Selene Beach & Spa Hotel

This is our second visit to Selene, and again we are not disappointed. It is such a beautiful hotel and situated perfectly. Everything you need is here with amazing views. The display of fantastic food is overwhelming and delicious, with something for everyone. The pools and surroundings are immaculately clean with bars and restaurants. The spa is definitely worth a visit with a roof top pool. What makes this hotel even more special is the amazing staff. Every single person is so happy and welcoming and become friends to everyone. They are all an absolute credit to the management and hotel. AMAZING X Luckily we have a few days left to stay at this wonderful hotel and would certainly return again. Well worth a visit Thank you Selene x

Lovely atmosphere, very relaxing

brilliant hotel and brilliant service

Selene Beach & Spa Hotel, Alanya, Turkey Holiday Dates: 5 July – 19 July We selected this hotel because we expected the higher standards associated with the Platinum Plus collection. Whilst there were a small number of positive aspects to our stay, the overall holiday fell significantly below the standard advertised. The interior of the hotel was generally well maintained, and our room was cleaned daily to an excellent standard by the housekeeping staff. Unfortunately, these positives were outweighed by numerous issues that affected our holiday from beginning to end. Food and Dining The food was our greatest disappointment. We found the selection extremely limited and it appeared to cater primarily for Russian, German and Turkish guests, with very little variety suitable for our tastes. During our fourteen-day stay we found ourselves eating largely eggs, chicken, bread and soup because there was very little else we enjoyed. The restaurant was also extremely busy, making it difficult to find a table on many occasions. Because of both the poor quality of the food and the overcrowding, we ate outside the hotel several times at our own expense. We do not believe guests paying for a Platinum Plus all-inclusive holiday should feel compelled to pay for meals elsewhere. À La Carte Restaurant Our holiday entitled us to dine in the à la carte restaurant on two occasions. We booked both reservations in advance. Whilst the setting and atmosphere were pleasant, the food was extremely disappointing. By the time our meals arrived, much of the food was cold. One of the carrots was so hard that it could not be cut with a knife, and the potatoes were also cold. My wife ordered the tenderloin, which was so tough and poorly prepared that it was largely inedible. I ordered the salmon, which was dry and served cold. Following this disappointing experience, we cancelled our second reservation because we had no confidence that the standard of food would improve. As a result, we were unable to enjoy one of the benefits included within the holiday we had paid for. Restaurant Dress Code Each evening we made the effort to dress appropriately for dinner. However, every night we observed guests entering the restaurant wearing swim shorts, vests, flip-flops and sliders. There appeared to be no enforcement of any evening dress code, which detracted from what should have been a premium dining experience. Drinks and Hygiene The quality of the drinks throughout the hotel was disappointing and below what we expected from a Platinum Plus resort. The outdoor drinks bar was housed in a wooden shack which appeared dirty and poorly maintained. On one occasion the bar top was covered in live ants. When this was brought to the attention of the bartender, he simply shrugged his shoulders and laughed, making no attempt to clean the area or address the issue. We found this unacceptable from both a hygiene and customer service perspective. The beach snack bar serving burgers, chips and hot dogs also appeared dirty and poorly maintained, giving us little confidence in the hygiene standards being maintained. Sunbed Reservations Sun loungers were being reserved daily from approximately 6:30 a.m. using towels. On one occasion I counted 36 sunbeds reserved while only three people were actually using them. This made it extremely difficult for other guests to find available loungers despite many remaining unused for long periods. Condition of the Hotel Grounds The condition of parts of the hotel grounds was unacceptable. Guests were required to walk through muddy areas to reach the pool, sun loungers, the ice cream station and the waffle area. These conditions remained throughout our stay and did not reflect the standard expected of a Platinum Plus resort. Beach and Sea Conditions The sea itself was disappointing, with plastic waste and what appeared to be human waste visible in the water during our stay. This made swimming unpleasant and raised concerns regarding cleanliness. Smoking There were no clearly designated smoking areas. Guests smoked throughout the resort, including whilst dining and whilst lying beside other guests around the swimming pool. As