Sunthalia Hotel & Resort

We spent a wonderful week at this hotel and truly enjoyed our stay. We were very happy with our Swim Deluxe room. Its location in the center of the hotel was perfect, allowing us to swim directly from our terrace without having to walk through long corridors. The room was cleaned thoroughly every day, and the entire hotel grounds were beautifully maintained. The staff at the hotel and on the beach were polite, friendly, and helpful. We also loved the music played throughout the day, which created a great holiday atmosphere. The biggest disappointment was the animation team. It was the first time we experienced animators who didn’t greet guests and simply walked past them. I wanted to join the darts game and even mentioned my interest, but nobody ever invited me. I had to keep checking the schedule myself. For this reason, I would give the animation only one star. The food was delicious, varied, and of very good quality. However, another downside was that around half of the restaurant staff did not provide the level of service expected from a 5-star hotel. Dirty dishes often remained on the tables for too long, it was difficult to get water or cutlery, and many guests ended up serving themselves. On the other hand, some members of the restaurant staff were absolutely outstanding and deserve special praise. Overall, we had a fantastic holiday and would be happy to return to this hotel again.

This is a very honest review, first off definitely not a 5 star hotel. The rooms are small but nice enough. What lets the rooms down is house keeping. They come everyday but all they do it make the bed and put clean towels in. They didn’t bother to even take the dirty ones away on 4 days out of 7. Didn’t bother to change dirty cuts or replace used water glasses. No tea or coffee replenished.No floor or surfaces were cleaned once. Mug rings and marks on the balcony left for the whole of our trip. Could have wiped this myself but left it out of interest to see if they’d do it. Pool area is fun and lively but def aimed at younger guests who want to party which is fine but if you want to sleep you’ve no chance. The food is rubbish….not much choice and mostly cold. Food during the day is the same everyday, cheap burgers and cold slimy spaghetti. Always running out of ice but the drinks are fine. The beach area is nice and food is a bit better down there, pizzas were good. The shuttle bus is a disaster zone, no order, people pushing and barging to get on, this really needs policing as we waited for 3 busses as couldn’t get on for rowdy Russians. We were outside first in line but made no difference. Def wouldn’t return.

We stayed at Sunthalia Hotel & Resort (+16) for five nights, and while there are undoubtedly positives, this hotel simply wasn’t for us. Let’s start with what the hotel gets right. It’s modern, clean and well presented. The rooms are comfortable, the pool area is attractive with plenty of sunbeds, and the adults-only concept creates a more relaxed environment than a family resort. The location is also excellent, with three shopping centres directly opposite the hotel and the beach only a short walk or shuttle ride away. Most of the staff we encountered worked incredibly hard and were friendly throughout our stay. Unfortunately, that’s where our enthusiasm started to fade. The biggest disappointment was the food. We came to Turkey looking forward to experiencing Turkish cuisine, but after a couple of days the buffet became incredibly repetitive. Almost every day consisted of turkey, chicken and the same dishes with slight variations. We expected fresh grilled meats, traditional kebabs and more authentic local food, but very little reflected what we’d hoped to experience. Breakfast omelettes were easily the highlight of the holiday food-wise. Fresh fruit was also surprisingly poor. Unless you like eating watermelon every day, the selection was very limited. The burger bar by the pool and the beach snack bar were equally disappointing. The food felt cheap, processed and lacked quality. It simply didn’t reflect what we expected from a hotel advertising itself as five-star. The entertainment also wasn’t for us. If you enjoy loud music from morning until evening, foam parties, karaoke and a lively party atmosphere, you’ll probably enjoy it. We booked an adults-only hotel hoping for somewhere peaceful and relaxing, but instead there was loud music around the pool for much of the day. After a while it became tiring rather than enjoyable. The Wi-Fi was also inconsistent throughout the stay. The biggest issue, however, is the five-star rating. This may satisfy the local Turkish classification, but in our opinion it falls well short of what most international travellers would expect from a genuine five-star hotel. Luxury is about attention to detail, quality and service. Those little touches simply weren’t there. It felt much closer to a good three-star or average four-star hotel than a luxury resort. One experience in particular left a very bad impression. On our second day I visited the barber located inside the hotel. The day before I’d asked how much a beard trim would cost and was told €5. When I returned, the original barber wasn’t there. Before I’d even had chance to explain that I only wanted my beard trimmed, another member of staff had already started cutting my hair. The appointment quickly turned into a haircut, facial waxing, ear waxing and even ear candling, none of which I had requested or agreed to. Trying to stop the treatment was almost impossible because of the language barrier. I then received a bill for €57. Looking back, I should probably have challenged it more strongly, but by that stage I simply wanted to leave. It left a very sour taste on only our second day. My advice is simple: agree every treatment and the total price before anyone starts. We also visited the hotel’s medical room for advice after I developed what appeared to be an insect bite. We weren’t looking for treatment, just basic advice about creams or medication. Unfortunately, communication relied almost entirely on Google Translate, and we were simply advised to attend a hospital instead. One final point for guests who don’t smoke: smoking is common throughout the hotel’s outdoor areas, including around the pool, bars and entertainment spaces. While this may be normal locally, it’s something prospective guests should be aware of if they dislike cigarette smoke. Overall, we didn’t have a terrible holiday, but we were disappointed. The hotel photographs well, the facilities are modern and many of the staff genuinely work hard, but for us the constant noise, repetitive low-quality food and experiences with some of the on-site businesses meant it fell well short of the five-star standard we expected. Would we return? No. There are too many other hotels available at a similar price point that, in our opinion, are likely to offer a higher standard of food, service and overall quality. This hotel clearly suits guests looking for a lively, entertainment-focused holiday. We were looking for relaxation, quality and a genuine five-star experience, and unfortunately Sunthalia didn’t deliver that for us.

Very good hotel Very good personál Rooms is great All in hotel is great I was Sunthalia three years a row

We would not come here again. Loud techno music all throughout the day everyday until 2am. On no websites does it specify PARTY HOTEL but this is exactly what it is. Cleaning wasn’t great Food was okay. Drinks watered down Seriously would not recommend coming here if you want relaxation or if you want to be able to talk instead of shouting over the techno music.