Between 15.06. 2023 to 29.06. 2023 the three of us (my wife and I and our grandson with us) rested at the Sural Garden Hotel (Side, Turkey).
We have chosen this hotel for the 3rd time in a row and have never regretted it.
In short (on a 5-point scale), the main indicators are:
Sea: 5+
Beach: 5+
Pool: 5+
Meals (including its organization): 5+
Accommodation: 5+
Cleanliness on the territory and in the hotel: 5+
General organization and punctuality of the daily routine: 5+
Service: 5+
Staff attitude: 5+
Children's program: 5+
A huge thank you to the entire Sural Garden Hotel staff team.
Absolutely everyone was invariably very patient, sympathetic and friendly.
Thanks to you, the holiday turned out just wonderful!
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We also thank Anna Pershukova (tourism manager at Regnum LLC, PEGAS TOURISTIK) and Ruslan (our guide).
This 3* hotel is part of the Sural hotel system. In addition to it, this system includes 3 more 5 * hotels. The founder of Suleyman Sural, died in 2017, after which, according to some reports, hotel management became decentralized, but friendly relations and coordination are definitely preserved.
Usually I carefully approach the choice of a hotel and book it 3-4 months in advance. But this year it so happened that it became clear whether we were flying or not flying less than 10 days before the vacation, and the decision had to be made quickly. For this reason, visa countries immediately disappeared, it is too hot in Egypt, Turkey remained, which we had not been to before. We chose this hotel and were not disappointed.
According to the tour operator, the Sural Garden Hotel is considered a 1st line hotel, but de facto it is located behind the territory of the Sural Saray Hotel and you have to go to the beach through this territory.
The hotel consists of 3 buildings: the main one (2 technical floors and 5 floors with rooms) and two 3-storey residential buildings. The area is small but well maintained.
We had a room on the 4th floor with a window to the east. Under the window there was a unkempt area with a chicken coop, the roosters started yelling from 4 am, but after a couple of days we stopped paying attention to them. The room itself corresponded to the declared area and photos. At first, a very small balcony upset us, then we realized that a large one was not needed - it was impossible to sit on it and enjoy the night air, it was too hot and stuffy. The equipment of the room is of high quality and serviceable, only 1 drawer jammed and, from time to time, the chair tried to fall apart. There are 6-7 Russian channels in the TV menu, but only TNT and STS worked, all channels with news blocks were blocked, I don’t know, by the hotel administration or the provider. I had to watch Euronews-Russia.
It was interesting to watch how they throw mud at Russia, and the truth peeps out from under this mud. (Example: A report about a renovated hospital, I don’t remember in which city. Text: these bad Russians fired on and damaged the hospital, but none of the patients or doctors were injured. Already on the second viewing, you think: why didn’t you get hurt? And it immediately becomes clear that there were no patients there, no doctors, only the Armed Forces of Ukraine. And so all the plots. But we understand, but the Europeans believe ... ).
The room was cleaned daily, linen was changed, but I can't say how often. Shampoo, shower gel, soap and drinking water (1.5 liters per person) were added as needed. The water in the tap is not potable, yellow, but there were no problems with hot water.
WiFi only at the reception and around the pool. You can connect no more than 2 devices per room. The speed of the external connection is so-so, when a lot of people gathered, it began to noticeably slow down.
And it looks like there are limits on the amount of pumping.
In the shop at the hotel (a good assortment, focused on holidaymakers, and prices are not too high), prices are in euros, they accept lira, dollars, euros and bank cards, including Mir cards from Sberbank. Maybe rubles, did not check.
The hotel has a hammam (free of charge) with massage (for a fee), we didn’t go, it doesn’t pull in the heat.
