1. Cool views, the panorama is fascinating.
2. A good choice of food, for lunch in the evening two kinds of meat (chicken, beef) nuggets, etc. Fruits and desserts are always enough. Fish is served for dinner every few days. The bar has more or less normal beer and soft drinks. If you like heavy alcohol - take it in duty-free, because it will not be here.
3. Rooms with sea views.
4. Clean water, gentle sunset, shallow the next 20 meters, just great for children. You can watch the fish swimming near the shore.
Of the minuses:
1. Lots of stairs (subjectively) who are too lazy to walk do not take this hotel simply.
2. Slightly dirty beach, sand does not sift.
The safe is locked. They said it is necessary - go take the master key and open it. They didn't risk it. The next day, we saw how an employee carries the same safe (not ours) on his shoulder somewhere. In the bathroom, all metal holders are covered with some kind of coating. The mirror is broken. There was no replenishment of soap, shampoo and shower gel at all. Those. three bottles of each product per week. Cleaning a couple of times was according to the principle - wipe the floors in 3 minutes, pick up towels on the floor and garbage. And, well, the bedspreads on the bed will be fixed. That's all. Open terraces (a la a balcony that stretches along the rooms) did not see that they were washed even once in all the days - what fell and lay around.
As for food - you won’t stay hungry, but don’t count on pickles. Distribution of dishes by employees, but global but - all trays are at a distance of 3 to 4 meters from you and you a) need to figure out what is there and whether you want to try it, b) explain to the employee with gestures what and how much to pour you. And this is in the conditions of rather considerable queues (on the last day there was a fight for a salad, though between locals). Although the employees of the canteen (it’s out of place to call it a restaurant) are trying, it can be seen that the waiters are mostly very prompt, they prepare tables, they try to help as much as they can (although with such a load this is quite problematic). The air conditioners were almost never turned on, the steam room was terrible. As in the lobby (but there are at least windows open at 90 degrees).
The next big minus is the beach. Just screwed up. I can't find another word. Moreover, if you walk along the coast line, then after 100-200 meters the city beach (paid), so there the sand is poured in a good layer, and it is cleaned every day well. Why you can not clean up the hotel, where the beach is two or three times smaller - a mystery. Yes, and in hotels further - also followed the beaches much more than in this hotel.
The sea is clean, beautiful, much cooler compared to the Mediterranean. In the pools, the water is warmer (one on the 6th, the second on the 11th floor). For the fact that 6 people are watching more, there is also a bar nearby.
The elevator that goes in the buildings across the road goes down to the 1st floor (go out into the construction and repair corridor with a battered floor), but goes up only from 2 to 3 (you need to climb a couple of stairs). I can’t even imagine how older people moved with crutches and small (from six months to one and a half years) children.
There are several stairs (stone) in the main building without railings at all. When the light turned off (and it was cut down every day from small intervals to half an hour), it was simply scary to go. Yes, and the elevator ride is also dumb, because. they are very small (except one) and it is very hot there. A couple of minutes is fine, but sitting there for at least 10 minutes is hardly realistic.
So it's time to close the hotel for renovation for at least 3-4 years.
Keep this in mind when choosing a hotel.
We arrived at 15:00, check-in from 14:00, so we did not wait. By the way, regarding the previous review, if the rules check in from 14, then they settle from 14 both Turks and non-Turks. Turks, by the way, are also accommodated in the upper rooms, so the biased attitude towards Russian speakers in the reviews is exaggerated.
Since the hotel is located on the ledges of a mountain, all rooms face the sea, which is rare in hotels. And the view is gorgeous, every morning you get up and you can’t believe that you are surrounded by this beauty, your mood immediately rises!
The rooms are spacious, standard, the smallest with one double and one single bed.
I don’t complain about food at all, everything was there, both meat and fish, cereals, pasta, potatoes, stews, various salads, cheeses, fruits, sweets. We didn’t overeat, we took as much as we usually eat at home. Because of snacks at 16-17 hours (burger, nuggets, borek, fries, ice cream, watermelon, cookies) you can eat almost all day long.
