Tui Blue Barut Andiz

Just returned from a ten day stay from June 27th to July 7th - 8 adults ranging from age 18 to 68. First time at this hotel.

We actually had a different hotel booked and after seeing the reviews for this hotel we paid £400 in amendment fees to change to this one.

Arrival - we got a private transfer after reading many reviews saying how long the transfer was by coach. We booked this through Dursan Side and would definitely use them again. It only took an hour. Check in was really quick and we were in our room within minutes of turning up.

After unpacking we went up to the sunset bar to check it out and have a quick drink after a long day of travelling. The bar staff could not have been any more rude or unwelcoming. We ordered iced coffee which they refused to make, peach juice which they said they didn’t do and Coke Zero which they said they only had Coke light. Even though the coffee and Coke Zero are on the menu. So we opted for bottled water. This was a very disappointing start and not being a “drinker” we were worried this was our only option for drinks in this bar for the holiday. The following morning we spoke to “gorgeous George” and Craig the TUI rep and they went above and beyond. They reassured us that we could order iced coffee in any bar as well as Coke Zero and that they didn’t stock peach juice but had ordered some! You can’t get better than that and we were extremely grateful for the customer service. They even put peach juice in my mums room and had it available at every bar. Outstanding. Craig is absolutely lovely as well, he gets everyone involved, he holds a great conversation and he advised the youngsters of the decent night clubs in Side. They had a couple of great nights out. Savas was fully aware of who we were when he returned to work on the Monday and I’m pretty sure all the staff had been given a “heads up”. He comes around several times a day checking in. Maybe slightly excessive? Nevertheless, a nice enough guy with a great understanding of British humour.

Rooms - Rooms were disappointing as we’d ordered doubles with sea view and only one out of 4 had a sea view, all the others faced the street. They offered to change one of the rooms the 3rd day we were there but who wants the faff of re packing and moving around so we politely declined. The room itself is nice enough. The bed is bigger than a standard double and you get single quilts which the wife and I found fab as no duvet wars. The Tv channel choice is poor and even though there’s a Netflix button, it doesn’t actually work but not the end of the world and we’ve only had a couple of hotels with better tv choice. Pool towels already in the room on arrival, along with slippers ,robes, wine and fruit and a complimentary beach bag which is lovely. Plenty of wardrobe space for two people and a safe. The shower is lovely and never went cold. As the holiday went on the room got dirtier and dirtier and although towels were replaced daily and the cups, the toilet floor was disgusting by the day we left.

Pools - Pool is lovely and not too cold. We loved the little jacuzzi bit. You get the usual people getting up before 5am for "their spot" but you get that everywhere. You can get a bed at the pool at any time of day, although these are over the far side of the pool and do not see the sun until around 1pm. Ismail the waiter round the pool is absolutely amazing. Works his socks off keeping everyone hydrated and always with a smile. He even came in for the England game at 3am to open the bar. What a legend. The first couple of days we felt like intruders and like we’d gate crashed the hotel. It felt like everyone knew we’d had a bad start and felt judged and we didn’t feel welcome. However, that feeling soon disappeared and we got speaking to people and people saw our youngsters having a boogie each evening and the other guests couldn’t have been more welcoming. Whether it was their 3rd time or 10th time. We enjoyed our chats round the pool each morning with the other guests and felt like part of the crew. The worst thing about round the pool is the smoking side is the side that gets the sun first and for the first week it was absolutely fine but the last few days we were surrounded by smokers and it was a bit much. Non smokers shouldn’t have to be in the shade until 1pm to avoid this really as I’d say smokers are the minority.

Food The food is OK. The selection is small and repetitive and I don’t understand how the reviews big the food up so much. We’ve done plenty of hotels in Turkey and if the food here was nicer/different than others but less of it, then I’d agree but it was literally no different to any other hotel we’ve been to just way less choice and some of us struggled a lot at lunch and dinner. The Turkish themed night was fab though. The service for dinner could be better. If all 8 of us were eating together, they would take our drinks order then get them all wrong and I think that’s because there were so many of us so probably better to write it down when it’s a big party. Was fine when just two of us went for dinner. Although very rarely put ice in the drinks. The à la carte however was absolutely fantastic. The butter chicken followed by the chocolate soufflé was divine and well worth the visit. Thank you Nuri and the young lad I think Mehmet? He’s so cute and works really hard. The lemon ice cream in the little cake shop is divine and so are the home made cookies. Would be nice to be able to get ice lollies in there too rather than only at the beach. We ate twice in the à la carte for lunch and it was ok, the beef wrap was nice but the burger wasn’t, however our boys loved it and went every day to see Nuri and have their lunch. We didn’t eat in the restaurant at lunch times so can’t comment on that.

