When choosing a hotel, we used the following criteria: a large green area, the possibility of walking, small buildings, an affordable price.
I will say right away that, after reading about the number of rooms, I settled on a family room, the area and location of which suited the best, and the cost for three differed by 1000 UAH. Standard rooms are really small, especially for a family, this can cause inconvenience!
We arrived at the hotel early in the morning, met, put on bracelets, and sent for breakfast. English-speaking guys at the reception, although sometimes a Russian-speaking young lady appears. After breakfast, at 9 o'clock, they came up and asked about the possibility of settling. Without any "winks" was offered an excellent room with two balconies in the eighth building. But we were not satisfied with the view of the boulevard, initially we wanted a view of the Dolphin pool in the relax zone. To this, our guide, having contacted the administration, replied that the room we needed would be ready at standard time. They told me to change and wait. At 2 o'clock they settled in building 9, with a side view of the sea, a large bathroom. The rooms are old but everything worked great. Thoughtful bathroom with good water heating, excellent mattresses, snow-white linen, tea set, daily cleaning, good soundproofing.
The area is large and green. Separately, I would like to highlight the mini zoo, where they spent a lot of time feeding numerous inhabitants. By the way, there are feeders for this.
For nutrition. I can't dispute other opinions, but for $400 per person, we ate shrimp dishes 2 times, mussels were also 2 times, and on one of the evenings they served crayfish, and, in my opinion, this is very good! Ice cream from 2 to 4 was 8 varieties, packaged, booze acceptable, Turkish coffee in the lobby bar.
Service. In general, the hotel team is client-centered. Only the waiters are focused on the German consumer and, accordingly, count on remuneration. But there are, of course, pleasant exceptions! There are 2 waiters named Ali, professionals in their field. Tablecloths are changed after each client, drinks are brought.
Beach. Excellent, no rock outcropping. There were enough sunbeds even though the hotel was full. There are no mattresses, the sun loungers are new, with soft inserts.
I can recommend the hotel. It is good for adults and very good for children. The promenade along the entire coastline, good infrastructure, proximity to tourist sites are the features of the hotels in this region of Colakli, and here you will be met by hotels for any budget, but Alba is a good choice for a family trip!
Of the 4 hotels offered by the girl from the travel agency, Alba Resort was chosen - choosing between Side and Kemer. Why this hotel? Lots of positive reviews on various tourist sites, especially regarding the beach and food.
Behind him are also many videos on youtube, I really liked what I saw.
Departure from Lviv 11:25, arrival in Antalya a little later than 14:00, to the hotel (an hour's drive from the airport) get a little after 16:00. Very quickly register at the reception, put on bracelets and spend in the room - standard, small, kind of submissive, but neat, clean. There is even a sea view from the balcony. The air conditioner works, the key to the door in the form of a card with a chip on the door is special. lock. Hot water is available. All buildings are 3-storey, there is an elevator everywhere.
The main restaurant is closed at this time, as lunch is over, we go for a snack at the pool bar. The waiter in Russian does not boom-boom, English understands something. Here is the first pleasant surprise: although the menu at the bar is small and more like fast food, but there are some salads, pizza, fish! in batter, I'm not talking about burgers, fries, nuggets ...And snacks are very tasty. Is there also alcohol, which is so necessary after washing? and to get a sense of relaxation: tequila, gin, whiskey, vodka, wine, champagne, Baileys, beer (delicious, Tuborg), as well as various cocktails: both alcoholic and non-alcoholic.
After a hearty and quick snack and a good rest, we go to the beach, of course. We do not pay attention to the pools, because we came primarily by sea.
Going down to the sea, we pass a security booth with a security guard inside, exit through the gate (closes at midnight, opens at 06:00 am) from the hotel on a walking path that stretches along the coast past all the first line hotels in the park, which is planted with beautiful trees and vegetation that is very well cared for. We cross this path and go down to the sea. On the way to the right we pass our Beach Bar, where after 10:00 drinks are served, after 12:00 you can eat, the menu is the same as in the pool bar, the only one at the bar sits grandmother in a lotus position and bakes Turkish tortillas stuffed with minced meat and cheese.
