Swandor Hotel & Resort Topkapi Palace

Amazing experience! Very friendly stuff, great variety of food, beautiful atmosphere and a lot of facilities. Right near the beach! On the last day, we (my parents and I) had a dinner at Hanedan restaurant and the food was above any expectations. The waiter gave great recommendations, we stayed more than happy:)

Just back from a week at Topkapi Palace after staying with my wife and three kids. There's lots to like about it, but a few things that could be better. It's a big resort, about 950 rooms roughly, so bigger than we would usually choose, but our last holiday we chose a very small resort and felt like that missed some things. The pros are there's plenty going on. Like most resorts they've got aquagym and yoga type classes in the day. There are two pools, one was huge albeit quite cold, the other is heated I think, but very busy and often quite shady. Never a problem to find a lounger in the morning, but you'd want to stake your claim for the day really. We really liked the atmosphere at the beach bar (jetty/pier) and the sea here is calm and warm. There are live shows in the evening and live music in the "Irish pub", albeit the only Irish pub in the world you can't get a pint of stout or even a hot drink oddly, so not sure why it's Irish! Good spot if you just fancy a drink and play some card games though. There's a Starbucks onsite which is included, which as a coffee addict with a Pumpkin Spice obsessed teenager, was a hit. There was a huge choice of food at mealtimes and snacks available outside of them. The Spa was nice, we had a couple of massages. Bit expensive, but resorts usually are. Staff were all helpful and friendly. Our room was clean and comfy (albeit a very soft mattress and pillow not to my personal choice), with a nice big shower. We had a duplex room, so my teenage girls were upstairs and we were in with my 9 year old who had a sofa bed/camp bed next to our double. Just something to think about depending on ages of your kids. Cons: There are a lot of guests here and although it's a big resort, it feels as if they're a bit clustered to certain areas. The big pool was never busy to swim in (maybe a bit cold) but it felt like all the loungers were crammed close together and it was busy. Dinner time in the main dining hall was bedlam. Really busy, quite noisy. They need to work out how to spread guests over the different restaurants or have a longer dining time. There is a huge choice of food, but it is a little repetitive. Of course with so much choice you expect overlap, but did feel a bit "samey" every night. It was all nice though and fine for a week, not sure I'd want two weeks though. Some reviews mentioned food being cold, again though with so much food coming out you can't be too surprised if some has been out for a bit longer, but this was the exception not a regular issue. The desserts were fab and we ate far too many. Our room was quite noisy at night, from the hotel next door though. Lastly, I did pick up a vomiting bug on my penultimate day there, which wasn't an ideal end to the holiday. I see a few others mentioned getting sick and another guest reported the same in a passing conversation. In fairness to the hotel though it's probably more a consequence of the number of guests eating a buffet three times a day, I think they were very good about hygiene from what I saw. Overall a decent holiday and depending on what you want, potentially a good destination with lots going on. Personally I probably prefer something a bit smaller and quieter, but I'm happy with a book, a pool, nice food and bed by 10pm. Must be getting old!

Beautiful hotel, stayed for 11 nights. Before I arrived I was apprehensive about the size of the hotel, but its laid out very well and easy to navigate. Had lunch at the turkey restaurant and it was delicious, staff were amazing. Snack bar at the beach was great, the cocktails on the pier are fab. You may not have heard of many of the cocktails but some are delicious or they will make you any cocktail they have the ingredients for. No slimline tonic for those that need to know for their gin. On the few rainy days we had the irish bar got very busy, that was always our meeting point as we were 3 families together. That had 2 pool tables which the teenagers enjoyed. Live music was on at most bars every evening. The main restaurant had the biggest variety of food ever and is spread over 2 rooms, largest I have ever seen. Breakfast is better early as can get quite busy, lunch time was just nice, evening meal could get really busy, it really could do with an extra half hour either side of opening and closing. Rooms were immaculate, fridges restocked with water, soft drinks and snacks every day. Free use of safe. Every bathroom accessory you could need if you forget anything. We had a pool view from block 5, if you like an early night it may be a little noisy for you until the entertainment finishes, this was no bother to us. Beds were very comfy, lots of hanging space in the wardrobes. Bus was accessible just across the road from the hotel, cost 76p, they ran regular, a taxi that would fit 6 including driver was €15 The bus on a weekend can be very very busy we had to wait for another. Tried the Belfast bar one evening and the cocktails were delicious and for guiness drinkers you can get "cans" in there. The swimminpools were kept clean and glasses regularly collected, lots of activities available during the day at the main pool, we mostly were at the quieter adjoining side of that pool so could still hear music, small shaded kiddy pool behind that. The kids used the water slides, they are older teens so were not too fussed about them, but said they were ok. Over all this is an amazing hotel and I would return.