About nutrition. While choosing the hotel, I read some rave reviews about the food. Everything turned out to be true, I have not seen such a buffet in 5 *. The fish (Friday) and Turkish (Tuesday or Wednesday) days were especially pleasing. These days, additional tables with the corresponding dishes were put up for distribution. There was also a Japanese day, but rolls are not their forte. By the way, about the fish. Friends said that in Turkey they do not know how to cook fish. Maybe so, but this hotel is not the case.
Upset the attitude towards those guests who, for one reason or another, do not get to dinner or breakfast.
In this case, the flights got such that we were brought to the hotel at 21:00, just in time for the end of dinner, and picked up at 3:35. In a similar situation in Greece, a very decent dinner was waiting for us in the room, they even put a bottle of wine. Here we were taken to a restaurant and brought out a couple of plates of some snacks. You won't die of hunger, but no pleasure either. Thank you for not making us wait for the night soup (24:00-00:30). It was even worse when we left. We, on time, ordered lunch boxes and they gave us them. But when we looked inside, it became sad. A round burger bun, a small triangle of melted cheese, a single pack of butter, a tiny piece of cucumber and a quarter of a small tomato. Everything. Compared to the same Greece, the melancholy is green.
Beach. From the main building of the hotel to the beach, walk about 10 minutes at a leisurely pace. The beach is fine sand with a gentle entry into the water. On neighboring beaches, there are plates with a nervous surface in the water, it is not recommended to touch them.
On the beach there is a shower, changing cabins and, a little further, in a beach restaurant, a toilet. Beach towels are issued free of charge in the main building from 8 am, they are taken back there around 7 pm. You can not immediately change wet to dry. Trestle beds and umbrellas are free of charge, there were no mattresses declared in the description of the hotel.
There are 2 pools and slides. I can't say anything, I didn't go.
The main contingent in the hotel, in descending order, are Poles, Germans, Russians, Turks. The beach is dominated by Russians. There were many vacationers with children in the hotel, although there seems to be no children's animation in it.
Excursions. Excursions offered surprisingly little. Plane to Istanbul, bus Pamukkale (2 options) and Cappadocia. We took a two-day stay in Pamukkale (St. Nicholas Church, Pamukkale and Salda Lake with an overnight stay in a 5 * hotel with a thermal spring). In general, the trip was pleasant despite the very modest level of the hotel.
But obligatory shopping stops… 3 in each direction and each one is a loss of 40-50 minutes of time. This is if you do not need to turn aside and make a detour for half an hour. And very unlucky with the guide. They promised a Russian-speaking historian, in fact it turned out to be a decently Russian-speaking Turk Osman, who was trained as a guide. He competently organized the group, but he clearly lacked knowledge of history and he filled the pauses with very flat jokes. It's a pity, you could learn a lot of new and interesting things.
Didn't see any food outlets nearby. Within 500 meters from the hotel there are 2 nearby shopping centers, Sural Bazar and Deniz Bazar.
In general, they did not impress us, but in the building of the Sural Bazaar (the entrance from the street from the side farthest from the hotel) there is a good pharmacy (a large assortment of medicines, they can be ordered, they speak Russian, they accept Mir cards from Sberbank) and a network Migros supermarket with 1 letter M (as I understand it, the more letters M, the larger the store) (it resembles Pyaterochka in terms of a set of goods, they don’t speak Russian, they accept lira, dollars and euros, Mir cards are only from Tinkoff Bank). Near the Deniz Bazaar there is an ATM from Deniz Bank, it also accepts Mir cards only from Tinkoff Bank.
For any problems (the dryer on the balcony broke, the faucet in the bathroom, the card was not inserted correctly = there was no electricity in the room, and the door did not close, the lock broke) they always immediately responded at the reception and quickly fixed the problems, which I did not even have time to get upset. Many thanks to the administrator from the reception - Shaban! Our flight was rescheduled 6 hours ahead, so the room was extended for a reasonable fee (~ 5 € / hour) without any problems... the receipt was given out everything as it should be officially, my girlfriend, by the way, too. At the reception, by the way, they speak Russian very well.