As for alcohol, I'm not an expert here, in other hotels I don't know what kind of alcohol. But here the wine was from bottles that are sold in stores, and the locals drink this, and you can take beer such as Turkish Ephesus in the store for comparison. Cocktails by the pool bartender (Hamza) are better than at the beach bar.
Boat excursion: I didn’t go myself, but according to the stories of those who were from the hotel guide and from the sellers on the beach, I can conclude: the tour is more expensive from the guide, but the boat is better, newer, 2 floors, with a disco, better food, plus an excursion in Russian. Of course, $40 is too much even for an improved service, so take your pick. When they open a message with Fr.
Kos I advise everyone to go there for a day, a round-trip ticket from Bodrum is 20 €, sail for 40 minutes, enjoying the views.
Infrastructure: on the beach, go left along the coast and you can go to the promenade, with small shops, cafes, a market of jewelry and souvenirs. In the middle of the embankment there is a turn to the bus station, there are also ATMs where you can withdraw money, supermarkets such as Migros and Bim are also nearby. Minibuses go to Bodrum or Ortakent, where there is a Midtown Shopping Mall. Payment by credit card, you can ask to stop near the mall, if to Bodrum, then the final one is in the old market, in the center. For entertainment, you can also go, you must have a HES code with you, they are not allowed into many places without it.
There are also minibuses from the hotel reception, ask the reception for a schedule.
Internet: in the hotel it is rather weak, it may not catch in the room, it caught on the balcony with us, it catches well near the spa, at the pool, on the beach.
There may not be a connection right away, since the database is being loaded, you have to wait 3-4 hours from the moment you check in at the hotel. I had to work, and I bought myself a SIM card (price is about 20€). You can buy it at the airport upon arrival or later in one of the communication shops (there is no one on the embankment, you need to go to Ortakent or, they say, google what salons are there). I took from Turk Telecom for 17€, 15GB of internet, I need to top it up every six months to keep the card active and take it for the next year.
As for the blackout: we also found this period, it is associated with fires, power lines are also on fire, guys.
Cleaning: they clean every day, sometimes we even refused, because we don’t litter a lot. Towels are changed, jars of gel had to be asked to change, but the girls gave a whole bunch of them without any problems and apologized for not noticing.
Check-out: at 12:00, but you can stay at the hotel, swim, eat, use towels, there is a shower near the pool and on the beach, you can wash yourself before leaving, if you have a lot of time before departure, you can just chill near the bar, at the reception or go to town. No one will leave you for longer, so be careful when choosing a tour and departures.
Thanks to the hotel and staff for a wonderful stay! The sea and the view are amazing!
The room was given clean, after repair, across the road overlooking the sea, everything worked in the room. Cleaning was every day so, on the four. Towels and bed linen had to be changed. The hotel is under renovation, so some rooms are good, but some are not suitable for habitation. If you come across such a number, you can ask the manager and they will change the number for you. The staff, by the way, does not know Russian, understands English, so if you do not know English, then sign language and Google will help.
I want to warn you that the Russian-speaking hotel guide Elnur will not help in any way, he only says that he can help, in fact, he did not help solve a single issue, moreover, he sets the staff against tourists, if you did not take a tour from him, then he can calmly tell the manager to refuse to change your number. My friends are in this situation. If you need to resolve the issue, go immediately to the general manager of the hotel, they always go to a meeting.
The food is normal, no one will go hungry, a lot of salads and fruits, if you are a gourmet and love variety, then you are not here. With sweets, somehow not very good. But I really liked the terrace that comes out of the restaurant, you take food, sit down, a beautiful view of the sea and enjoy.
The sea is wonderful, gentle, clean, calm, gentle entry, sand. The sunbeds are butt so everyone runs early in the morning to take a sunbed.
I liked the spa, the girls work with soul, thanks to Sonya.
Bars open all day, drinks as much as you want.
There is a slide but when we were there it didn't work.
There are two pools on the lower and upper terraces, the children like it, they splashed with pleasure.
I had a good rest, for me a wonderful sea and a beautiful view are the most important thing.
Since the hotel is located on a mountain, it has 11 floors, there are a lot of steps, of course there is an elevator, but you have to wait because there are a lot of people, but it didn’t bother me, I was in no hurry, while we were waiting for the elevator, you can admire the views, and the views of the sea just amazing!!!