This is a lovey hotel as regards amenities and food but their customer service leaves an awful lot to be desired! My family of four stayed for a week to celebrate my husbands 80th birthday. One of my sons lives in Japan and flew in at 10pm on the Friday for five nights (so did not use any of the facilities other than a drink in the bar before bed) and was to leave on the Wednesday, check out time 11 am. He was due to leave the hotel at 7pm to get his return flight. On checking out he was told he would have to leave the hotel or pay for another night which was 120€ . They said this was because he was an ‘add on’ to the room rather than being booked in originally. We had requested to include him in the original booking and were told that that was not possible and we could only pay for his room when he arrived, we were not told that this would affect his rights to use the hotel facilities. We then find out that between 6 and 7 there are no places to eat in the hotel - so he didn’t even get an evening meal for his 129€!!. He left at 6.50 very hungry. For a 5* hotel to turn one of their clients onto the street unless they pay for a night he was not going to use is totally unacceptable - especially as my son had checked with customer relations and had been told that there would not be a problem and he could stay until his taxi arrived. It shows a complete lack of respect and consideration for their customer who had a 24 hour plus journey ahead of him. Also my husband and I were in a disability room and the shower floor was very slippy, absolutely lethal actually but when we asked for a non slip mat we were told the hotel didn’t have them! We also requested a plug for the washbasin and were told the hotel didn’t have plugs in any washbasins and couldn’t supply them……bizarre! Do not use the hotel laundry facility! We were charged 130€ for some T shirts, socks and underpants. There were 16 items in total so just less than a tenner per item!!!!! As I say for many things the hotel was lovely but we left feeling our special reunion for my husband’s birthday had been marred by the time we left the hotel.

Fantastic value for money, brilliant entertainment but a few things could be improved! We stayed at Swandor Topkapi Palace in October 2026 for a girls’ holiday, 3 adults sharing a Family Deluxe Room. First things first, the hotel is absolutely huge! For what we paid, the value for money was incredible and we had a really good holiday. We stayed in room 1231, Block 1, which had two separate bedrooms, one with twin beds and the other with a king-size bed. The beds were comfortable, the TVs were a good size and there was plenty of wardrobe space. However, there was next to no drawer space, which made storing smaller items a bit of a nightmare. The balcony was absolutely tiny, although it did have a little drying rack which was handy. The bathroom was quite small for 3 adults, but the shower pressure was phenomenal! There were plenty of toiletries provided, although these weren’t always replenished. The wall-mounted hairdryer was absolutely terrible, especially for someone with long, thick hair. I really would expect something better from a five-star hotel. The room was generally clean, although there were a few areas that needed some attention, including chipped paintwork and some damaged flooring. Housekeeping was good overall, but the floors weren’t always cleaned particularly well. The minibar was brilliant, stocked with branded soft drinks and bottled water which were replenished daily. Our cleaner was also happy to give us extra cans of our preferred drinks. One thing I did find strange was that despite booking for 3 adults, the room seemed to be set up for 2, with only two mugs, two glasses and limited complimentary snacks. Food-wise, there was absolutely loads of choice. Traditional Turkish dishes, Chinese-style food, kebabs, pizzas, pasta, fresh salads, breads, fruit and plenty of desserts. There weren’t any themed evenings, but I honestly think even the fussiest eaters would find something. Breakfast was good too, although I was surprised there wasn’t any scrambled or poached egg that we could see, particularly for a five-star hotel. We tended to have lunch down at the beach restaurant, which had a smaller selection of more casual food such as burgers, hot dogs, pizzas and chips, alongside salads and other options. There was always something to eat! There’s also a Starbucks on site, although expect a queue. The hotel’s own coffee wasn’t particularly great, a little weak for my liking. The drinks and entertainment were probably the biggest highlights for us. All the alcohol was branded and you could definitely taste the difference! There were plenty of bars and we rarely had to queue for drinks. The entertainment was genuinely brilliant, from live singers at the beach bar to acrobats, magicians and dance performances at X1. Our favourite place was actually the bar underneath the sports bar, which had some fantastic live singers followed by a DJ playing house and dance music. We spent quite a few evenings down there and really enjoyed it. The staff were lovely and couldn’t do enough for you. Plates and glasses were cleared quickly, the bars always seemed well staffed and although table service could occasionally be a little slow, it was never a major issue. The restaurant didn’t really have much of a queuing system, so you just had to find your way around, but it never felt particularly overcrowded. The hotel grounds were really well maintained. You constantly saw staff cleaning, tidying or carrying out maintenance. There were plenty of sunbeds during our stay, although the weather wasn’t the best, so we didn’t experience any mad rush for them. The children’s pool looked fantastic, even though we didn’t have children with us! We did notice some rubbish in the sea, but this was cleared before the day began. The Wi-Fi was also surprisingly good throughout the hotel, even down by the beach and further out towards the pier. Unfortunately, the spa was a bit of a letdown. We used the free facilities during the rainy days and whilst the sauna was lovely and spacious, the steam room really needed some attention. There were numerous missing tiles and a strange smell. The indoor pool was absolutely packed when it rained, which was understandable, but my biggest issue was the number of young children using the sauna, steam room and Turkish bath. There were children running around the Turkish bath, which made it almost impossible to relax. Personally, I don’t think young children should be using saunas and steam rooms in the first place, and there really should be better supervision. We also had a pair of shoes go missing whilst using the facilities, which wasn’t ideal! Despite the few negatives, we had a brilliant holiday. The food was varied, the entertainment was fantastic and the staff really did work hard. There are definitely areas that could do with some improvement, especially when the hotel is advertised as five-star, but for the price we paid for 3 adults, I genuinely couldn’t fault the value for money. Would I recommend it? Absolutely. Particularly if you’re looking for a large all-inclusive hotel with plenty going on, branded drinks and good evening entertainment. With a bit more attention to the rooms and spa, it could be even better!