non-smokers we found this unpleasant and believe designated smoking areas should have been provided and enforced. Health and Safety Concerns One of our most serious concerns related to health and safety around the main swimming pool. We regularly observed staff transporting large quantities of beer and spirits from the main hotel to the pool and beach bars using overloaded trolleys. On one occasion an overloaded trolley struck a plastic drainage cover beside the swimming pool, causing it to split in two. At the same time, one of the bottles of spirits fell from the trolley and smashed on the tiled area next to the pool. Broken glass was scattered across the walkway and underneath several sun loungers, creating a serious risk to guests walking barefoot. We were also concerned that fragments of glass could have entered the swimming pool. Approximately thirty minutes later, only the larger pieces of glass were swept away. Numerous smaller fragments remained on the ground and became more visible as the surface dried. My wife and I removed several pieces of glass ourselves because we were genuinely concerned that another guest, could suffer an injury. I also placed a wet floor sign over the damaged drainage cover to prevent someone stepping into it. Unfortunately another guest, unaware of why it had been placed there, moved it aside, leaving the damaged area exposed once again. We should never have been placed in a position where we felt responsible for addressing obvious safety hazards. Reporting the Issue We reported the damaged drainage cover and broken glass incident to customer relations which in turn logged the fault in a book at reception on the Monday of the second week of our holiday. Despite reporting this as a serious health and safety concern, nothing was done during the remainder of our stay. The damaged area remained unrepaired for the rest of our holiday. Because we no longer felt comfortable using the main swimming pool, we chose to use the hotel’s spa facilities for the following three days. Whilst we paid separately for spa treatments, this gave us access to the rooftop spa pool and allowed us to avoid the unresolved safety concerns around the main pool. Spa Facilities Having paid additional money to use the spa, we expected it to offer a noticeably more premium experience. However, the sunbeds around the spa pool were identical to those around the main pool. They appeared well-used, of basic quality and did not reflect what we would expect from a Platinum Plus resort. Overall, the quality of the sunbeds throughout the hotel was disappointing. Overall Experience Throughout our holiday we experienced poor food quality, overcrowding, poor hygiene standards, inadequate enforcement of hotel policies, unacceptable health and safety concerns, poor maintenance and facilities that simply did not reflect the premium holiday that had been advertised. We booked this holiday in good faith based on TUI’s Platinum Plus description. Unfortunately, in our opinion, the hotel failed to deliver the standard promised. We have extensive photographic to support the concerns raised including: Food quality. À la carte meal. Guests reserving sunbeds. Muddy hotel grounds. Ants on the outdoor bar. The beach snack bar. The damaged drainage cover. Broken glass beside the pool. Sea conditions. General cleanliness and maintenance throughout the holiday.

This is the first time in my life that I’m writing a negative review. When traveling with my husband, we always choose adults-only hotels with a high standard. Despite the very good reviews and all the online hype, this hotel completely disappointed us. We were extremely disappointed by the hotel staff. The waiters in the dining area couldn’t care less about the guests or keeping the place clean. When someone finished eating and you wanted to sit at that table (because sometimes you had to walk around just to find a free spot), the staff didn’t even lay out fresh cutlery; you had to serve yourself. As for the food, there was a very limited selection for such a large hotel—far too much local Turkish food and not enough international dishes. In our room, there were constant issues with the power because the fuses kept tripping. It even happened once in the main dining hall—apparently, that’s just standard practice here 😀. The guest relations manager was very rude and downright abrasive. I got the impression that some of the employees were working there as a punishment. If something spilled and you asked them to clean it up, they simply didn't care—total ignorance. European guests are treated worse than local Turkish guests, and 90% of the hotel entertainment is aimed strictly at local guests as well. I am deeply disappointed with our stay. We paid so much money, and this hotel really leaves a lot to be desired. I’m not a picky person, but if I pay this kind of money for a hotel stay, I expect a high level of service. In my opinion, this hotel deserves 4 stars at most and a definite drop in price.