Just below the path ends at the entrance to the beach. On the left 1 tap to wash the sand from the feet and 2 showers to rinse the body from salt water. Right 2 toilets - small but clean.
The beach is very big. Along the beach to the first line of sunbeds (4 such lines) melts a boardwalk.
The beach is very high quality fine sand, clean. A volleyball net is stretched on the beach. There are a lot of sunbeds, all under a canopy from the sun. All sunbeds are in good condition and modern. If you want to lie on the first line, you need to take a deck chair at about 7 am. There are vacationers who occupy 3-4 sunbeds in the morning, leaving some of their belongings on them, and come to use them in the evening, at 16. Therefore, it seems that a lot of sunbeds are occupied. Beach towels are changed to plastic cards in the Spa, which is not very convenient, because the Spa is located in the 5th building (near the building with the reception and the main restaurant, but far from the sea) and towels can be changed only from 8 to 12 am. Exchange cards until 19:00. That is, if you are on the beach, as we are until 20:00, towels had to be taken to the room and hung on the balcony.
Sea. There are no words here. Gorgeous. Open. The event is perfect, gradual.
The bottom is sandy, no special shoes are needed.
In our period of rest the waves were quite high, but in the morning quite calm, to the buoys (150-200 meters) you could swim without swallowing water. But rocking on the waves is also very exciting. The water is very warm, clean, even when the tide or wind from the sea, almost no debris or algae come. The fish are very small and small.
To the right of the beach offers a variety of water activities.
Restaurant. Opening hours: breakfast 07:00-10:00; brunch 10:10–10:30; lunch 12:30-14:00; dinner 19:00–21:00. From 23:00 to 06:00 the restaurant has a limited amount of food, but if an early excursion or departure from the hotel - you can have a snack or take with you.
The menu of the restaurant is extremely diverse. Breakfast is always a little easier for lunch or dinner, but not limited to eggs and toast.
There are always many salads, cheeses, fruits, even tahini halva and honey in honeycombs, not to mention pancakes drizzled with nutella, porridge, various olives, cereals, jams, sausages, tea, juices, milk ...
Lunches and dinners are just gorgeous. The choice of dishes is very large. Constantly on the menu are several types of fish (including wild salmon! ), Chicken, several types of beef (very soft and delicious), again, salads, olives, various cheeses, soups 1-2 types, watermelons, melons , nectarines, dried apricots, figs, raisins ...Lots of delicious sweets and desserts. Tuna almost every day, once there were mussels and roast lamb. However, the food is very diverse for every taste. The hotel is very busy with tourists, so despite the fact that the tables in the restaurant are many, sometimes you need to circle around a bit to find free.
In the pools vacationers swim even at night, no one is particularly expelled, there is one person from the staff who can sometimes come up and culturally remind that the pool is closed after 20:00. In general, the staff is very polite. No one makes any remarks even when tourists take food out of the restaurant on plates!
The amphitheater is located next to the pool bar, there are various performances every night. There is also a small dance floor near the bar, and artists with live music often perform. If someone wants to meet, then he is there.
The hotel is very crowded with tourists, most of whom are Russians. There are also many Turks, there are Germans, Poles, Czechs, Ukrainians. Waiters try to tip - serve drinks, snacks, but tip is usually given only by Germans.
There are also many children of all ages, which speaks of a more family-oriented hotel.
The nights are quiet, there were no riots, partly because the hotel is not cheap, people are all tolerant and adequate.
On the second floor above the main restaurant there are two a la carte restaurants: seafood and Italian. There is also another bar with access to the terrace, which offers a magnificent view of the sea. The bar also has a very cozy atmosphere and comfortable sofas and chairs. Valya cards must be registered at the reception from 10:00 to 11:00. Also there you choose the menu for dinner (19:00). Went to the sea. Honestly, I left no impressions. Yes, the waiters try very hard, but to put it mildly, the dishes were not surprising. Even shrimp, which are difficult to cook incorrectly, were oversalted and tasteless. They also offer a wine list with Turkish wines, but the prices for them, in my opinion, should be cheaper.
You can order standard drinks included in the tour price.
Rooms are cleaned daily if you need to change towels - just throw them on the floor in the bathroom, and change when cleaning.
