Terrace Elite Resort Hotel

We’ve just come back from a family holiday here and I wanted to share an honest review. We’re generally easy going and don’t expect perfection, so we made the most of it and had a brilliant time as a family.

However, if you’re booking this hotel expecting great hospitality, food and service, I’d definitely manage your expectations.

A big disappointment for us was the staff. We found the animation team, particularly some of the female members, quite unfriendly and unhelpful. On several occasions, it felt like asking a question was an inconvenience, and we were met with eye rolls and tuts rather than a smile. And to be clear, we weren't being rude. These were simple questions such as, “Can my daughter play this activity?” or “Please can you tell me where I can find X?”

At times, it honestly felt like we were being treated differently because we were English. I obviously can't say that's definitely the reason, and I'm very aware that other guests may have had a completely different experience, but that was genuinely how it came across to us.

Most of the pool games also seemed to be aimed at adults. Our children were told they couldn't take part in around 90% of them because they were adults only, which was disappointing when it’s a family resort. The pool is also pretty deep and doesn't really have a gradual depth for younger children. Definitely take swimming aids if yours aren't strong swimmers or tall!

The beach and pool hut packages are another thing I'd be wary of. We paid for the most expensive package on the beach because of what was advertised as being included, but several things simply weren't. There were no cocktails included, NO à la carte menu, no iced coffee and the drinks service was very SPARSE. We were asked twice if we wanted a drink all day.

That said, the huts themselves are lovely, shaded and comfortable, and definitely worth the €50 lowest package. I just wouldn't bother paying for Ultra All Inclusive at the beach. Apparently, the additional benefits are only for the pool huts, but this isn't clear from the information provided.

We spent loads of time around the pool and not once were we offered a drink by the skating waiter. We regularly watched him serving other guests but seemed to pass us by. Again, perhaps there was an innocent explanation, but when it happens repeatedly, it does make you feel a little unwelcome. We would have happily tipped for good service, but obviously you can't tip for service you're never given the opportunity to receive!

Food was another disappointment. It was very repetitive and bland, with limited choice and essentially the same food appearing over and over. Mushroom pasta on Asian night, for example, and the “sushi” was essentially a gherkin with a bit of rice stuffed inside it, which is something we joked about for days afterwards!

There was an “international night” most nights, but overall we expected much more variety from a hotel of this standard.

There was also no à la carte restaurant included at all. Nobody even mentioned it to us as an option to book at an additional charge, although we did see the restaurants. This is something we've never experienced on an all-inclusive stay before. The hotel also seemed more interested in selling extras than making guests feel looked after.

Staff seemed much more attentive when they wanted us to buy bingo tickets (€20 a strip), T-shirts, spa packages etc. We happily purchased some of these, but it's the little things that make a holiday memorable, particularly for children, and we didn't really get any of those touches here.

Even something as simple as fun towel animals on the children's beds wasn't done, and housekeeping was very basic. The beds were barely made properly on most days.

On the positive side, the pool toilets were clean, as were the pool and slides, which is important and worth mentioning.

The room itself was clean enough but extremely basic.

Our fridge door handle was hanging off, with screws all over the floor, and cups and glasses weren't changed for clean ones on multiple days.

Our room door was also broken when we arrived and took two days to be fixed, meaning it didn't lock properly during that time.

One day we came back to find the bathroom/shower had an overwhelming smell of urine, which we cleaned ourselves. It was bizarre and thankfully didn't happen again.

The lifts are also an absolute nightmare, particularly if you're on the 5th floor.. They were incredibly slow and crowded.

Also, one of our towels went missing from by the pool and I was told that the hotel reception manager gets very angry about missing towels and that I needed to loiter around for 10 minutes before I could be given a card for a replacement towel. Not exactly the sort of interaction you expect on holiday.

The check-out/payment situation was probably the thing that annoyed us most. We were told when booking the hut that payment would be taken before we left. We also specifically asked about check-out when we arrived and checked the welcome information, but nobody clearly explained the check-out time or how and when the outstanding extras needed to be paid.

We therefore checked out of our room at 10am, despite the hotel's normal check-out apparently being 12pm, simply because we wanted to make sure everything was dealt with properly.

Importantly, we hadn't actually left the hotel. Our transfer wasn't until 7pm, so we were still at the hotel with our luggage.

Despite this, after 12pm reception called us twice and sent three messages chasing payment. Rather than simply saying that payment was outstanding, the messages were written entirely in capital letters and the tone felt incredibly rude and demanding.

I've included a screenshot below so people can see the actual wording for themselves rather than me simply saying the messages were rude. I think the wording speaks for itself.

We had absolutely no intention of avoiding payment and had already checked out of the room. We were still physically in the hotel! If they needed to speak to us, they could quite easily have found us.

The message about another reservation over our room was particularly unnecessary because the room had already been vacated at 10am. We weren't holding anyone up.

The situation was made even more frustrating because our luggage was in the locked luggage room, so we couldn't access our bank cards when they were demanding payment.

We've since been told that the check-out information was displayed on the website when booking. Fine, but we had specifically asked about check-out when we arrived and checked the welcome information provided to us. Our issue isn't that they wanted payment. Of course we expected to pay. It's the unnecessarily aggressive way it was communicated.

A simple, polite reminder that payment was required by 12pm would have been absolutely fine. Instead, we were made to feel as though we'd done something wrong or were deliberately withholding payment, when we were still sitting in the hotel waiting for our 7pm transfer.

It was completely unnecessary and left a really unpleasant taste on what was already a disappointing final day.

But it wasn't all bad...

The hotel cats are absolutely gorgeous and were definitely a highlight.

The Michael Jackson show was brilliant and probably one of the best bits of the hotel entertainment.

We went into Side Old Town and ate at the Old Town Steakhouse. It was pricey, but the food was absolutely incredible and well worth it.

We also did a speedboat trip and saw sea turtles, which was honestly incredible and one of the highlights of the holiday.

The beach was lovely. So relaxed and definitely our preferred place to be. The bus shuttles are frequent and run all day.

The water slides were great fun! The poolside gözleme was lovely, the ice cream was nice and they made good drinks.

And most importantly, we still had a fantastic family holiday. The memories we've made are brilliant. But I think that's the important distinction: we had a great holiday despite the hotel, rather than because of it!

We've stayed at Arcanus Side Resort previously and, honestly, the difference was enormous. That hotel was phenomenal and far surpassed our expectations of a family resort.

So, I'm not trying to put anyone off because everyone has different experiences and expectations, but I wanted to give an honest account of ours. If you're considering booking, hopefully this helps you make an informed decision!

Definitely not a 5☆ hotel. Rooms are poor , first room we've been given had a leak from the AC and the floor was damaged and uncleaned properly . Second room was a tiny bit better but still can't give more then 3☆ WC and shower room have a very uncomfortable layout with the doors having gaps above which makes the rest of the family to hear all the noises comes from that area, also the doors are made of glass(privicy) but still be able to see the body when the light is on.

Food is a bit rubbish, every day the same foood, only small changes. One day they had ,,Asian food,,and i manage to eat some fish which made me be sick for 2 days.

The bars are also very pour with only local drinks ; the staff serving at the pool bars are very very rude and always unhappy(not all of them but most of them)

The swimming pool is huge which is a very big plus and they have many sunbeds.

The entertainment also poor... on Sunday they are off and for the rest of the days they have some activities but nothing special at all.

Definitely I wont return back to this hotel.

This is not my first holiday in Turkey that's why I compared the previous experience with this one and it was far away from my expectations. Sorry for been to honest.