I really liked the location of the restaurant: you take food and go to the terrace overlooking the sea is very beautiful. As for food: there is enough food, a lot of salads and fruits, no one will go hungry, but if you want something special and a lot of variety, then you are not here.
The sea is wonderful, gentle and clean, calm, sand, smooth entry. For the sake of such a sea, I am ready to close my eyes to some inconvenience. Sunbeds are butt, so everyone runs early in the morning to take a sunbed.
I liked the spa, the girls work with soul, thanks to Sonya.
There is a slide, but when we were there it didn't work.
I would especially like to say about the hotel guide Elnur: I have never met such guides, did not help to solve a single issue, gives false information, sets the staff against tourists, friends had such a situation: they did not take a tour from him, he told the manager to do not change the number, then they turned to the general manager and the number was changed. If you have any questions, please contact the staff immediately, they always go to a meeting.
The staff does not know Russian, so there are certain communication inconveniences, but sign language and Google will help, unless you know English, of course, many people understand English there.
I had a good rest, for me the sea, the sun, a wonderful view, and all this for such money is quite normal.
BUT! The views from the hotel are amazing, the sea is gorgeous. For the price we paid, we put up with all the problems. Yes, alcohol and cocktails are great! The bartenders are trying!
The food is tolerable, the sweets are completely tasteless - this is a rarity for Turkey. There is work to be done at the hotel.
The reception staff makes responsible decisions only after communicating with the general manager. I had to always go to the general manager to solve all the problems.
Hotel guide from the tour operator "Compass" Elnur - it is necessary to change such a guide. Help ZERO. Nothing helped, I had to decide everything myself. Every day after the meeting, he fed "breakfasts" that they would change the number, but he did nothing in this regard. And on the last day, he began to put spokes in the wheels. I agreed with the general manager to extend the room for 20 euros until 17:00. Elnur, having learned that we didn’t buy the tour from him, said something about us to the reception staff and they didn’t extend our number! BUT! Again, communication with the general manager decided everything.
Another specificity of the hotel is walking up the stairs. Yes, there are elevators, but sometimes you won't get there because there are a lot of people. Keep this in mind when choosing a hotel.
Conclusion: for moderate money, if you know how to communicate with the right people, if you are not embarrassed by walking up the stairs - you can safely go to this hotel, the views and the sea are BOMB here!
Here is my first video about the settlement and the first impression:
https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=p1hxz0HwVW0
I will have a lot of videos on my channel about this hotel, its surroundings, a yacht tour and a trip to Bodrom by public transport. So welcome to my youtube channel. Subscribe and comments are welcome!
Alcohol g. . . down. The manager says that this is a problem for all of Turkey. I think it's the hotel's problem. At the administrative desk, all employees do not understand Russian. Given the very poor wi-fi in a bad hotel, it’s impossible to talk. The hotel manager is a girl with a big mouth and that's it. We came for eleven nights. It took three days to get the room up and running. The guide says I will solve the issue by your numbers and you will have a surprise from the GENERAL DIRECTOR of the hotel and then I realized that everything is bad. Three days later we were moved from a double room to a single room with non-working air conditioners in the month of JULY. Three guys tried to repair and brought the condensate to the room))).
Guide Elnur is a different story. Deceiver and liar. Offers a $40 yacht tour that sells on the beach for $18 per person. The beach towel (for which you need to make a deposit in the amount of $ 5) is not changed for eleven nights, such as it is clean)))). The beach bartender Firatsem is a bearded bastard. With all-inclusive, he says to an eight-year-old child - there is no Pepsi Cola for you, go to the dining room. This redneck is constantly out of ice. Hides mint for mojito. You ask for whiskey-cola pours vodka-cola because the Russian-speaking. I say complain about you - he says I'm not afraid. demands money for alcoholic cocktails. I think that the owner of the hotel does not delve into the problems of his property at all. Don't come here ever in your life.