In general, in order:
The hotel is large: one main building (elevator) + several separate buildings (no elevator). We lived in the main building on the 2nd floor (N208) - a very decent standard with a balcony + dryer, a view of the neighboring building and a pool bar (of course, a little music was heard, but not critical). The repair in the rooms is good, the bathroom is combined - a shower + toilet + sink (see photo). Shampoo + g / shower + cap d / shower, disposable slippers were issued. Towels were changed on demand... when cleaning, you throw them on the floor and change them. Bedding changed 1 time in 11 nights. The safe is paid in the room (for 11 nights I gave $ 13). Television. The mini-fridge is empty. Air conditioning, when the balcony is open, it turns off automatically. Water is always in the room, they put + there are boxes in the corridor - take as much as you want.
Walk 300 meters to the beach (as someone told me 700 steps) through the garden. Not so far. On the beach, free sunbeds + beach towels are also given free of charge and exchanged for a card, but for the loss of 25e !! ! So be careful!
There are 3 swimming pools on the territory of the hotel: an adult one, a common one for children and adults with slides, and a knee-deep paddling pool.
Breakfast dinner we had in the hotel restaurant, but lunch in a cafe-bar on the beach. Kitchen for every taste and European and Turkish and fast food, soups (delicious). You won't be left hungry. There were many fruits: tangerines, apples, plums, grapes, watermelon, melon, peaches. Alcohol is also worthy: red wine + white (similar to dry)... beer ???? , gin, whiskey, crayfish, cognac, tequila... for every taste in general... all of tolerable quality. Drinks are also all tolerable: tea, coffee (the bar near the pool is brewed in Turkish and espresso), there are also a lot of children... they even make cocktails and alc. and without.
The hotel has a spa.
I really liked everything (except for the children's program).
In short (on a 5-point scale), the main indicators are:
Sea: 5+
Beach: 5+
Pool: 5+
Meals (including its organization): 5+
Accommodation: 5+
Cleanliness on the territory and in the hotel: 5+
General organization and punctuality of the daily routine: 5+
Service: 5+
Staff attitude: 5+
Children's program: ZERO (if not minus).
For 3 weeks, many (of the staff) already knew by sight.
I would especially like to note the clear coherence and mutual assistance in the work of catering staff (restaurant, pavilion).
Everyone worked and helped each other, regardless of "ranks and titles. "
Well done!
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According to the children's program (we chose Sural Garden, among other things, because we went on vacation with a child and the children's program was important for us).
1. Here it is ( see here https://www. sural. com. tr/sural-garden/ru/kids-club.html ):
"While you are enjoying your holiday, your children will spend their holidays also with educational and fun activities prepared by our professional Mini Club team. "
was not (in any case, we have never seen). Probably due to COVID.
2. According to the daily routine (the document was given to us at the reception on the day of check-in): the Mini disco for children was supposed to be from 20:45 to 21:15.
But instead, at 21:00, as a rule, an adult show began (which, in fact, is too early for young children to watch, but they had to).
And only then (after the adult show) did a kind of children's program begin (see point 3 below).
3. We have been to Turkey many times (since 1996) and in different hotels from 3 stars to 5.
But I have never seen children leave the evening children's "disco" in tears.
But in Sural Garden, this, unfortunately, was observed many times.
My personal opinion: the animator (probably) does not have his own children, and knowledge of child psychology is also at zero.
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Many thanks to all (except for the children's "animator") members of the Sural Garden hotel staff team.
Thanks to you, the holiday was just wonderful!
We also thank Svetlana ("7 Wonders of the World", St. Petersburg) and Ramazan (Tez-Tour, Sural).
We arrived in this sunny country at about 9 am, at 10 o'clock we were already leaving the airport. The road took about an hour along with a "technical stop" for 15 minutes. The hotel was at 11 am (we were second). Greeted with smiles and kind words. We filled out all the necessary documents and immediately issued the numbers. They took into account our requests and gave rooms nearby. 219 and 220. At the reception there is a table with champagne and cookies. Guests are welcome in it.
