Overall, this was far below our expectations for a 5-star resort. There are many hotels in the area offering much better service and facilities for the same price. We do not recommend Royal Taj Mahal, and we will certainly not be coming back.

I was with my family in Taj Mahal for a second time after 5 years again. I must say, that only one thing, which wasnt perfect was first room. We paid extra for superior side sea view for 1 adult and 2 children. We arrived in the night and our room was small, just with double bed and no more bed for my second daughter. In the morning I went to reception and wanted change, first choice was bad, 10% seaview and 90% dirty land. Second choice was nice room with view on Dragon hotel and sea, that room was big, nice and perfect. At the reception, they told me, that it is room for extra rate, I think that that was quality for which I paid. But reception told me, that I will get it for free. My mothers and sisters rooms were nice inside, but view wasnt so good. After that, I must say, that everything else was absolutely perfect. Very nice people, smiling, good working. Nice pools, very tasty food and the sea at this part of turkish riviera is the best. No stones, no deep sea, great for children. Lunapark and aquapark are also nice, everything was working well. Rooms were good cleaned every day and the services which hotel provides are on the high level. Maybe only one minus is poor miniclub area. But when I look at another hotels (I visited a lot of hotels there) I must say, that Taj Mahal is very good choice and I would like to come back again.

Our stay at Royal Taj Mahal was extremely disappointing overall and nowhere near the standard we expected from a so called 5 star resort. The issues started from the moment we entered the room. A glass lamp was hanging dangerously by a single cable from the wall. I was shocked that housekeeping or maintenance had not identified something this unsafe before allocating the room, especially at a family resort where young children are staying. The hairdryer was broken and an electrician had to come into the room during our stay to repair it, which was inconvenient and disruptive. There was also a broken socket near the kettle area, forcing us to move the kettle elsewhere dangerously close to our toddler. One of the main reasons we booked this hotel was because their website clearly states “No smoking on site” due to my asthma. In reality, this was completely misleading. People smoked absolutely everywhere. Around the pool, on the beach loungers, outside restaurants, snack bars, seating areas and nearly every outdoor space imaginable. There was even an ashtray provided inside the room, which completely contradicted their own policy and strongly implied smoking inside rooms is common. Because of the constant smoke exposure, my asthma flared up badly throughout the holiday. I had to repeatedly use my inhaler during both day and night and frequently suffered headaches because the smell of smoke was constantly lingering around the resort and sometimes inside the room too. Another major issue was communication. For a 5 star international resort, the lack of English spoken by staff was honestly shocking. Most staff members were polite and friendly, but communication became exhausting because even very basic English was not understood. Every simple interaction required us to use a translation app on our phones. When asking whether dishes were vegetarian, staff would often respond by offering chicken, pork or other meat dishes, which became frustrating very quickly. The vegetarian food situation was extremely disappointing. Turkey has so many incredible vegetarian dishes and flavours, so we arrived with high expectations. Unfortunately the resort offered very limited hot vegetarian options and most lacked flavour, seasoning or effort. In many cases the “vegetarian option” was simply plain boiled vegetables. During the first few days we practically survived on pasta for lunch and dinner. Honestly, if I wanted pasta every day I would have flown to Italy instead. To be fair, after we complained, some of the chefs did make an effort to provide a few additional vegetarian dishes, which we appreciated. However, the quality still did not come close to the effort clearly put into the meat dishes. It genuinely felt like vegetarian guests were an afterthought. The so called “Indian themed” dinner buffet was another huge disappointment. The resort is called Royal Taj Mahal, so naturally as an Indian family we expected at least some authentic Indian food. Unfortunately there was absolutely nothing Indian about it apart from labels. Simply adding the word “Indian” before rice or curry does not make it Indian cuisine. Another frustrating issue was the indoor pool situation. The hotel technically has an indoor pool, but they refuse to operate it from May onwards purely because of the calendar month, regardless of the actual weather. The outdoor pools were still too cold to properly enjoy during our stay, meaning we barely got to use the swimming facilities at all. It made no sense for a family resort. We had also emailed the resort in advance explaining we were travelling with a young child and celebrating our daughter’s birthday. Despite this, we were allocated a room extremely far away from the main facilities, to the point where we avoided returning to the room during the day because it was such an inconvenience with a toddler. We were not expecting anything extravagant for the birthday, but even a small gesture, a better located room, or simple acknowledgement would have shown some level of hospitality. Unfortunately there was nothing at all. The mocktails were also genuinely terrible. Every drink tasted either overwhelmingly sweet or extremely sour with no balance. Strangely, cocktails and mocktails were available around the clock, yet ice cream for children was only available during limited hours, which seemed ridiculous at an all inclusive family resort. To mention a few positives, the children’s funfair area was genuinely lovely and our toddler really enjoyed it. The resort also had drinking water stations and toilet facilities conveniently available throughout the property, which was helpful. Most staff members were polite and tried their best despite the language barrier. Overall, the resort may look impressive in photos, but the actual experience was nowhere near luxury. Poor maintenance, misleading smoking policies, lack of English speaking staff, disappointing vegetarian food, weak hospitality and several avoidable inconveniences completely overshadowed the few positive aspects of the holiday.

First of all, thank you. The rooms are wonderful, spacious and clean. The food is excellent and delicious, and all the staff are very good – the waiters, the animation team, the fitness center, the gym – everyone is helpful. Actually, this hotel deserves 6 stars. Thank you for everything, best holiday.