Eftalia Ocean Resort and Spa

We waited nearly a year for our family holiday and were genuinely looking forward to it. On arrival, the hotel looked lovely and first impressions were good, but unfortunately that was where the positives ended. I have travelled to Turkey many times and have never been so disappointed with a hotel.

The biggest concern for us was the food hygiene. We witnessed people coughing over food, and fresh food being placed on top of older food rather than the old food being removed. The restaurant was extremely overcrowded, and in Burger Land we actually witnessed guests tasting sauces and then putting the same spoon back into the sauce after it had been in their mouth. This is completely unacceptable from a hygiene point of view.

The food was often barely warm, the choice was very poor, and none of the four of us are particularly fussy eaters. Unfortunately, all four of us became unwell with sickness and diarrhoea and also experienced flu-like symptoms during the holiday. Obviously we cannot say for certain what caused this, but given the hygiene issues we personally witnessed, it certainly left us very concerned.

The hotel was also extremely overcrowded. People were rude and it felt like they would take the seat from underneath you if they could. Sun loungers were another constant battle, and there was very little opportunity to relax because it was simply so busy.

We also had a particularly awful experience with the children’s slides. My daughter actually slid through human faeces on the slide, meaning I had to take her straight back to the room and shower her. Given the other hygiene concerns we had already witnessed, this was extremely upsetting and really made us question the cleanliness of the facilities.

The noise was another major issue. The beds were uncomfortable and, unfortunately, getting a good night’s sleep was almost impossible. There was constant banging of doors and noise from other guests throughout the day and night. My daughter was frequently woken up by people in the room above us running around at midnight — it sounded like a herd of elephants. On some nights the noise continued into the early hours, sometimes until around 5am, before starting again for the breakfast rush and the fight for sun loungers.

The cleaners were sufficient, although we did feel they were frequently waited around expecting tips, despite the fact that we tipped well throughout the week.

I don’t mind paying extra for things when I feel the holiday represents good value for money, but considering what we paid, we feel we got nowhere near our money’s worth. There are so many additional charges for things that we didn’t expect to have to pay extra for.

We also wouldn’t have known about the island and some of the other facilities if we hadn’t discovered them ourselves. There was very little useful information around the hotel explaining what was available or where things were.

We appreciate that the poor weather we experienced was completely outside the hotel’s control. However, when the weather wasn’t good, there was very little for children to do and the facilities were extremely disappointing. For a family hotel, we expected much more.

Overall, this holiday was a huge disappointment. We had waited nearly a year for our family holiday and unfortunately came away feeling stressed, unwell and completely let down.

I would not recommend this hotel and, based on our experience, I would advise families to spend their money elsewhere.

We had such a lovely stay at Eftalia Ocean! The hotel was great, the food had plenty of choice, and there was always something going on to keep you entertained. The atmosphere was really fun and lively, which made the holiday even better.

A special mention to Hans from the entertainment team, who was absolutely brilliant! He was so friendly, funny and welcoming, and always made an effort to get everyone involved and have a good time. He definitely made our holiday more enjoyable!

Overall, we had a great time at Eftalia Ocean and would definitely recommend it for a fun, relaxing holiday!