- Turkey Holidays
- Lara
- Royal Wings Hotel
Opened in 2005 and renovated in Winter 2018-2019, this hotel is situated on 72,000 m2 of an extraordinary garden and pool landscape frontline to the beach and the warm waters of the Mediterranean Sea. The city centre of Antalya is only 17 km away, while the international airport can be reached within a short drive. The hotel excels in every aspect: it features various pools including a vast lagoon-style pool, the largest of the Lara region with more than 3,000 m2. Children will love the children's pools with slides and animation as well as the mini club with cinema, mini disco and a host of other activities. Guests can spoil their taste buds in a buffet and various delicious à la carte restaurants, while 9 bars invite to have a drink. Excellent sports facilities including a bowling alley, an amphitheatre for 1,000 people and a wonderful spa & wellness area complete the offer.
Definitely not a 5-star hotel. Compared to places like Miracle Resort or Delphin hotels, this is 4 stars at best — and even that feels generous in some areas.
We are travelling with two small children and asked for a late check-out, which we were perfectly happy to pay for. The reception immediately told us that there were absolutely no rooms available, without even appearing to check. Looking around the hotel, it is very hard to believe that it is anywhere close to full occupancy. Instead of trying to help a family with two small children, the easiest answer was simply “no availability.”
The biggest problem with this hotel is that everything technically exists, so they can tick all the boxes of a 5-star resort, but it feels like everything is organised in the cheapest and least convenient way possible.
Want an omelette for breakfast? One chef, two pans, serving a huge hotel. The queues speak for themselves.
Want pizza by the pool? They wait until the existing pizza is completely gone before starting another one. It disappears almost immediately, then everyone has to wait while the next batch is prepared. Many people simply give up. Maybe that is the idea.
The drinks are another disappointment — weak and nowhere near the standard you would expect from a proper 5-star all-inclusive resort.
This hotel gives the impression of constantly trying to minimise costs and consumption rather than provide a genuine 5-star experience. Everything is “available” on paper, but the way it is organised makes actually enjoying it unnecessarily difficult.
If you have experienced genuine 5-star resorts in Antalya, especially Miracle Resort or Delphin hotels, you will notice the difference immediately. The level of service, food organisation and overall guest experience is simply not comparable.
If you are looking for a real 5-star experience, I would choose Miracle or Delphin without hesitation. This hotel is nowhere near that level.
We had mixed feelings about our stay. There are certainly some positives, but overall, we felt the hotel did not consistently deliver the standard or attention to detail that we would expect from a 5-star property, particularly given the price. The majority of the staff were friendly, polite and helpful, which we appreciated. Unfortunately, we had a very uncomfortable experience with a gentleman at the Spa reception. When we mentioned that €180 for a treatment seemed expensive, he responded by saying, “It’s not €20 like in your country in Pakistan.” We explained that we are British Asians of Indian background and that it was inappropriate to make assumptions about our nationality or background. Regardless of what was intended by the comment, we found it highly inappropriate and stereotypical, and it significantly affected our impression of the hotel. We believe staff should always communicate with guests respectfully and without making assumptions based on their appearance or perceived ethnicity. There are, however, several aspects of the hotel that we genuinely enjoyed. The swimming pool is exceptional, and we particularly enjoyed the food served at lunchtime. The breakfast, unfortunately, was less impressive and felt rather bland and repetitive during our stay. Our main concerns relate to the overall condition and facilities of the property. The hotel feels somewhat dated, and there were areas that appeared in need of refurbishment, including broken tiles and a noticeable damp smell in the bathroom. We were also surprised that there were no irons available for guests to use. While a laundry/ironing service is offered, the pricing felt excessive, with €12 charged to iron a single dress. There were also a number of smaller details that we would normally associate with a genuine 5-star experience. For example, there were no bathrobes in the room and no fresh orange juice available at breakfast. Individually, these may seem like minor issues, but collectively they contribute significantly to the overall guest experience. We were also disappointed with the arrangement for the à la carte restaurants. We understood that reservations are only confirmed when a sufficient number of tables have been booked. This can leave guests having to make alternative plans at relatively short notice if they do not wish to dine at the buffet restaurant. The location is convenient, being approximately 25 minutes from the airport. Ultimately, our disappointment comes down to the gap between the 5-star positioning and the experience provided. At the rates charged, we expected a higher level of upkeep, facilities and attention to detail. There are good aspects to the hotel, and with investment in refurbishment, improvements to the dining experience and greater consistency in guest service, we believe it could offer a considerably better experience. Unfortunately, based on our stay, we would not consider the hotel to be at the level we would expect from a 5-star property.