Drinks are hit and miss. Great round the pool during the day but despite our complaints the first evening, they still got a*sey if we ordered iced coffee in the sunset bar so we stopped bothering. The only time anyone had one was when gorgeous George was up there and made it. Burak had a terrible attitude and didn’t get the name of the other guy but one evening my son went to order some cocktails and was told he was too busy to make them and just order a normal drink. We also went to the lobby bar after we’d been into Side one evening and ordered an iced coffee and the “famous Halit” was not impressed with our order, had a face like a slapped butt and sent a colleague off to grab a flask of the coffee. We didn’t return to that bar. Absolutely disgusting and we didn’t want to keep raising it and look like “that family”.

Entertainment Entertainment was absolutely fantastic. Really enjoyed the soul band, the silent disco and the quiz. Definitely up there with one of the best entertainment hotels we’ve been to. Loved the little quiz each day from Debbie and she is absolutely lovely. Loved chatting to her. The older adults didn’t attend the pool party but the 2 x 18 year olds had the best time ever. Said it was their favourite night, they also enjoyed the belly dancers 😂. It would be nice to have another area outside if people want a quieter evening as the few chairs down by the pool bar is not enough for the amount of people.

Beach The beach in general is heaving and the busiest beach we’ve ever seen. We are not beach people so it didn’t bother us but it looked packed. The hotel section wasn’t packed but it’s very close to the other hotel sections and a public bit.

Shopping We walked into side one evening and it took about 25 minutes. Great selection of shops but you do get hounded so be prepared for that. You get that everywhere though. There are shops along the beach on the way to Side that do just as good as clothing as Side and a lot less hounding! Also plenty of bars and restaurants.

Prior to coming we were really worried the youngsters would be bored after all the comments about being an over 50s hotel. This is not the case at all. There’s a mixture of all ages and plenty of young people whilst we were there and the youngsters had a fantastic holiday and really got stuck in to everything.

All in all we had a good enough time and made the most of our holiday. Would we return? Unlikely. The other guests were lovely to be around but It’s not the cheapest hotel and there’s a few staff who let it down for us and the attitude towards ordering our “usual” drinks made us not bother so drank water the majority of the holiday in the evenings. Also just one beer on offer which is efes. This is the only all inclusive we’ve been to that only offers one lager. The food was a big let down for us. The reason the hotel has such good reviews is because the majority are from repeat customers writing them. I do wonder if they have experienced other hotels in Turkey to think so highly of this one as there is definitely better out there. If your face fits and you’re a long timer but not a newbie or a non cocktail lover it seems you’ll be fine. I’m not saying this hotel is terrible or trying to put people off booking, just trying to give an honest opinion based on our experience as first timers and comparing to other hotels we’ve been to in Turkey. It seems you can’t have a differing opinion on the Facebook group but this is our honest and factual review and based on our experience only.

Very nice and romantic hotel with nice and friendly personal and good food and drinks

Just returned from our second stay at this fantastic hotel. We've stayed in many hotels but none with staff that are as efficient and genuinely friendly as all here. There's not a manager anywhere like Savas. We've decided that he must have a twin brother as he's there all day/ evening and always the same friendly, helpful and genuine person. It's rare to meet a manager that's respected by all his workforce but it applies in his case. There's so many people to mention but all the staff deserve all the praise heeped on them. Emine,the lady tidying our room was brilliant. All the guys in the a la carte restaurant ( Marty Pellow and Mehmet) makes your meals special. Then there's George, Halil and Ishmail who all work so hard. Last but not least the daytime receptionist ( sorry didn't get your name) who was extremely helpful and super efficient and also Mehmet the operations manager who gets better every day. See you in September Savas.