Sunis Efes Royal Palace

Our holiday plans turned out to be nightmare due to mismanagement of hotel administration and lack of communication. Instead of taking responsibility and increasing the security level and customer satisfaction, they tended to blame the customers without providing adequate messaging and signs. They do not have enough staff who can check pools or walk around systematically or frequently enough to warn guests. They forced us to leave hotel. You are not safe there. Stay away.

Very disappointed. Will be 5 days where mismanagement, lack of communication and dangerous malpractice have allowed families to bathe in contaminated pool water. The pools have been shut down in 8 different incidents in a succession of 4 days with management totally oblivious or blaming guests defecating in the pools! No adequate messaging, signs (the amber flag, fine to swim, was left up all day in one of the main pools), only one announcement in 5 hours today when all 3 pools were closed ALL DAY from 11:30 am.. Staff saying 2 days to fix, then 2 hours, then open at 8am tomorrow and now midday tomorrow on day FOUR of mayhem. LIfeguards (who never manned the ocean pier when it was very rough waves), did not check pools or walk around systematically or frequently enough to warn guests. Guests frequently jumping into pools unbeknownst to the dangers OR the subsequent chlorine chemicals! And then being shouted to get out with,'Danger. Danger.' AN ABSOLUTE shambles.

A very unpleasant hotel experience. They keep you waiting—when we arrived, we had to wait 12 hours before we were given a room. The medical assistance was terrible. They do not help you at all. Instead of providing something as simple as a fever-reducing medicine, they send you to a private hospital, telling you that the transportation is free. What they do not tell you is that you may end up paying thousands of euros for the examination. When you ask for medication, they simply say the hotel has none. This is by far the worst hotel we have ever stayed at in Turkey. If you ask for antipyretics, they tell you they do not have any medicines at all. If you ask where the nearest pharmacy is, they claim there isn't one nearby, so you are left to search for one on your own. They were perfectly willing to leave our 9 years old daughter with a 39-40°C (104°F) fever after we refused to go to their private hospital. The management of Efes Royal Palace Resort is responsible for such a practices, because they do not provide even Basic first aid. They do not have any medicine. They do not help their guests—they only seem interested in making money from them by sending them to private hospital. I had to spend hours walking around, asking and begging for help until I finally managed to find medicine for my daughter in the villige 10 km nearby.

First of all, as regulars at 5-star luxury hotels in Turkey—such as Titanic Deluxe, Rixos, or Kaya Palazzo—I do not consider this property a true 5-star, but rather a 4-star plus, as mentioned by others. ​Arrival We arrived around 11:00 PM for a 17-night stay, only to find that the sea-view room we had booked was unavailable. We were placed in a small room with a double bed and a sofa bed overlooking the parking lot. After spending the night there, we had to go back to reception twice to get what we had actually paid for. The manager on duty was unpleasant and simply told us to come back around 2:00 PM. On top of that, we had to carry our own luggage—unacceptable for a 5-star establishment! ​Fitness Center We had to complain about the hygiene of the gym equipment: months of accumulated dust, cobwebs in the corners of the walls, a broken fridge, and warm bottled water. Definitely not up to 5-star standards! ​Rooms I strongly recommend booking a sea-view room, as they offer noticeably better comfort and space (we stayed in room 2415). ​Minibar It is not restocked daily; you constantly have to ask for it to be refilled. ​Room Maintenance The TV was pulled off its mount on one side, requiring a technician to come and fix it. These checks should be done before assigning a room! As for the electric kettle, we had to ask for a replacement because it was leaking water everywhere. ​What We Appreciated ​The buffet staff, who were very responsive, friendly, and helpful. ​The cleanliness of the outdoor areas (pool, beach, pier), the drink service, entertainment, and evening shows. ​The abundance of sun loungers (more than enough available) and the morning beach cleaning. ​The impressive overall architecture and infrastructure of the hotel. ​The Wi-Fi coverage: a stable connection averaging around 10 Mbps throughout the resort and on the beach, despite the crowd. ​Summary Like other guests who know true 5-star standards, I feel that despite having "Palace" in its name, this hotel rates closer to a 4-star plus. We did appreciate the complimentary gesture provided in our room for the inconveniences, and we hope management corrects these details in the future. ​Useful Info To visit Ephesus, the hotel offers private chauffeur-driven cars for €120 (after 3:00 PM, without a guide). Please note: the entrance fee for foreign tourists is €40 + €25 for the museum (whereas locals pay €5)—keep this in mind for your budget. You can also use Uber or InDrive for taxis, and Airalo to get 4G data on the local Turkish network.

We had an amazing vacation and thoroughly enjoyed our stay. The food was excellent, the rooms were clean and comfortable, with large beds and spacious walk-in showers. A special thank you to Faruk for giving our kids an unforgettable jet ski experience, and to Nazgul and Fatima for making every dinner feel warm and special with their outstanding service. We highly recommend this resort and would be happy to visit again!