Royal Atlantis Icon

I don't recommend beware of this hotel aggressive service and I didn't have a witness where the Briton threatened the staff and challenged because he ordered whisky.

This hotel was a serious disappointment and, based on my experience, does not deserve the standard it presents itself as offering. The service was one of the worst parts of the stay. Some members of staff were rude, dismissive and confrontational. Instead of making guests feel welcome, certain interactions made us feel like we were an inconvenience. On several occasions, the attitude felt unnecessarily aggressive and completely unprofessional. This is simply unacceptable in a hotel that claims to offer a high level of hospitality. The food was also far below expectations. There may be a large buffet, but the quality is disappointing. Many dishes felt repetitive, bland and cheaply prepared. After only a few days, eating at the hotel became something to tolerate rather than enjoy. A large selection means very little when the actual quality is poor. The pool area is another complete failure. Guests reserve sunbeds with towels from around 6 in the morning and then disappear for hours. Many of the best places remain empty but unavailable because someone left a towel there. The hotel does not appear to control this effectively, so every morning feels like a ridiculous competition for a sunbed. This completely destroys the idea of a relaxing holiday. Overall, the atmosphere was stressful, frustrating and very different from what I expected. Poor service, disappointing food and complete chaos around the pool made the stay much less enjoyable than it should have been. The hotel may look luxurious in photos, but my actual experience was nowhere near that level. Management needs to seriously reconsider how guests are treated, improve the quality of the food and finally enforce proper rules around the swimming pool. I personally would not return. For the price and the standard this hotel claims to represent, I expected significantly more. Based on my experience, I cannot recommend it to anyone looking for professional service, quality food and a genuinely relaxing holiday.

A Beautiful Hotel Let Down by Food & Beverage and Service Standards – Hospitality Professional Review I don’t usually leave reviews, but with over 10 years’ experience in hospitality and catering, including five-star hotels and high-end restaurants, I felt it was important to share an honest and constructive account of Royal Atlantis Icon. ⸻ Hotel The hotel itself is genuinely impressive. The design is modern, public areas are visually striking, and our room was spacious, clean, and well maintained. We were also fortunate with our view, though rooms facing the mosque may offer a different experience. The beach is a real highlight — clean, beautiful, and especially enjoyable in the evenings. There are also several hardworking and friendly staff members who deserve recognition. ⸻ Food & Beverage This is where the hotel falls significantly short. The core issue is not individual staff, but a lack of structure, consistency, training, and leadership within the department. Food is produced in very large volumes, but quality is clearly secondary. Buffet options were repetitive, often lacking flavour, and the level of food waste was noticeable. Despite the effort of the teams, systems appear insufficient. Glasses frequently ran out, tables and bar areas became cluttered, and drink service in the buffet restaurant was minimal, with guests often serving themselves. Bar service was also inconsistent. The same drink could vary significantly depending on who prepared it, indicating a lack of standardised recipes or measures. For a hotel of this level, this is a major concern. The use of predominantly local/Turkish branded alcohol rather than premium international brands was also noticeable in quality. The café was disappointing, with items such as macarons and cream cakes appearing dry and not fresh despite good presentation. A clear exception was the 24-hour restaurant, particularly the freshly made pizzas, which were genuinely enjoyable and demonstrated what the offering could be with a focus on freshness and execution over volume. ⸻ Service Service standards were inconsistent. While many staff work extremely hard, basic guest engagement was often lacking. On several occasions, morning greetings were not acknowledged even after repeated interactions. We also observed staff arguing in the main lobby on more than one occasion, which is unprofessional and creates a poor first impression in a space that should feel calm and welcoming. When I became unwell during the stay, I was also disappointed by the hotel’s response. For a resort of this size and positioning, I would have expected more concern and follow-up. ⸻ Entertainment The entertainment programme was not well suited to an English-speaking family. Most announcements and activities were delivered primarily in Turkish and other languages, with limited English inclusion. While international representation is important, it often felt difficult to follow or fully participate. ⸻ Facilities & Atmosphere The main pool area is extremely busy, and the hotel overall feels crowded at peak times. While high occupancy is expected, staffing, service levels, and stock management should be adjusted accordingly. We had also seen concerning reviews prior to arrival and attempted to change our booking, but were unable to do so. ⸻ Overall Impression Despite the hotel’s strong physical appearance and excellent location, the overall experience does not reflect a five-star standard in my opinion. The property has significant potential, but from a Food & Beverage and service perspective, it currently feels closer to a three-star operation within a five-star building. True five-star hospitality is defined by consistency, training, attention to detail, and guest experience — not aesthetics alone. My strongest recommendation would be investment in Food & Beverage leadership, structured training, standardised recipes and measures, improved quality control, and a stronger focus on freshness over volume. There are clearly some excellent individuals working here, and with the right systems and leadership, the hotel could be transformed. Unfortunately, based on our experience, we would not return.

