Эй, там, на острове! Hey, there, on the island!

Hey, there, on the island of Eftalia! No, no, I don’t need a chest, I just want to be heard and paid attention to those disadvantages that exist and try to avoid them.
And I'll start from the beginning. End of May-beginning of June. 2 adults and a 12 year old child. Favorite Turkey. Tour operator Tui. We flew to Antalya with Air azur (the flight was delayed by 1 hour), back to Kyiv with the Rose of the Winds (departure on time). There are no complaints about the tour operator or the airlines, but on the contrary, I want to thank the accompanying guide Elvira from the Tui company on the Antalya-Alania route. I was sincerely glad to meet such a wonderful person who is in love with his work. Two hours of the most interesting story about the country, about national traditions, about the salt lake Van and its amazing cats, about Denizli roosters. Thanks!
And so, the hotel Eftalia Marine. Everything that they write about the possibility of negotiating with the reception desk with a surcharge for the best room is true. This is the very first thing we were offered. We bought the standard. Having paid 60 dollars. we got a family room. The room is excellent, on the 5th floor. Beautiful design in a marine style, everything suited us. Cleaning was normal, but I don't have any special requirements. The mini-bar is free, replenished regularly (2 mineral waters, 2 Pepsi, 2 forfeits, 2 sprites). Wi-Fi is free in the room, in the bars and in the hotel lobby. Soap, shower gels, some other little things were also replenished. Air conditioners cooled perfectly, hot water was constantly. In some reviews, they wrote about glass doors not to the ceiling in the toilet and shower. This is true, and, perhaps, for someone it will be uncomfortable (there is no such thing in the standard, there are ordinary doors), but this did not bother us. That's why number -5.

The staff is also pleasant, hardworking, especially in the main restaurant. They definitely do not mind 5.
There were no issues with places either in the main restaurant, or near the pools, or on the beach. I consider this a huge plus, given the number of tourists.
Now about the food itself. Food is modest. No, of course, I didn’t see hungry people, and we were full and satisfied. But, if you objectively analyze and compare with the experience of past travels and holidays in Turkish fives, then Eftalia loses unequivocally. The whole set of the traditional menu of Turkish hotels is present here, but the number of items on this menu is noticeably smaller. This also applies to fruits (there are even no oranges for breakfast, probably to buy a paid orange fresh))), and sweets (only once there was Turkish baklava), and the most important thing is the question of meat and fish. If they say that there is no fish and meat at all, then this is not true. But, the truth is that the choice, for example, for dinner consists of two positions: grilled fish and turkey with vegetables. Tragedy? Of course not. Have something to eat? Of course have. But, for a five, this is simply not enough... And, more, some things are difficult for me to understand... Why for breakfast or scrambled eggs or an ordinary fried egg (is it really so difficult to offer both)? Why is it necessary to put a person on this grilled fish or meat with vegetables, so that he separates "valuable products" for everyone on his own? Why ice cream two balls, shawarma 2 pcs. in one hand, well, it's funny (if not so sad)? The whole family must stand in line, since they want ice cream... Why is the children's table so poor, while there are so many small children resting in the hotel, and there is so little for them in the restaurant?
But, I still want to note that all the products were fresh, I did not observe any poisoning or similar troubles in the hotel. This is of course a plus. I put another plus for the Burgerland fast food restaurant. This establishment operates 24/7. There is an opportunity to form a burger for yourself (of course it will be far from perfect), eat french fries, soup, vegetables. I want to say that this restaurant will help out people who will arrive late in the evening, at night or in the morning, or will leave at such an inconvenient time.

Now about the territory and most importantly - the island. Near the Marin Hotel there are hotels of the Eftalia chain - Village, Ocean and Aqua. All hotels are located across the road from the beach through underground passages. I didn’t have the feeling of breaking the territory from the hull to the island, the road was easy and fast for me. Eftalia Island is an area by the sea, which can be used by guests of all hotels of the Eftalia chain. The territory is quite large with a la carte restaurants, bars, a pastry shop, ice cream points, gozleme and ayran, grilled wings, Belgian waffles, a Chill out restaurant where you can dine (shawarma, grilled potatoes, buns, vegetables). If we consider this territory, parallel to the road from Antalya towards Alanya, then it begins with a football field, an excellent water park (both the son and husband are delighted), a large amphitheater (for all hotels), a central pool (near which you can see animators, music plays , in general, the place is more lively), a Zip Line passes over this part of the territory, then a Pool bar with a pastry shop and a pool that I liked the most, the next one is a children's water park, a kids club, a Chill out bar and gazebo pavilions.
The area is clean, we really enjoyed spending time there. But there are also disadvantages. There are a lot of shops, bars, services from tenants in this area, somehow too much. And most importantly, queues. There are no special queues in the confectionery, for goslem, in Chill out, but chicken wings are something (they took only once, it's a pity for time), there is also a queue for ice cream, for Belgian waffles too. Well, somehow this is really bad there. Put a few people on the issue, open additional points (well, if only there was a desire))).
Now about the main disadvantage of Eftalia hotels - the beach. That's how cozy and clean the areas in the hotels are, how uncomfortable the unkempt beach is. Firstly, the coast is rocky, although the beach is sandy. I will describe the visits to the sea. And so, in front of the adult water park, the entrance is sandy with huge stones (of course, I don’t advise), for lovers of pebbles (the entrance opposite the pool, which is between the central pool and the children’s water park) - it went in crocs without problems, the water is cleaner, there are no sharp stones). Many people liked the sunset near the gazebo, but I didn’t, it’s really a sunset without stones, gray sand, but part of the beach there is the dirtiest and most uncomfortable. And the best entry for me was in front of the children's water park (in some places there are stones, but in general there is a fairly wide strip with a good sandy bottom, the beach for children is the best there). Unfinished breakwaters go from the shore into the sea (they also give a feeling of discomfort). There are also no buoys or a pontoon on the beach. Therefore, the beach is -3. You have to work with the beach, the island with its infrastructure is good, but the sea is also important.
About animation. There were good imported shows, local ones are simpler. Animators are not active at all. 4 days a week there was live music on the island. Twice a week, a foam disco on the beach (Monday and Friday, 15.00) - I liked it very much. Too often they held a neon party (instead of an evening show, a disco on the beach), too often even (probably a disco is easier to hold than an evening show).

Favorite place to relax on the island, after the evening show, the Chill out bar. In the evening, the island is full of vacationers, and few people get there. It works until 23.00. Good view of the sea and the lights of the villages. I liked this place very much.
And, a few more words about the hammam. Until 17.00 you can visit the hammam, sauna and steam room for free. You must bring a towel with you, they don't give you one. We visited the sauna and steam room without any problems, but there were some difficulties with the hammam. Employees ask hotel guests to wait while peeling and masks are being done in the hammam for clients. With such a system, you can not get into the hammam. We visited the hammam every day, we were persistent and on the second day there were no obstacles for us. So, of course, it shouldn't be like that. The service is declared in the All inc package, which means it should be. Therefore, you must remember that you do not come to the Spa for a visit (at a time convenient for the owners) and not for a free service (you paid for it already in the tour package).
And now my conclusions. We had a good rest, I bought a tour for a promotion and knew about the disadvantages of the hotel. Would I return to the hotel? For the right price, yes. There is nothing critically scary for me personally. If this hotel goes on sale, at the price of one of the lowest for the fives, then I think it's worth buying. If the hotel will cost like the average five in Turkey, then you can probably pick up something better.
If you have any questions, I'm ready to answer. Have a good rest and great weather. Yes, the water temperature was 24-25, air 27-33.