NUMBERS:
Our rooms were in the main building. Most likely after renovation. I am attaching some photos. They are all standard, refrigerator, wardrobe, TV. The bathroom is also in excellent condition. There is shampoo, soap, shower caps and slippers. The shower was leaking a bit, but that didn't bother me. Cleaned every day (with tips and without the same), bed linen changed constantly.
HOTEL TERRITORY:
The hotel area is small, but very beautiful, green, well-groomed. On the territory there is a mini-club (a wonderful animator Anechka deals with children), a playground, an adult pool with 2 slides and a children's pool. There is also a stage where there is a mini disco and evening animation for adults, which is conducted by the same wonderful animator Erkan. You can also use the territory of other hotels of the Sural chain (except for restaurants and swimming pools (although we swam)). We didn’t go to another hotel for animation, so I can’t tell. But they walked around all the territories.
BEACH AND ROAD TO IT:
the road to the beach through a beautiful park. Leave the hotel, cross the road and immediately go up the road to a covered bench, turn right near it, pass beautiful flowers, along the tennis court and get to the beach bar of our hotel.
The beach is sand, every morning it is cleaned. The entry is smooth without stones. There were not so many people, so there were always enough sun loungers, even there were many free ones. The sea was cool in the first days, the numbers from 29.04 were swimming calmly, it seemed like we have in the Urals in the summer)))
FOOD:
Breakfast:
porridge, scrambled eggs, fried eggs, boiled egg, pancakes (with chocolate sauce), croutons, an abundance of buns, yoghurts, vegetables, sausages, cheeses. Maybe something I didn't even see. From coffee drinks (automatic machines), tea, both brewed and in bags. Yuppie type juices, but I liked the orange one.
Lunch (only on the beach):
from 12:00 they bake cakes with fillings of chocolate, spinach, apple with cinnamon, cheese, feta cheese with herbs.
lunch starts at 12:30: there are soups (sometimes very spicy), salads, vegetables, various greens, 2-3 types of meat dishes, fish, various side dishes, french fries, onion rings sometimes, everything for cooking hamburgers, awesome Turkish pide There are also sweets and fruits.
Dinner:
various salads (there were also seafood), greens, vegetables, fish, beef, turkey, chicken, rice, pasta, potatoes, sweets (stunned), fruits.
Of the fruits were: pears, apples, oranges, tangerines, strawberries
Alcohol: beer, raki, vodka (if I'm not mistaken), champagne, baileys, tequila, whiskey, rum, various cocktails, and I think a lot more that we didn't have time to try.
HOTEL STAFF AND ANIMATION:
I want to say a huge thank you to all the staff of this hotel! It was thanks to your kindness, responsiveness, fun, responsible work that our vacation was so wonderful! THANKS!!!!
Each employee always with a smile wishes good morning/afternoon/evening, bon appetit, and will help with any question that arises. We felt welcome at this hotel, it was very nice.
The guys at the bar, pouring drinks, sometimes made a whole show. In the evening, plates with nuts and chickpeas were brought to the tables. Sometimes they were treated to fruits and interesting cocktails)))
Animation - I wrote about the guys a little higher. Cheerful and incendiary guys, thanks to whom every evening was even better! From the programs we had karaoke, guess the tune, just discos. After our departure there was a visiting show. The main thing is to have fun yourself and everything will be great!
Wi-Fi catches only at the reception.
From the hotel we went to Manavgat, dolmushi walk nearby. Travel 4.5 lira. You can change money in Migros (not far from the hotel) - buy a candy, give back $ 5-10, change will be given in lira at the normal rate. There are also exchangers in Manavgat.
Guys with whom we met in this hotel! We miss you very much, you are Super wonderful and we are extremely happy that we got to know all of you!!! ! Thanks for the fun!