We recently stayed at your hotel as two families. While we appreciate certain aspects of our holiday, we are writing to share some feedback because we were partially disappointed with the overall experience, which currently feels below average for a 5-star establishment.Sunbeds & Beach Maintenance: Finding a sunbed by the pool is incredibly difficult. If you don't go out by 7:00 or 8:00 AM to reserve one, you have no chance of finding any later in the day. Down at the beach, sunbeds are available, but they are rarely cleaned and are almost always covered in sand.App & Ordering Issues: The QR code ordering system at the beach restaurant functions very poorly. To make matters worse, when we tried to order directly from the waiters, they refused to take our order and insisted we use the broken app. Additionally, our children wore the grey wristbands but couldn't order much from the terraces because the app consistently failed to work for them.Bar & Pool Service: The waiting times at the beach and pool bars were quite long. We noticed there were often 2 or 3 staff members behind the counter, but usually only one was actively serving guests. A bit more teamwork and a welcoming attitude from the staff would make a huge difference.Restaurant Experience: Finding a clean table was a challenge. On multiple occasions, we had to clear and wipe down tables ourselves and hunt for cutlery because the staff didn't clear up after previous guests. The food variety was great for about 3 days out of our 7-day stay, but items were not replenished if we arrived within 30 minutes of closing time.Housekeeping & Maintenance: The room cleaning was acceptable but felt a bit rushed. The beds were made and the minibar was replenished daily, but the floors were not regularly swept or mopped. Also, the light-colored carpets in the hallways are stained and torn, which affects the overall look of the property.The hotel has great potential, and we hope this constructive feedback helps management improve the service and daily operations for future guests.

We’ve returned home from staying at the hotel for our first time in Turkey as well as our first time with our baby here. We cannot recommend this hotel enough. The location, the hotel is a bit of a drive from the airport and from Side centre itself but we didn’t mind, we chose this hotel intending to do nothing but eat & relax so we didn’t need anything around us. The atmosphere was lovely, all staff members whether they were house keeping, lifeguards, chefs or entertainers they were all so happy and welcoming especially with our baby boy! The cleanliness is great there wasn’t any point I saw any dirt or spillages/mess. The facilities are amazing there are 3 different pool areas suitable for all ages with slides, the rooms are lovely they also have Netflix which was great, they have a supermarket inside the hotel which has everything we needed, they have a salon which I used for my eyebrows, a spa, kids club, arcades room and 3 à la carte restaurants. The main restaurant served lovely breakfast, lunch and dinner which suited myself, my partner who is a fussy eater and our baby boy! They even provide jars of baby food if needed! There was a coffee bar which did amazing iced lattes & cakes, outside has an unlimited waffle & ice cream stand, there is also a 24/7 place to eat which has pasta, pizza, burger, something for everyone. The value for your money is amazing, I’ve travelled the world as a flight attendant and can honestly say this hotel is one I will remember. I’d also like to add how special the hotel treats their guests. It was my birthday whilst here and we came back to our room to a birthday cake plate, another day we came back and there was a platter of macarons, Turkish delight and fruit. I would say that if you have a baby request to be closer to the front of the hotel, we were placed at the side nearer the icon stage and could hear music from another hotel and well as the hotel’s entertainment and the local mosque none of these things were a major issue the hotel would’ve did what they could to assist if we had asked to move I’m sure but luckily our baby slept through. A very big thankyou to Royal Atlantis Icon you made our holiday very special and memories to last a lifetime for our little boy, he had the best time.