The Residence at TUI BLUE Sensatori Akra Fethiye

Just back from 8 days at this resort. Everything was as you would expect from a 5 star resort but what made it totally special was the staff !! From the lady that took care of our room right through to the top. Special mention must go to Busra who was the hardest working cocktail waitress I have ever seen - and such a totally lovely girl My only advice to future travellers would be try to get a swim up … there are swim ups and then there is this swim up!!

Our Fourth Visit to The Residence – And Once Again, Absolutely Exceptional We have just returned from our fourth visit to The Residence, where we once again spent two wonderful weeks in May. We are regular visitors to Antalya and the Canary Islands and tend to choose high-end luxury hotels. We have stayed at properties such as Maxx Royal and Regnum, as well as others of a similar standard, but for us, The Residence genuinely outshines them all. From the moment you arrive, the welcome is exceptional. Whether it is your first visit or your sixth, you are made to feel as though you are returning home. There is something very special about the warmth, personal service and attention to detail here, and it is one of the main reasons we keep coming back. On this visit, we were lucky enough to stay in Block 46, which is our absolute favourite. The views towards the sea through the wooded area are beautiful. The block enjoys sunshine throughout the day while remaining wonderfully peaceful and quiet. It is the perfect place to relax and enjoy the early evening, especially the music. The tranquillity is something we particularly love about The Residence. The Rooms The room was, as always, absolutely immaculate and incredibly well equipped. There was a jacuzzi-style bath with salts and oils provided, a powerful shower, iron and ironing board, hairdryer and straighteners. We also had bottles of branded spirits and a fridge fully stocked with soft drinks. Snacks and chocolates were replenished daily, which is such a lovely touch. The pillow menu and pillow spray deserve a special mention — they really are wonderful! The attention to detail throughout the stay is exceptional. The room receives a daily clean, with fresh towels and a lovely evening turn-down service, including another mini refresh of the room. Everything is always beautifully presented The Food The food is another real highlight of The Residence. The main restaurant offers an extensive à la carte menu, available throughout the day, with a fantastic variety of dishes. We also enjoyed Cuphea, which has a gorgeous lunch menu with Turkish, Italian, Chinese and Mexican options. The fajitas are particularly delicious! We booked a special dinner for my husband’s birthday before we arrived and arranged the rest of our restaurant bookings once we were there. The team were incredibly helpful and made his birthday feel very special. Balkon is another favourite of ours, offering a fabulous Turkish breakfast and, in the evening, a tapas menu. The tapas are served as individual mini dishes, making it perfect for trying different flavours and sharing. The cocktails here are incredible and a pleasure to watch them being made by the very best team! The lounge is also a lovely place to relax, with chocolates, ice cream and cakes available, as well as a cheese board upon request. When Our Holiday Took an Unexpected Turn I particularly want to mention something that happened during this holiday, as it truly showed us what makes The Residence so special. Sadly, my husband became very poorly during our stay and had to be admitted to hospital for three days. This was an incredibly frightening and worrying experience, particularly as I was on my own while he was in hospital. The support we received from the team at The Residence was nothing short of incredible. The staff went far beyond what could ever be expected from a hotel. They genuinely looked after me, regularly checking that I was okay and making sure I had everything I needed while I was dealing with the worry of having my husband in hospital. I also have to give a very special mention to Jo, our TUI representative, who was absolutely wonderful throughout what was an extremely difficult time. Jo was incredibly supportive, kind and reassuring, and helped enormously with the arrangements for transport to and from the hospital. The team also went out of their way to ensure I had food and water, even helping to pack things up for me while I was spending so much time dealing with the situation. By the time our holiday was officially over, my husband was still in hospital and I was faced with having to remain on my own. The team, together with Jo, kindly arranged for me to move rooms and made the whole process as easy as possible at a time when I was already extremely worried. At a time when I was already very anxious and, quite honestly, frightened being on my own, they made me feel genuinely cared for and safe. It is very easy for a luxury hotel to provide beautiful rooms, wonderful food and excellent facilities, but what truly sets The Residence apart is the staff. Their kindness, compassion and willingness to help went far beyond what we could have expected. They treated us with genuine care rather than simply as guests, and for that we will always be incredibly grateful. Why We Keep Coming Back The Residence may be considerably smaller than some of the larger luxury resorts, but in our opinion, that is exactly what makes it so special. The combination of outstanding service, beautiful facilities, exceptional food, attention to detail and an incredible feeling of peace and tranquillity is why we will be returning. Most importantly, when something unexpected and frightening happened to us, we discovered that the exceptional service wasn't just part of the holiday experience — it was genuine care when we really needed it. We certainly will be returning for our fifth visit in May 💛💫 Thank you Aslıhan to you and your incredible team See you soon Jacqui and Steve ☺️

