- Turkey Holidays
- Side
- Sunlight Garden Hotel
This charming apartment hotel is situated in the coastal city of Side, just a five minute stroll from the sea and within easy reach of the resort town's shops, cafes and restaurants. Side, which means ‘pomegranate,' is an ancient Mediterranean city dating back to the Hittite period, thus offering a rich history and a plethora of ancient ruins throughout the region, including remarkable castles and city walls, beautiful Roman temples and amphitheatres. The hotel's 85 apartments are air-conditioned and spacious with two bedrooms, sitting area, kitchen, and balcony overlooking the hotel gardens and pools. Guests may lounge by one of the two sparkling outdoor pools or relax in the Turkish baths, while younger guests can play in two children's pools, kid's club, or the playground. There is also a shuttle service to the nearby sandy beach. This hotel is the perfect place for families to enjoy a relaxing holiday in the warm Mediterranean sunshine.
Due to the surrounding area and the number of steps around the hotel, it may not be suitable for those with mobility difficulties.
Great hotel food is delicious staff are all friendly the rooms are a great size with 2 balcony's clean and tidy
We booked a lovely last minute short break, 4 nights and here was the best all inclusive cheapest option with good reviews. We were a little bit unsure when at 2am we were shown to our room, we were expecting a 1 bedroom apartment and were shown into a 3 storey villa with a massive downstairs... 3 bedrooms... 2 bathrooms and a locked loft space (believe it was a roof terrace at one point) with random discarded furniture on the stairs presumably meant as a barrier with lots of excess loo rolls..... But other than the lethal marble floors (wear ur pool shoes getting out the shower) and the breakneck marble stairs which tilted at crazy angles, narrowed and turned and for clumsy me were an accident waiting to happen our massive villa did the job. It was clean, beds nice and firm, choice of 3 balconies, good working air con in 2 bedrooms and living room/kitchen and also right next to quiet pool. Randomly it only got cleaned on our first day even after I told lady not to bother as we had only just arrived hours earlier and no visit before we left.
We spent most of our time at the quiet pool. Lovely pool, water just nice temperature and same depth throughout you could stand up in. Only grumble was that you could only get beer, wine and soft drinks from the bar and as I don't drink beer or wine my choice was to go to other bar (I didn't bother) or I could have spirits if I paid.... Always a lounger to be found, never a queue at the bar and staff pleasant. We ventured to the activity pool one day but typically was staff day off so again was quiet, plenty of loungers (even if we turned up mid afternoon after a beach trip).
Lots of smoking to pollute my lungs but it's their holiday too so had to just go for a swim!
Others have said the food wasn't great but not my experience at all. We found the food lovely, meats, fish, rice, pasta, salad, bread... My favourite was Sunday dinner and balloon bread served at breakfast.... Wish I could have brought the chef home with me! Chips were available at every meal including breakfast.... Pizza and pide most lunchtimes too. No there is no snack bar and all meals are served in same restaurant so if you are hoping for a burger by the pool it's not the place for you. Lunch was more a meal than snack but they did have pizza, burgers (1 day) chips and toastie machine to make your own. Fruit was lovely but unimpressed with other puddings that all tasted the same to me though they looked great. I did enjoy the rice pudding.
Evening entertainment was poor, there was something on every night except the Sunday but our first night was "dj show" which was really just a dj you never saw blasting rubbish dance music from his hut and a smoke machine 😂.... They only did mini disco once which the kids enjoyed and tbf I prob enjoyed more than the dj show and the belly dancers. Better than nothing though and never a queue at the bar... Was pot luck if you got a glass... Plastic beaker.... Whatever you seemed to be drinking unless you asked. I stuck to vodka bitter lemon but my other half said the efes was nicest beer he's had on all inclusive and the rose was decent. They did have cocktail menu but you had to pay for these.... 8 euros upwards.
Staff all seemed pleasant especially spa staff and the photo guy... Never any pressure as we weren't interested they were just chatty. On site shop was handy for water and pop Though there is a supermarket just out the main entrance.
I'm not a cat lover but plenty of cats and kittens around the hotel that were happy to be fed and fluffed.
Our room was next to entrance onto main strip with kebab shops, restaurants and handbag shop. Guy in the handbag shop (right hand side of side entrance near villas) was really pleasant and friendly again no hard sell in fact we went back a few days later to buy the bag we saw after checking other prices and quality. We didn't go to any bars along there but Crown bar seemed very popular and we saw their food and it looked huge portions and lovely. However we realised our mistake after a 20 min trek to the beach on first day.... Best exit is the main one behind reception and activity pool... Turn left down what looks like a dirt track and takes you straight to main hill to beach. We also made error first trip and turned right at the beach which was mainly hotels.... Turn left at the beach and you are right at the hotels private bit of beach at sky bar... We eventually found this and used it twice... Sea was lovely and warm... Mind the fish do like to nibble your toes and could buy drinks from guys there. Again others have said they felt overpriced and hard sell but not our experience... We only had drinks once... None the second time and no pressure.
