Otium Eco Club Side

This is our first time at this hotel and overall it is lovely. Lots of positives but would definitely rate it a 4 star max. The hotel room was a standard and wouldn’t recommend if there are 4 of you in the room, go for the upgrade. Both rooms we had were very clean and seem all to come with a balcony. The pool areas get very busy. If you want sunloungers right in front of the pools you need to go down for 8 am or before. If you don’t mind then there are lots of availability much later. Lots of life guards, slides are great (shut 12.30-1.30 and close at 5) and all kept clean. Like most places, the floor can be very slippery and seen lots of children slip. Kids World, I have mixed feelings here. Last year my children(now 6&8) couldn’t get enough of the kids club - here they weren’t really wanting to go. When I took them in first morning, the lady didn’t speak much English and I introduced the boys expecting to then sign a form or something. She didn’t smile or seem to be interested in them at all and just asked if I’m happy for them to leave and find us of which I said yes. After 20 mins they were back saying it was rubbish. We tried a couple of other times but must admit it clearly catered for younger children. There didn’t seem any other English children when we went. Having said that they seemed to offer lots of activities and I did manage to get them to the pottery session and science workshop which was a fab opportunity for them. But you could tell the kids club staff had their favourites. They did a daily tournament where the children could win a certificate. I watched a couple that my boys entered and one game the majority barring 2 children hit something. However when it came to the winners there were 3 or 4 called up on stage even though they hadn’t hit anything. For the whole 10 days only one English child won something. This may have just been a coincidence but as I say their English wasn’t great. The boys wanted me to always go with them where previously in other hotels I didn’t but the lack of English meant they had no idea what was being asked of them. The girls of course work very hard and long hours and the mini disco gets a lot of children up on the stage. There are many adult activities from bike riding, air rifle shooting, darts, sushi making, yoga, belly dancing and pool games. The entertainment staff are very sweet (especially Angela) who work so hard and make sure everybody is included if they wish but no pressure if you just want to relax and watch. The food is good, all very well presented. Breakfast offers all types of eggs, beans, potatoes, toasts, cheeses, fruits and more traditional Turkish. Lunch is either in main restaurant, the snack bar which has burgers, pizza, jacket potatoes, nuggets salads. Or the cafe which has cheese and ham rolls. Theres an ice cream freezer to help yourself for most of the day. There’s also a Turkish pancake stand around the garden area for sweet or savoury options. Dinner is in main restaurant. This does become very similar with only a slight change up to the main dishes each night and you generally have to queue to get a drink as it’s hit or miss if you will get table service. We went to the Turkish à la carte one evening which was nice, food was great, just felt a bit rushed. Boys main courses came out a couple of minutes after we had ordered. But the food was very tasty. You could also dine at the Italian or sushi restaurant for 20 euro an adult and I think 12 euro for children. The evening entertainment was great. We stayed in a 5 star hotel last year and this was by far better. Each night had a decent act on stage from African acrobats, balloonist, illusionist, samba dance group etc. The only downfall was the seating was so uncomfortable. An hour was long enough to sit there plus it was incredibly hot - take a fan! You could then go downstairs to the Lake Bar where they had further entertainment. Usually singers which was a nice addition to the evening entertainment. In the bar they had 2 football tables and ping pong which the kids loved. Can highly recommend getting a taxi to Side Old Town, very quaint place and lots of shops and restaurants. The walk to the beach took 10-15 mins and was an easy stroll there.
Air con in rooms are great but the hotel really needs to put some fans up around restaurants etc. it was stifling in snack bar and amphitheatre with people’s clothes wet through. The lake bar had 2 hurricane fans which was a god send. I’d recommend bringing a fan - lifesaver on some nights. If you have a late check out and want to keep your room, the reception can’t confirm until the day. However, we had 2 rooms and only wanted to keep 1 and was told straight away it’s fully booked. I don’t understand why they couldn’t have told us this last night or even Monday when I asked them - such a shame. Overall it did tick the boxes for a great 10 night holiday, but I’d probably try somewhere else next time as I do prefer a bit more luxury.

Really good second visit as a family of five, the resort has everything you need under one roof, stayed in a villa with loads of space, food was varied the snack bar is really good and a big improvement from two years ago, loads to do for the kids the pools are perfect and the activities and shows are very good, one improvement I would suggest is making the evening entertainment arena a bit bigger to seat everyone,

Thankyou nadim for the brilliant photos a very reasonable price

We will return again in a few years

We had a great stay. The food was delicious, the entertainment was enjoyable, and the guest relations team was very friendly and helpful. We would definitely come back!