- beautiful clear sea
- decent food
- there were no questions about drinking either (a lot of cocktails, wine, beer... in general, everything is ok with this)
- beautiful area with lots of lovely flowers
Minuses:
- we have never met such a rude, rude staff at the reception in our entire travel history.
They settled us in the building across the road to the highest rooms with unlocked doors!
In the course of a grandiose scandal, it turned out that these were the filthiest annex rooms, and according to the documents, we have standards in the main building.
Naturally, we began to scandal even more, threatening the tourist police and the usual one too.
2 chickens from the reception strenuously pretended that they did not understand us, and scribbled to us on Google translator that they could not help us in any way.
We started calling the guide. The same redneck Elnur tried to yell at us that these are classical standards. But his mouth was closed quickly. In the end, she said that she would move in the morning.
At night we slept with open doors!
In the morning, out of 3 assigned rooms, these chmoshniki at the reception gave us the keys to 2 rooms, such as there is no 3rd. Another scandal. . .
In general, with the fight we knocked out decent numbers.
We went to Ephesus, at 5 in the morning, we come to the reception for lunch boxes, they give 5 instead of 6, explaining that a child is not supposed to have a lunch box! After a tough dialogue, the child received a lunchbox.
This attitude was absolutely killing!
At the bars, in the canteen, the attitude is better.
Animation is useless. 3 slams 2 stomp.
The beach is not cleaned, dirty.
Sun loungers are sorely lacking, it is necessary to borrow at 5 in the morning.
In general, this village Ornament, where this hotel is no, you can take a walk on the 1st unfortunate street. There is nowhere to change money, there is no pharmacy, everything is in Bodrum. There is nothing here.
By the way, don’t take excursions from this Elnur, he wrings big money, there is a tent on this dead street, where it is many times cheaper than excursions (walk along the beach to the end and straight).
The hotel is all in elevators and stairs, consists of tiers. We were not tense, but who does not like this, keep in mind.
It was comforting that we went for a penny (8 nights for 20.000 for three).
Bottom line: if you knock out normal numbers and go cheap, then you can take it, but you need to understand that help must be knocked out with a fight.
By the way, the doors of our old rooms remained unrepaired by our departure.
So, the Light House Bodrum 4 * hotel is located in the village of Ortakent on the shores of the beautiful Bitez Bay, and the nature of this place makes you distract from all the problems of hotel management. And there are many problems.
English is spoken only by a girl (day administrator, comes after 9-00) and several managers in the bar and restaurant (they still need to be figured out). In Russian - only the electrician Hasan (call at the reception) and your hotel guide, who needs to be asked about everything in time. So, learn Turkish.
Before 14-00, only Turks populate. Upon arrival, from 7 am, in the lobby we had seen enough and heard enough scandals, including outraged Turks. We didn’t quite understand what we were arguing about, but then, as we settled in, we found out that there were plenty of reasons.
The Light House Bodrum 4 * hotel was conceived on a grand scale, but, apparently, there were not enough resources in the process of implementing the project or the author lost interest in it. They write that it was built "in 2005, the last renovation took place in 2017. " But the technical equipment of the rooms (TVs, hair dryers and air conditioners) is 10 years older than 2005... The interior of the lobby and rooms are "remnants of the former luxury. " But it's not that scary. Worse, apart from the lobby, restaurant and dance floor, nowhere is cleaned. At all. Is this hotel licensed under covid-19?... when many others never opened this season. . .
The elevators are dirty and stuffy, the stairs between the floors are overgrown with sand and cobwebs, the beach is symbolically cleaned after the vacationers in the morning, each to himself, wash and wipe the sunbed from sand and dew. In general, the concept of the hotel is "an active vacationer will create conditions for himself and bring the hotel back to life, and a passive one will suffer. " Smells like sewer from the sink? Correct the corrugation under the washbasin, where you forgot to make a knee so as not to spoil the air. Don't like the landscape? Here are two shovels sticking out of the lawn, you can participate))). Wet floor? Buy a rag and wipe it yourself (faster than chasing staff for half a day), etc.