We had an amazing 10-day holiday at The Residence from 27th July to 7th August. We’ve mostly stuck to Tui Blue hotels in the past and have always said we would never revisit a hotel, as we like trying out new places. However, we’ve changed our mind! We now totally understand why so many guests return and would 100% come back next year. We arrived late on 27th July and were met with a wonderfully warm and smooth check-in. We really appreciated being shown to our room and having our suitcases delivered. Holidays often leave you needing another break to recover, but we honestly left feeling the most well-rested we have been in a long time. The beds were super comfy, and it was wonderfully quiet with zero outside noise from other rooms (After 11:30pm). This was our first time staying at an à la carte hotel rather than a buffet resort. While we expected to visit the buffet next door more, we only went next door once late in the holiday just to try breakfast, lunch and dinner. However, instead we preferred the fantastic breakfast, lunch, and dinner à la carte menus at The Residence. As a vegetarian, I expected to eat mostly off the vegetarian/all-day menu, but I never had to because the staff were always accommodating and offered theme alternatives, like a chicken-free quesadilla. The restaurant being 24/7 was handy too, as before our transfer we were able to get dinner earlier which saved us having to pay the Dalaman prices. The pizza was great. To add, whether we sat on the left, middle, or right side for meals, the waiters and waitresses were so nice and fantastic, we can’t thank them enough. We spent the majority of our time by the pool. Metin was unbelievable and truly made our holiday for us. He is incredibly hardworking, never stopped, and clearly wanted to make everyone happy. He would anticipate our arrival from breakfast with waters waiting or have our usual morning drinks ready. Although the hotel has a QR code system for drinks, we never used it once because Metin’s service was so exceptional, a true asset to The Residence. The ladies behind the swim-up bar were equally great and made fantastic cocktails. We loved the quality of the drinks, from the bottled beers and canned soft drinks, the spirits are all branded which makes cocktails at a standard of any cocktail bar, and the wine was great too. Cold towels at 4:30pm was such a lovely touch. We enjoyed the hotel so much that we didn’t do any excursions, and we will definitely next time we return. The evening entertainment in the Cuprea setting was also great. The staff were attentive and never let you go without a drink, and we loved that we never had to worry about rushing to get a seat, even arriving after the start time. Thank you to everyone at The Residence. The staff are fantastic, the food is superb, and the hotel is simply wonderful!

When we checked into the hotel, our car keys were taken by the Assistant Customer Experience Manager, and our car was parked by the hotel staff. The following day, after returning from Ölüdeniz, we noticed damage to the right rear wheel and side skirt of our car. We asked the hotel to review the security camera footage and provide us with an official written statement. The staff member stated that he had parked the car himself and that the damage may have occurred while he was parking it, offering, “You can have the car repaired and I will pay for it afterwards.” However, they refused to provide an official statement and said they could not share the camera footage due to data protection regulations. We were also told, “Half the fault is yours and half is mine.” When we spoke with the hotel manager, instead of offering a solution, she said that involving the police would make the process lengthy and ruin our holiday. She also made the sarcastic remark, “What do you expect me to do, buy your car because this damage happened?” Although we were given a valet card when handing over our car, the hotel later claimed that they did not provide valet service and only assisted with parking. With the involvement of the police, we eventually reached an agreement that the repair costs would be covered. After returning to Istanbul, we had to spend approximately five days dealing with the repair process. We were very satisfied with the hotel’s general service and the other staff during the first two days; however, the sarcastic and unhelpful attitude of the management after the incident negatively affected our entire holiday. We recommend that guests be cautious when handing their vehicles over to hotel staff.

Perfect, fantastic, friendly, professional, gorgeous, heavenly!