Palm Wings Ephesus Beach Resort

Beautiful Grounds, But Our Holiday Was Ruined by Serious illness! Please proceed with caution!

We stayed at this hotel in early August as a family of four two adults and two teenagers. I am writing this review because I feel a duty to warn other families considering this hotel.

Within two days of arriving, I became violently ill and was admitted to A&E in Turkey, where I was put on two IV drips, had blood tests taken, and was prescribed antibiotics used to treat a parasitic infection (most likely water contamination). Over the following days, my partner also became ill, then my son, and finally the fourth member of our party fell ill on our travel day home. Upon returning to Ireland, I had to attend A&E a second time, where I was formally diagnosed with a parasitic infection, most likely contracted through contaminated food or water.

This was not a minor stomach upset. This was a serious medical situation that affected every single member of our party and effectively destroyed what was supposed to be a family holiday.

We had booked and paid a significant amount for an all-inclusive package (including a swim up room). Due to the illness, we were unable to make use of the vast majority of what we had paid for the food, the drinks, the facilities. We received almost no benefit from the all-inclusive package whatsoever.

To make matters worse, during the period when members of our party were falling ill one by one, we requested an additional room so that those who were sick could be isolated and we could try to prevent further spread. This request was not fulfilled. As a result, three of us were forced to share one room for two nights in an attempt to protect the fourth person from becoming ill a situation that was distressing, uncomfortable, and entirely avoidable had the hotel acted on our request. The fourth member of our holiday was in fact my son's friend and as a result spent a good proportion of the holiday alone as the rest of us were sick.

The grounds of the hotel are genuinely beautiful, and the guest relations manager was responsive when approached however, the response felt surface-level and nothing substantive was done. The food & drink is absolutely terrible and general service throughout were poor, and our experience with a member of management on our very first night set an uncomfortable tone from the outset.

I am currently pursuing a formal complaint regarding this matter. I would urge any family, particularly those travelling with children, to carefully consider this before booking. This has had more than a huge financial impact on us. Be careful.

Family of 5, 2 rooms in the main building. Rooms were great. Modern, clean and enough room for what we needed. Sea and pool view, mini fridge restocked daily. I emailed guest relations before asking for them to be next door to each other with a sea view and we got exactly that. They were cleaned every day. The pools and hotel are lovely. 3 children aged 9,11 and 13 loved the slides and waterpark. We also loved the ‘top’ pool where the animation team and ping pong table are. Great vibe around there and no issues with sunbeds anywhere. People do reserve them but there is plenty to go round, even when our pool shut for the day due to an ‘accident’. There is a long wide path between the top pool and the water parks, with an ice cream and waffle shack on the way. The kids loved going back and forth and it was nice that we could see them walking to the food stalls. The snack bar is on this path too that we ate at every lunch. Great choice of pizza, nuggets, chicken, rice, burgers and some sort of kebab everyday. And salad! I used to go inside to the main restaurant and get the better salads and bring it outside to join the kids at the snack bar. There is no fizz or prosecco to be found. However you can pre order a bottle at €50 euros which I found shocking. The wine is not good. This was the only disappointing thing in the hotel for us. I had a few cocktails that were nice, the kids enjoyed the mocktails, but as I only drink Prosecco or Sauvignon at home I did struggle. We ate out twice where I was able to find Prosecco but at £12 a glass! The food is as you would expect in the restaurant. It does get a bit samey but we didn’t struggle any days to find something. We did have a reservation with the à la carte however the lady that booked it told me Thursday, but the date given was actually for Wednesday so unfortunately we missed our slot. It was fully booked so they couldn’t accommodate us in any other restaurants and we left the next day so make sure you check your booking ticket for the right date! The sunset bar was gorgeous. The views over the beach were phenomenal and it was never busy. We went there every day. We could also see the sunset from our room Balcony which was nice. The beach is lovely too. We did the jet skis and banana boat and used the free kayaks and pedalo (you get 30 mins which is enough!) the beach always had sunbeds available, the comfy ones too with the thick mattresses on. The sea was like a bath it was so warm. We contacted Murphy’s restaurant in Kusadasi via WhatsApp and they picked us up for free, allowed us shopping time before we had a meal there and they brought us home. We thought this was fantastic (was apprehensive at first!) I would definitely recommend doing this. The second time we went we paid taxis, £20 each way and ate in Kusadasi anyway so would have been more beneficial to pre book with a restaurant as most of them will collect you. Kusadasi is definitely worth a visit. The harbour is nice. Overall I felt very safe, the hotel was clean and there was loads to do. The kids loved the waffles and ice cream shacks. The water slides close 12-2 which was a good idea to get the kids out the sun and give parents a break from watching! The night entertainment was variable. The Turkish dancing show was a bit dismal, but the kids enjoyed the fire show on the beach and the fiesta night. The day animation team are fantastic. Lots of Zumba, water polo and activities going on for everyone. You are allowed floaties in the pools all day. I was really worried about mosquitos before I came but I needn’t have been. Even in the amphitheater and on the sand I was fine, but I did wear lots of jungle formula spray/had the wipes and the wristbands! The kids just had the Avon skin so soft on and none of them got bit! I got bit once on my back in Kusadasi when I forgot to spray. I don’t generally return to the same place twice. I would have returned here if the drinks selection was better. We really enjoyed our stay. Best bits, sunset bar, the slides, the beach, the waffle and ice cream stations, the rooms, the service. The staff are lovely and Kelly the guest relations Mgr seemed genuine and like she would do her best to help you.