In the hotel spa you can do peeling, massage, hammam - all for a fee. There is also an on-site spa. If someone wants to run in the morning - please choose a beach or walking path.
I tried to touch on the most important aspects of staying at the hotel. The rest was wonderful, and the friendly staff helped him in every way.
We complained to the Guest Relation Manager and to the head office of Anex Tour and - oh my god! - rooms were found, our reservation was found with written wishes. It turns out they just didn't notice. The hotel is not clean.
Service, to put it mildly, unobtrusive. Hygiene products were requested for 3 days to no avail, I had to take at least shampoo on my own on a cart. Do not buy bath accessories in 5*. There is practically no animation. But against this dim background, I want to note a really gorgeous beach, excellent territory and really good food. Something like this.
On the first day, we were late for lunch at the main restaurant - it is open from 12.30 to 14.00. They came to have a bite to eat at the bar near the pool, they didn’t like the food terribly, and they took everything different. The next day we went to the guesthouse to clarify whether it is really impossible to give rooms nearby in a quiet place. An hour later, they found two rooms near 4306 and 4307 in a more or less quiet place, but they said that it was impossible to move now, since the rooms had not been cleaned. I asked first to look at the room, when we went up to room 4307 together with the gestrelation, it turned out that the room was free and cleaned, but you can still move only tomorrow, since our room, where we are now, cannot be cleaned today - a paradox.
Rooms are old and soundproofed. The gel dispenser in the room did not work and there was no shampoo either. There was only 2 soaps. They approached the reception and asked to fix it, since they didn’t take shampoo or gels with them, they still went to a five-star hotel - they expected that there would be elementary things. Until the end of the holiday, they did not fix it. On the 4th day, on the cart, the maid saw that there was still shampoo, but it was not clear why they did not put it in the rooms.
We went swimming before breakfast, so there were no particular problems with sunbeds in the future (but those who like to sleep and came to the sea by 9-10 o'clock could not find sunbeds for themselves).
The sea is amazing!! ! The area is great. The food in the main restaurant is good and everything is very tasty. Alcohol is standard. I can’t say anything for the animation, since we were all the time near the sea. Near the pool in the afternoon, when we went for lunch, there were some competitions, and in the evening there was also something in the amphitheater. Wi-fi only in the pool bar is free and quite poor. Paid for 7 days $ 18, but also wants to be better. SAFE paid for 7 days - $ 9 (the first time I meet this in a five-star hotel).
There is a buffet, chefs stand behind the glass and put everything that you say or show on a plate. Especially no one disinfects the tables. The beds are placed close to each other. Masks are asked to be worn at the entrance to the restaurant for lunch and dinner (for breakfast, whoever wants to wear them, most without masks). For a couple of days there was a line at the entrance to the restaurant. We will not visit this hotel for the second time.
I must say right away that the hotel is old, the rooms are appropriate. But! The room is very clean and tidy. The plumbing is glowing.
Cons: Small rooms with small balconies. Wifi only in the pool bar area. The hotel offers paid Wi-Fi. We took a Turkish SIM card and did not bathe for all 10 days. The Internet is fast, it catches absolutely everywhere, you can distribute it to two devices.
And then only pluses!
The food is delicious and varied. And everywhere, including a pool bar and a beach bar. The specifics of covid: the entrance to the restaurant is only in a mask and the food is put on the cook's plates. Naturally, as much as you want. All inclusive has not been canceled.
Animators are working. All shows, competitions, games, etc. outdoors only.
There is some kind of disco in Side, also under the open sky. In it, together, led by animators, they are taken from different hotels.
By the way, not all hotels are open. And in those that have opened, settlement is allowed only by 60%. So the hotel is not full.
There was often live music in the evenings.
For children in the pool, there are several good water slides, the town of the Smurfs, ponies, a small zoo and a lake with Flamingos. We met with my son mostly closer to dinner))) They were worn by a large company of children, they were high)))
Outside the territory there is a huge walking road that leads for many kilometers along the park and the sea.
Well, the sea is naturally clean and awesomely warm!
Turks are traditionally friendly and welcome guests.
As a result, we had a great rest.