Eftalia Aqua Resort

We booked through Jet2 for our family of 9, staying across 2 rooms. It worked out at around £1,300pp, including 2 free child places, for 10 nights, plus a private transfer. The transfer took around 1hr 45mins–2hrs, so definitely worth bearing in mind if you’re travelling with little ones! We arrived in the early hours of Friday morning and, immediately at check-in, we were offered an upgrade to Eftalia Blue for an extra £100 per room. It was a pretty hard sell and felt quite pressured, with the impression that if we didn’t decide there and then, without seeing our allocated rooms first, there was no guarantee the offer would still be available the following morning. My father-in-law decided to pay the upgrade fee, but there was a bit of a catch… we couldn’t actually move to Blue that night! We had to spend our first night at Aqua and then check into Blue the following day at 11am. We were in the separate annexs at the front of the hotel overlooking the pools and slides. Our family room for 5 was actually lovely. The master bedroom had a double bed and a single, while the second bedroom had 2 beds and a sofa. There was also a separate toilet/bathroom with an actual lockable door. My in-laws’ room was in the annex at the other side of the hotel, which they shared with my sister-in-law and her daughter. Unfortunately, their room was tiny, dated and tucked around a corner with no real view, so they were definitely pleased they’d opted for the upgrade! We had breakfast at Aqua on the Friday morning. It was okay but miles better at the Blue. The hotel arranged golf buggies to take us over to Eftalia Blue, which the kids loved but when we arrived we were told our rooms weren’t ready and we couldn’t check in until 2pm. On the plus side, they allowed us to keep the wristbands for both hotels, so we came back to the one day Aqua and went on the water slides although I’d give the green slide a very wide berth! I came off it and absolutely smashed the back of my head. The lifeguard witnessed it, checked I was okay and offered me an ice pack, so credit where it’s due for looking after me. Personally, I actually preferred some aspects of Aqua. The adults-only pool was lovely, especially as Blue doesn’t have one, and I thought the main pool around the back of Aqua was better laid out than the one at Blue. The shop downstairs in the Aqua lobby was cheaper than both the Eftalia Island shops and the local shops outside the complex, so definitely worth checking prices before buying. And as others have mentioned, don’t expect it to be completely “all inclusive”. Certain spirits aren’t included, fresh orange juice costs €2, and ice creams are only available at certain times before they lock the freezers up!

Animation team amazing, kids club amazing over all we have had a brilliant 10 days

We managed to get a last-minute 5-night break during the Easter school holidays and travelled as a family of three — myself, my husband and our 6-year-old son. We went with an open mind, knowing we were travelling out of season, and thankfully the weather was great for the few days we were there.

Unfortunately, overall, we found the hotel quite disappointing and wouldn’t rush back.

All-inclusive: For us, the all-inclusive offering was very limited. Cocktails weren’t included and ranged from around €8–€12, and unfortunately the beer tasted very watered down and the wine wasn’t really drinkable. The waiters regularly walked around the pool areas, but we found they weren’t particularly interested in bringing the included drinks and seemed much more focused on selling cocktails. I did purchase a few cocktails simply because I wanted something decent to drink.

Food: The food was probably our biggest disappointment. Our 6-year-old wouldn’t eat much at all, although thankfully the pizza and waffles at dinner kept him going! We didn’t particularly enjoy breakfast, and for lunch we often chose to eat at the beach instead. In the evenings, we ended up going out for meals as we preferred the food elsewhere.

We also had a rather strange experience on our first day. We walked into the restaurant and a waiter brought three orange juices to the table without us asking for them. He then told us they cost €7.50. We asked if one could be taken away as we hadn’t ordered them, but were told that because they had already been put on the table, we had to pay for them.

The hotel was busy enough even though we were there out of season. As we travelled during the Easter holidays, I can imagine it gets extremely busy during the height of summer.

One of the biggest issues for us was the transfer back to Antalya Airport, which took nearly three hours. It was honestly horrendous and something to bear in mind when booking.

A final warning if you’re travelling through Antalya Airport — allow plenty of time for security and be prepared for some eye-watering prices once inside! I ordered a McDonald’s Happy Meal, two cheeseburgers and a Diet Coke and was charged the equivalent of £48. Absolutely unbelievable!

Overall, this was simply a last-minute getaway for us during the Easter holidays, so we tried not to have high expectations. The weather was lovely and we enjoyed having some time away as a family, but based on our experience, there were too many disappointments for us to consider returning.