Trendy Aspendos Beach

14 nights here in March this year was our 11th visit to Trendy Aspendos, having also spent two weeks at Christmas and New Year, and another two weeks in January. The weather in Turkiye in Winter can be very unpredictable, Christmas Day lunchtime at the beach bar was 20C, but also some days with strong winds and heavy rain. Fortunately, the hotel is geared up for all year round use. You do not have to set foot outside to get to any of the (indoor) bars or restaurants, gym, sauna or heated indoor pool. As soon as the weather is favourable, the pool bar and beach bar open. We have always found the food in the main buffet to be of a high quality, a good selection, and a different theme each night. We have also spent many enjoyable evenings in both the Chinese and Italian a la carte restaurants. Lunch at the beach bar is also good, and coffee and cakes in Macaron is a must. The hotel is very stylish, well maintained and spotless. The rooms are very modern and nicely furnished. The gardens are also immaculate and very colourful in the Summer. Outside the hotel there is a bizarre which is very busy in the Summer months. You can also get the dolmus to Side and Manavgat to visit the ancient city and markets (€2 each way last time) In the 22 weeks we have spent in this hotel we have never had any major problems at all. A few little niggles which have always been rectified instantly after reporting them to reception. I would also like to add that our friends Hevra, Irem and Gizem at Guest Relations have always been very helpful. I have seen comments from other people about the number of German guests at the hotel. It is true that the majority are German but that has never been a problem for us, and we now have many German friends who we see each year on return visits. I have also seen posts about the lack of "English" food. Honestly, what do people really expect? We are now looking to make our next bookings to return again, and would have no hesitation in recommending this hotel

Trendy Aspendos Beach, Side, Turkey Negatives first ... 1. No chance of a sunbed in May as everyone puts their beach towels out on beds around 7-8am 2. This hotel has a very high German clientele, and so the food is 100% geared to German taste (not UK), which was 'very disappointing' (we may not return as a result) , as we saw former reviews last year where the manager said he would ensure there was UK food included. This is still not the case. What you won't see in this hotel in terms of UK food & drink: 1. Standard tea with cold milk 2. British sausages 3. Bacon 4. Battered fish 5. Potato scone / soda scone 6. Prosecco (not in the buffet) 3. Do not expect your breakfast, lunch or dinner table to be furnished with a teaspoon at the buffet restaurants. Even with waiter service, they serve you coffee without a spoon. It is not the standard of a 5 star hotel in this case. 4. TUI rep Gavin, from Goa, India is a great dis-service to this hotel. We went to his meeting. We were the only two who turned up at 6pm. Straight away, he handed us a sales tour leaflet. He was only interested in making sales. There was literally no info from him about the hotel or the area. We advised him that we would only book a few tours because my Wife has a knee surgical issue (partial hidden disablement). We opted for a massage, and also a tour of the Green River Boat Cruise. We paid €146 for the cruise with lunch, and then next day (the day before the tour) we received an email stating that it is not suitable for people with mobility issues. We requested a refund, but he refused. That's very serious for TUI. This poor excuse of a rep will end up getting TUI sued due to disability discrimination. He also suffers from the most putrid body odour. - Ask his male colleague who works alongside him. He could smell him too ... Don't rely on the TUI online chat function to help you het a refund. The chat puts you right back to the same rep who again refused to return the money - scamsters. Come on TUI, you need to refund us. Gavin also told us NOT to use the hotel massage services as they are not good and to pay for the hammam tour instead - I think it was around €50 euros each. The hotel was more expensive than the hammam tour. We never used the hotel as the Turkish man sitting at the desk just stepped in and talked ober the two female attendants who we jad originally approched and that was rude of him. It put us off. The women appeared powerless in his presence and that's a shame, and also concerning. The massage package on the tour option had a mud bath that groups of people were sent in to use together. It of full of hairs on the mud. It badly needs cleaned. 5. There is an animal of sorts that is very loud and sounds like a cockrel. Every single morning, 1:30am till 8am, this thing was repeatedly cu-cooing on repeat, yet there was no sign of it, but it seemed as if it was right outside the balcony at the seaview side rooms. Come on Aspendos, we didn't get a proper sleep all through the 10 day holiday. 6. If you arrive late at night, e.g. 9pm, do NOT expect a welcome drink, as there was no welcome from any rep, and no drink either, and nothing was even left put at Reception either. Our bags were just taken after check-in to our rooms by a porter. 7. Most entertainment is in German language. The motorcycle show was 'super dangerous'and should never be allowed to operate, as those 4 boys in a cage on motorbikes seriously risked death. That is shocking. This MUST be stopped. I say so as a fully licensed biker. Now for the good, which I have saved for last. 1. Room - super clean - maids cleaned it every day, although one took offence when I said I speak English ... We never left them any tip as a result, as she seemed staunchly Turkish. We were only saying, "Sorry - we can only speak English." She treated is as if we must speak in Turkish if we come to Turkey. We are holidaymakers though ... not residents ... Treat your UK visitors better and you likely will receive a tip. 2. Hotel itself - overall beautiful & plush with an ornate grand staircase and even a lounge with Chesterfield style suites. If you forget your flip flops, tea shirts, sun lotion, pool inflatables, etc, there are plenty of shops in the hotel, however watch him in the gift shop. He charged me 500 YL (£8.08) for a small ball that I could have purchased at home for £2. 3. A La Carte restaurants - The Chinese was surprisingly the best. You get 5-courses. Italian not great. Didn't try Mexican as the hard tacos in the buffet put us off trying the Mexican A La Carte restaurant, sadly. 4. Pool - 1.40m deep all round, so good. 5. Flumes - 5 of them. You need to lie flat on the pink curly flume to gain any speed. Dont sit up - you will go down so slowly. Black & white flume is the fastest. 6. Beach - only visited once - rocky towards the left, but rock-free towards the right side. 7. Beer is Efes. Red wine is okay. White wine is a bit mild. 8. Waiter service - hit and miss. Some friendly, some look so miserable. 9. Entertainment, there were no posters up, advertised in English till about 4 days before the end of our holiday, so we missed most of the entertainment. We since found out it is at 9pm every night. 10. Weather - on average of 28 degrees so quite warm. It reached 30 degrees one day. Pool is a tiny bit cold, but dunk your head when you step in - you will get used to it after that. 11. Drive time from Antalya Airport to the hotel: 1 hr to 1.25 hours. You are the first pickup to be dropped off. Summary; Many more good points than bad points. Start to cater for UK clients in terms of the food especially. and we might return. Hope this helps. Thanks.

Fantastic hotel, Great Location, Rooms very nice and clean, Food amazing...the best I ever had in hotels. Definitely recommend this hotel. Great aqua park, foam party, and evening entertainment. Very friendy staff ..especially Murat from entertainment team :-)

The staff are so attentive, food is 5* no complaints we were supposed to get one al a carte but they allowed 3 which was so appreciated. Pool is amazing no issues with sunbeds and the selection of restaurants makes life easy when you are in swim wear. Definitely a 5* and we will be returning

Location is great for shops and nice stroll. The atmosphere around pool area and bar us very friendly. Our room was clean and spacious. Location of room in quiet area. Irem from guest relations was very helpful. She arranges surprise birthday meal for one of our friends 50th birthday. She also assisted with printing boarding passes. Iit is my fourth visit at this hotel. I will be visiting afain.