If u carry on left along the beach there is a nice ice cream shop only 2 euros each.... And we went a few times to the same bar Side beach club for frozen cocktails.... Lovely view if you sit in sisha bar section, friendly staff and I can recommend a hand grenade. We also went one night and they had live music on. We do probably regret not eating out as we had planned to do this but food was so nice at hotel it seemed a waste of money.
There is a shuttle bus from hotel several times a day to the beach then twice return but we just walked... It's downhill there but uphill return so take water with you!
We took euros and English as people suggested and everywhere priced in lira or euros and we bought gifts for home using our English. We did think going to the shops in evening was best when cooler but it was so busy at night and the heat still intense about 29 degrees that we actually found it better mid afternoon when no-one else was there even though hot. Market streets are all along the streets leading up from the beach.
We never made it to Side Old Town... Apparently this is the place to go for shops, bars, restaurants... So we will need a return trip.
We had never been to Side before only Marmaris and Icmeler but found Side lovely and would definitely go back. Not as picturesque on sea front but still nice.
A fantastic atmosphere, great entertainment (Salih is a star), excellent housekeeping, and food that is worth more than 5 stars—well-varied and deliciously fresh. I highly recommend this hotel.
I thought I was simply going away with my wife.
What I didn’t know was that she had planned the whole thing. The holiday itself was the surprise. She knew where she was taking me, but I didn’t.
And somehow, without fully realising the weight of what she was doing, my wife took me home.
Not home to a house.
Home to my roots.
Back to Hasan Baba — the man who was never simply a boss or a mentor, but a father figure to me. A man whose hand helped mould the person I was into the man I am today.
Back to Enver Baba — whose wit and kindness are everlasting, and whose presence has left a lasting mark on my heart.
Back to Songul, Zeki, Yunus, Yusuf and Hasan K. Back to Resat, my good friend, and Murat, my wonderful friend — one of those friendships where time and distance can pass, but the warmth remains the moment you see each other again.
Walking in and seeing those faces did something to me that I simply wasn’t prepared for.
The warmth. The smiles. The embraces. The open arms.
That unmistakable feeling that although years have passed and life has carried us all in different directions, a part of me still belonged there.
It overwhelmed me.
Because as I looked around at them, I realised that every one of these people had, in their own way, once held a scalpel to the unfinished product that was me.
Some carved away the rough edges. Some taught me lessons I probably didn’t appreciate at the time. Some challenged me. Some protected me. Some made me laugh when I needed it. Some simply stood beside me and became friends whose importance I would only truly understand with the passing of time.
And Hasan Baba, in particular, helped shape a young man who still had so much to learn.
Every one of them made a cut, a correction, an adjustment. They each left their mark until, little by little, that unfinished product began to resemble the man I am today.
Then life happened.
I grew up. I moved forward. I met my wife — the woman who eventually stole me away — and together we began building a life and a home of our own.
And now, of all people, it was her who secretly planned a holiday that would take me straight back to the people and the place that helped create the man she married.
There is something beautifully full-circle about that.
She thought she was surprising me with a holiday.
What she actually gave me was something far greater.
She gave me Hasan Baba again.
She gave me Enver Baba, whose wit and kindness remain everlasting.
She gave me Songul, Zeki, Yunus, Yusuf and Hasan K.
She gave me Resat, my good friend, and my wonderful friend Murat.
She gave me the faces, the laughter, the embraces and the memories.
But most importantly, she reminded me of the young man I once was. She reminded me of the people who believed in him, challenged him, stood beside him and helped mould him.
She reminded me where I came from.
She reminded me of my roots.
And standing there again, surrounded by those familiar faces and welcomed with such genuine warmth and open arms, I realised something.
You can travel a long way in life. You can grow older, change, fall in love, marry and build a home of your own.
But your roots remain.
And sometimes it takes the person who loves the man you became to take you back to the people who helped make him.
My wife thought she was surprising me with a holiday.
Instead, she gave me a piece of myself back.
She took me home.
Amazing experience at sunlight garden' staff go above and beyond to make sure you have a good holiday. Clean comfortable rooms, food is fresh and good entertainment. My little girl loved the mini disco 💞
