Xanthe Resort

The hotel is nicely located on the beach with its own dedicated beach bar/snack bar. Unlike some other man made beaches in Turkey, this is a genuine white sand beach with plenty of beds in pairs with parasols, or rows of beds under a UV reduction canopy offering a cooler shaded feel while still enabling tanning for those who want to Bronze. Watch that sea breeze though..it's just nice enough to fool you into thinking you won't be glowing like a beacon by the night! Keep on that sunscreen!

There are plenty of bazars in the surrounding streets, although it looks desolate during the day and more vibrant at night. We didn't venture out much other than to the nearest small mall 5 mins away, but being more familiar with the Lara Beach area, I'd say Lara is more polished for tourists than this part of Side, but the prices reflect that with many shops cheaper in this area.

The hotel atmosphere is relaxed but with the entertainment team providing plenty of options for activities. Those guys are like red bull wrapped in skin, I tired just watching their unwavering energy and enthusiasm!

For food, one main buffet restaurant and 2x a-la-carts with one free use during a 7 night stay. We didn't use any of a-la-cart and didn't tire of the buffet food, always finding something different to have. The snack bars give a decent mid-day option and seem to have a rotating menu every couple of days, although both snack bars serve the same menu so don't bother walking to the other to see what other options are available.

Rooms...hmm...we visited as a couple and having been used to family rooms for a long time found this really small. It was enough for sleeping, washing etc, but our room was located on top floor with a loft style feel the way the roof sloped in the room. I lost count of the amount of times both me and my wife bumped our heads on the roof. I'm 5ft 11 but she's only 5ft 6 and still found it a pain, taking turns of standing in the "good space" to get ready. Not enough to put us off, but not great. The main reason I wouldn't accept one of these rooms though is the adjoining room doors. Obviously able to be locked if you're not next to your own family, but the sound proofing is zero because of the door frame and I could hear every word, cough and yes...the occasional "toot" from next door, that's how bad the sound proofing was. Our lack of love for this room was not helped by the fact new neighbours arrived at 2am one morning and decided to aggressively try the door (not succeeding), but waking us up in the process.

The hotel is very clean and presentable, and the waitering staff are always busy. Can't complain about how hard they work at all. Applause for all staff here and shout out to the Spa staff who fixed my buckled back after a few deep massages and stretches.

The hotel size is deceiving as it's a rectangle shape turned side on, pointing towards the beach, meaning the pools run along side the hotel. Due to limited beds around the pools we spent all our time on the beach as I didn't fancy getting up and putting towels out stupidly early. The main restaurant space is huge and we never struggled for seating, but the seating areas at the bars were only a fraction of the size. We visited during a quiet period and were never able to find a seat in the main bar in the evening, and unless we found a seat at the pool bar early on while people were watching the entertainment, then we'd of struggled here too. The beach bar operates as the Turkish a-la-cart on an evening, but again that's not that big even if it is open as an evening bar.

This was a last minute deal for us, and on value it was worth it and a nice break for a week. Other than the room size for us I don't have any complaints, just a concern how I'd feel in a peak season. I would revisit if another last minute deal was available though, giving some indication to our satisfaction.

Tip: Visit Side Old town! 900 Turkish Lira in a taxi each way (£15 ish). Heaving on an evening when it's cooler, but quiet during the day and dangerously tempting to sit and drink all day looking out over the marina! You can get a taxi into the old town, but need to walk out of it to get a taxi back.

Note: We're Uk travellers and largely keep to our own company, but if you're uk and looking to socialise with others, it was mentioned by staff that we were rare English travellers there. We did detect a few other English voices, but it's predominantly German visitors. People are friendly enough and we did see German-English kids playing in the pool together so it's not a negative by any means, but I know some who might find that detail useful.

Great atmosphere, entertainment team all welcoming and friendly, special shout out to Casper who remembered our names from initial meeting and highlighted activities all week.

Grounds are always clean, maintained regularly throughout the day which added to comfort throughout stay.

Different venues to eat at as part of the all inclusive, beach and pool bar snacks perfect during the day.

Pools always clean, 50m pool was a highlight!