Could not understand why the sand of the hotel beach is always wet? But soon they saw that the pool drains and storm drains from all floors were brought to the beach, not counting the drains from the beach showers. The toilet near the restaurant is far from being heard in the morning, the miasma is like from a Soviet reserved seat car. Cleaning starts after 10:00. There is not enough toilet paper, so the paper towels there also run out quickly. In the women's restroom, one cubicle out of three is open. . . it doesn't seem to be cleaned every day. . .
The rooms are not cleaned, they just take out the trash; this is a common story, even "baksheesh" does not always help. For 10 days of stay, the bed was never changed, towels were changed once, after a "promotion" of 10 tl. A declared daily change of towels and every three days - bed. Plumbing is leaking, friends in the room were dripping from the ceiling near the lamp, which they reported, but the repairmen could not fix the problem. The shower is designed so that the bathroom is always flooded (this is a classic), but there is nothing to wipe. We bought floor rags in Carrefour, but our rag was taken out with the garbage in our absence. On the third day, we "flew" the electronic key, could not get into the room. The problem was fixed within an hour by changing the battery in the lock. Later they brought fruit and a bottle of wine from the hotel, we thought to make amends. But a few days later, the same thing happened to our friends with the key, they decided for half a day. There were no "apologies". We realized that it was just a misunderstanding... In the bathroom there is only liquid soap, which is also shampoo, apparently. The drain in the toilet needs to be corrected so that water does not flow all the time. Our balcony is about two meters (from where from the 8th level there was a delightful view of the bay), was equipped with an old fan dryer and had not been cleaned since last summer for sure... The air conditioner in the room blew... in one mode...
Now about the good. There is almost always water in the rooms. The hotel has its own beach, in the morning there are enough sunbeds for everyone, in the afternoon and in the evening - not always. Water, despite sewage, is clear. You can walk to the beach to the neighbors, and "around the corner to the left" to the city beach of Ortakent.
Food all day long, almost without a break from 7 to 21. Bars work properly both on the beach and near the pool (their manager drives like sidorov goats), there is everything that is stated. The food in the restaurant is simple but tasty. Grilled fish 3-4 times in 10 days, grilled chicken, chicken skewers - a couple of times in 10 days. Eggplant with meat, baked mackerel or horse mackerel, stewed and fresh vegetables, fruits, watermelon, cheese melon, two types of sausage, olives, sausages in tomato, beans, rice, bulgur, etc. everyday. Breakfast - mediterranean standard + cereal with milk and curdled milk. No coffee machine!! ! Instant coffee only. Decent tea. Juices of four kinds, wine, raki, cocktails (didn't drink, but seem to be in demand), sodas of all stripes. tasty and very high in calories), grandmothers soaked in syrup and brownies. You won't go hungry, you'll find something for yourself. The waiters are trying, the cooks too. The hotel treats children well (which distinguishes the Turks in general).
In the evening - dance floor + bar, Saturday and Monday live music. The hotel rises from the beach to the lobby by 8 levels (floors) so the music, if you are not a fan, is not too disturbing in the rooms.
For those who are not ready for stairs, there are elevators, but still we are not talking about compactness, you will have to move up and down and back all the time in places without an elevator. Above the road that runs near the lobby is the continuation of the hotel uphill. We have not been there, but living there seems far from everything: the beach is the 1st level, the restaurant is the 2nd, the dance floor is the 3rd, the shop and SPA (it seems that it is still closed) is the 4th, further to the lobby there are 4 more floors. . . The pool is on the 5th level, clean, but we are not lovers of artificial reservoirs by the sea. . . There are always a lot of people there during the day, a bar is nearby, like the beach.
Embankment Ortakent directly to the left of the hotel beach, around the corner. There is a nearby bay with wonderful cafes and a long, long city beach. Very atmospheric and cheerful place.
Minibuses go to Bodrum every 15-20 minutes right next to the hotel, 5.85 tl (payment only with a card). Drive 30 minutes. Bodrum is a wonderful town, but noisy and bustling like an anthill. This is enough for us at home during the year, so we like to relax in quiet places. Ortakent is a great option in this regard. The picturesque Bitez, the beautiful sea, windsurfers, a good beach, the relaxed and friendly atmosphere of the summer embankment will melt the heart of any vacationer.
And Light House Bodrum 4* can only give 3. . .