DoubleTree by Hilton Antalya Kemer

Disappointing service and an even more disappointing response from management

We did enjoy most parts of our stay at DoubleTree by Hilton Antalya-Kemer. The hotel has good facilities, much of the food was enjoyable, and we appreciated the coffee shop, food trucks, cakes and ice creams kiosk included in the package.

However, the overall service fell far below what we expected from a five-star Hilton hotel.

The welcome we received when we arrived (late, thirsty, hungry and tired) was cold and disorganised. We were not greeted, nor offered a drink or snack (no DoubleTree cookie). The guest services representative was very abrupt, to the point of being rude (we tried to sit on a comfy sofa but she told us we couldn't; we had to sit on a cafe chair in the closed coffee shop!). She gave us a barrage of information, and then just left us. We had to go back once we realised they hadn't actually given us a key. And when we did ask for it, they just handed it over with no explanation of where the room was.

There was no useful booklet or digital guide in the room containing hotel contact numbers, opening times, maps, local information, services or excursion recommendations, as you would normally expect in a hotel of this standard. They do send WhatsApp messages, but these were normally just saying the buffet theme night and what's on in the kids club.

We repeatedly received conflicting information such as what services were complimentary in the spa, where we could get large bottles of water (they only leave 1 large bottle, and a few small bottles per day - not enough for a family of 4), and were also told conflicting information about late check-out and the Jet2 à la carte benefit.

Restaurant service was particularly poor. Guests had to walk around trying to find tables and often hover beside people who were finishing. Staff appeared overstretched and were clearing tables, laying them, taking orders and serving drinks at the same time. We always had to ask for drinks; nobody ever proactively offered - even when we first arrived. Drinks were difficult to obtain, orders were forgotten, water was not automatically offered, and there were no visible drinks or wine menus on the restaurant tables. I had no idea what we could actually order apart from generic 'red wine', 'white wine' 'rose', 'beer', water, sprite, fanta and cola - as there were no drinks menus, and that's the only thing they offered us. They did offer me 'champagne' one time - but it was the most disgusting cheap sparkling wine I've ever tasted (I'm not being a wine snob here, it was actually undrinkable). They wouldn't even tell us what type of beer or wine it was. And if you ask for water for the table, they'll pour a glass about half full, and take the rest of the bottle with them. So you have to keep asking for more. Why not just leave the bottle?

The food wasn't bad. The food trucks were a definite highlight - the food was really tasty, and all our family could find something they wanted every day without it being too repetitive (apart from my eldest, who chose burgers every day - and loved them!) The evening buffet had some nice quality food, but not a huge amount of choice - a lot less than all-inclusives we've stayed at before. And not many 'blander' options that kids love. There were, however, flies constantly on the food (especially salads and desserts) but no form of covering to protect them.

Bars didn't ever seem to have drinks menus. During our stay, the lobby bar was the only place where we consistently saw one. I love a drinks menu, as its my chance to see what cocktails and new drinks I can try, but alas they were near on impossible to find beyond the lobby bar. At the Ibiza Bar, staff simply pointed towards a limited range of cocktails written on a wall when we asked what was available. They could make whatever cocktail you wanted, but it's always good to have inspiration, plus I had no idea what they served in terms of beer, wine and soft drinks etc.

Sunbeds were generally 'reserved' with towels by 9am, they said they police this, but the definitley dont. We regularly saw beds left unused for hours with only a towel or personal item on them. Weirdly, the water slides shut for a few hours in the middle of the day, and for some reason you can't get towels around lunchtime either.

There are no wristbands, which on one hand is nice, but on the other hand presents security issues. We saw people walking into the hotel from along the beach (the area is back-to-back resorts, so they must have come from another resort), and nobody ever checked to see our room keys or ask our room number when we arrived at the hotel. To be honest, I don't really care if random people take advantage of free food and drinks (that's a problem for Hilton), but I do care about the security of belongings around the pool, also on our final day, after we checked out our luggage was just left (along with about 50 other suitcases) in the reception area rather than in a secure luggage room.

