- Turkey Holidays
- Belek
- Gloria Golf Resort
Surrounded by a large garden area with countless pine trees, the excellent Gloria Golf Resort enjoys a wonderful location in the heart of the Turkish Riviera. It is separated from the beautiful, 500 m long sandy beach only by the Acisu River, and guests can access the beach crossing the hotel's own wooden bridge. The centre of Belek is about 7 km away, while the city of Antalya is at about 50 km. The international airport can be reached within a 30-minute drive. Offering 45 holes, including two 18-hole championship golf courses, the Gloria Golf Club, designed by renowned French architect Michel Gayon, is the largest golf complex in Turkey. The hotel itself features elegant accommodation and has a top-class spa and fitness area. Guests can choose between various exquisite restaurants serving delicious food as well as several cosy bars. Simply a perfect place for golf enthusiasts and people wishing to spend a beach holiday in sophisticated surroundings.
Due to the surrounding area and the number of steps around the hotel, it may not be suitable for those with mobility difficulties.
This was our third trip to the hotel, albeit our first for five years. In terms of the positives, the rebuilt water park was excellent and the facilities in general are well maintained and the staff attentive and friendly. The slight downside would be the additional charges payable at some of the a la carte restaurants (previously this was the case at just one of them) which never leaves a good taste in the mouth. A special mention for Hassan the waiter who worked at the Galleon Bar and made all the family feel welcome.
Great hotel we ever been! Return here 4th time. Very beautiful place, clear water in sea, perfect food (specially for kids with allergic specific). Very helpful guest relations team (to make special attention to Darina - the best if the best!). And great kids sport activities team: Dasha and Regina in swimming, Sultan in football. Thanks for the all Gloria’s team for the great vacations!
Second time I have visited Gloria Golf and was not disappointed. The perfect place to relax and get treating like royalty. Cleanliness is impeccable, premium drink brands as standard.
But the best thing is the staff, they are all so attentive and kind- nothing is too much trouble for them!
We spent 10 nights at Gloria Golf Resort in a villa. Overall, we had a good holiday and there are certainly plenty of positives, but for us the resort currently feels more like a very good 4-star hotel rather than a 5-star resort, mainly because of a number of smaller issues that you wouldn't really expect at this level.
The villa itself was spacious and comfortable, but there were some maintenance issues. The master bedroom door wouldn't close properly and clearly needs some planing. The shower was also frustrating, as the temperature constantly went from hot to cold rather than maintaining a consistent temperature.
The biggest disappointment was probably the buffet experience. It's very spread out, meaning you can spend five minutes walking around just trying to work out what is actually available. There isn't one overall menu displayed and we couldn't find useful information about what was being served on the app either. For a 5-star resort, we'd expect this to be much better organised.
The food itself was generally good, but the buffet appeared to repeat on a weekly cycle and, for a 10-night stay, the choice could feel quite limited at times. Breakfast was good, although the poached eggs really need to be served with a slotted spoon so the excess water can drain off before they reach your plate.
Around the pool, the sunbeds also feel a little dated compared with the standard elsewhere at the resort. The mattress-style sunbeds used on the beach would be a significant upgrade around the pool. It would also be good to have more ordinary chairs available for people who want to sit in the sunshine but don't necessarily want to spend the day lying on a sunbed.
The show arena is another area where it feels slightly below 5-star expectations. The bar there only offers wine and bottled beer rather than a proper selection of drinks, which seems a strange omission when people are there for the evening entertainment.
There were also quite a lot of flies around various areas of the resort during our stay, which wasn't particularly pleasant and is something you'd expect the resort to have under better control.
That said, there are plenty of positives. The resort is beautiful, the grounds are very well maintained, the staff are generally friendly and the golf facilities are excellent. There is a lot to like about Gloria, and we still had a very enjoyable holiday.
However, when you're paying for a 5-star resort, it's the little details that make the difference. None of these issues individually would ruin a holiday, but collectively they are why, in our opinion, Gloria Golf Resort currently feels more 4-star than 5-star.
Hopefully these are things the resort will address, because with some relatively straightforward improvements, Gloria could genuinely deliver the 5-star experience you'd expect.
10 out of 10 hotel would definitely recommend