Beautiful hotel and grounds. Happy with the huge lagoon pool, water park, pier and beach. Fresh pool towels every day.
Lots of sun-beds but we saw quite a few ‘arguement ’ between guests over prime spot beds and umbrellas. Music playing from the pool bar is very very loud all day, so don’t sit near pool bar if you like to relax during the day.
Duplex family room was huge with stunning views. Rooms were cleaned every day to great standard.
Close to airport so short transfer. Lots of shops just outside the hotel.
Food in the buffet restaurant was average (at best)…. Boring and repetitive. But something for everyone (Chips at every meal, even breakfast) Pool side food was good but they were only open for a couple of hours in the day. Turkish tent was really good. Excellent freshly made pizza and crepes. Ice cream hut by the pool only open 2 hours a day. Which was shocking for a family hotel.
Staff overall very friendly and work hard. Everyone seemed eager to help.
Evening entertainment was quite poor and the seats in the amphitheater are awful. The garden party evening was best night entertainment - that level of energy and effort should happen every night!!!
Alcoholic drinks were not the best. Lobby bar made best cocktails, But overall drinks were disappointing.
We had a good holiday but this was an expensive hotel, and we expected more for our money.
After a delay on the runway at Stansted then a delay on the coach for transfer due to annoying people who decided to get a private transfer we really weren’t in the mood for the Selim at reception dragging it out by trying to sell everyone a different room to what they had booked. Joke! And he really wasn’t friendly at all so not a great first impression. Our room was spacious, clean, good view from 7th floor. Housekeeping was average, pillows were awful, need throwing out. Food was exceptional every day 10/10 for the immaculate display to everyone involved. However it is the only hotel in turkey that we have stayed in that didn’t have à la carte dining included so we still don’t understand what the all inclusive plus means - we also had to pay for fresh orange at breakfast? Massive resort, lovely pool areas, plenty of sunbeds but our favourite chill out spot was on the jetty with a sea breeze and a lovely swim in the sea, we booked a week before and probably on reflection it wasn’t the hotel for us, We are of a certain age that craves an adult only zone on the odd occasion.
The location of the hotel is great if you want a quick airport transfer and lovely beach. Plenty of shopping but not much nightlife or food options outside of the hotel. Old town is about 40mins in a taxi. The harbour is lovely there.
The Atmosphere of the hotel is good, something happening each evening and during the day there is a large Animation team around the larger pool and quieter spots if you’re looking for that. The beach is nice.
We upgraded to the Villa Lagoon, we have an older son who likes a quieter space and the pool is huge - you get a premium mini bar daily with vodka whisky and gin all good brand. Pool bar drinks are local. Lobby drinks are premium. The room was cleaned daily and in the villa you get beautiful sun loungers and better quality towels for sunbathing. You also get pool Towels from the pool area with cards.
Value, we came in peak season so paid high end but it’s the only time we could travel. I’ve seen it a lot cheaper in low season. I’ve stayed in a better hotel for less this time of year but we wanted to try a new area.
Food - during the day there is ample food options. You’ve got 4/5 little huts that serve Turkish kebab, jacket potatoes, fresh sandwiches, pizza (this is delicious) fruit, salad. There is a Turkish tent and the food there is traditional and very tasty! There is a restaurant near the beach that also serves crispy chicken and burgers. The main restaurant for us wasn’t great so we mainly ate at the places mentioned above. Evening food we struggled with so ate out. At midnight you can get cooked meals in the lobby restaurant. My teenager loved this!
Cleanliness of the pool area. This part for me was disappointing… I was up each morning around 8am so went and laid by the main pool. The cleanliness of the flooring was not good, it isn’t cleaned on an evening or morning. I came daily and found dirty plates from the day before, sticky drinks spilled, hair, ashtrays are attached to the tables near the sun loungers and they empty the cigarette buts, but leave all the black ash and it smells. We don’t smoke! We come to turkey each year in different areas and this is a first for me, usually pool areas are cleaned throughout the evening or early morning so this needs looking at asap especially as it’s rated 5 star! I’ve added some photos of this.
There are zero subbed wars which is nice if you want a slower morning.
They do a pool party on a Wednesday at 3pm in the larger pool area, this is fab! And Friday evenings they have a white party. It’s like a mini festival and it was so much fun.