The room itself was pleasant, but it had four beds and only two balcony chairs, no drinking glasses, no bathroom glasses and no mirror above the desk. Requests for extra chairs, glasses and water required repeated follow-up. And when they did bring extra chairs, they were metal - not ideal in 40+ degree heat. (We actually ended up with 8 random chairs on our balcony, including conference chairs - see photo, as they obviously can't communicate between themselves!!)

Apart from the kids club, nightly 30 mins mini-disco and swimming pool, there's nothing really for kids or teens to do. There were occasional darts tournaments, and football matches (at 9pm!) but that's about it.

Also strange things like there is a beer bar, that has stunning beach views and a great selection of beers, but the bar closes at 6pm so it's just a wasted space at night. The reason for it closing so early is, according to their GM, they use it once a week for a BBQ night!! We would have loved to drink there in the evening, due to the gorgeous views and the wider variety of beers that the other bar did not offer.

At the end of our stay, somebody from guest services asked us for feedback on our stay.. as a few things had annoyed me I said I'd email them when I got back - which I did. But I was thoroughly disappointed by the General Manager’s response.

Their response was overly defensive and dismissive, as though the aim was to disprove our experience rather than learn from it. The only reason I sent an email with feedback was a) because they asked us to, but also b) to improve the experience for future customers, small tweaks that don't really cost but can make a guest's stay more pleasurable. I'm not a 'moany' person, and it didn't ruin my holiday, but I just hate it when hotels can't be bothered to do the small things (that take no real effort) but make a huge difference to customers.

Rather than acknowledging the shortcomings in service and looking into our recommendations (we travel a lot so have stayed in many hotels, and have plenty of experience of what good service is), the reply repeatedly explained what the hotel’s procedures should be (even though they didn't follow them in my experience) and described several of our concerns as “personal impressions”, “subjective” or matters that could not be “objectively verified”.

For example, when I explained that a member of staff appeared irritated when I asked about a drink menu, the response was that this was subjective and could not be verified. Of course, customer service is partly about how a guest is made to feel. I had no reason to invent the interaction.

We were also told that guests are normally welcomed, guided to a comfy seating area, given a cookie and assisted on arrival. That may be the official process, but it is not what happened to us, and I'd told him that. It's like they didn't believe our account of what happened. Similarly, we were told sunbeds are regularly checked, and menus are available at every bar, despite this not matching what we saw during our stay.

This is not a terrible hotel, and some staff were clearly overworked and understaffed. However, the service was inconsistent, communication was poor, and the hotel did not feel at all guest-focused; the GM's response makes this clear - rather than listen to customers and try to make them happy, they are more concerned about being argumentative and accusing their customers of lying.

For a five-star property operating under the DoubleTree by Hilton brand, we expected better. We expected 5-star service (I'd say it was 3-star service at best) and a much more professional response when concerns were raised. It's by far the worst service I've ever experienced at a resort hotel (including ones with lower star ratings). Service doesn't cost money: it's being attentive, welcoming, helpful, listening to feedback and not making weird rules (like closing the water slides for 2 hours during the middle of the day) that inconvenience customers. I don't think it was necessarily down to the individual waitresses, bar staff, etc - it seems cultural from the top down; the issues lie with the management and guest services staff, and also because they obviously don't have enough staff.

If the service was better, I'd have loved this hotel, but I can tell from how the General Manager deals with customers, both whilst staying there and via email since returning, that they don't seem to care about providing good customer service (maybe they know the 'DoubleTree' name will bring customers anyway).

With the vast selection of Turkey hotels to choose from, there's definitley better places to stay. We had friends staying next door at Akra Kemer (next door) at the same time for a similar cost. Their hotel included complimentary à la carte dining, a cinema, children’s play facilities, a wider programme of daily activities, a swim-up bar and noticeably better service. In hindsight, we wish we had chosen that hotel instead.

Had a great holiday.. loved the food trucks and ice cream .. pool was lovely, sunbathing in the wster a hit