Fuga Hotel

Just a quick review. First of all, we went to Turkey last year and stayed in Olu Deniz near Fethiye, which was actually a far nicer area as a whole. Bodrum especially was pretty dirty, with litter on the streets, stray dogs and cats in the street and hanging around restaurants and fag ends all over the beach. This is not reflective of Turkey as a whole; Olu Deniz was beautiful, wonderfully clean, with lovely sand everywhere and beautiful clean waters surrounded by mountains. As a whole, you can''t go wrong with this area and if it''s between Bodrum area and Olu Deniz, choose the latter. Back onto Bodrum, though. Yes, I may have said that it wasn’t the cleanest of places, but it's not an area without positive aspects. For a start, like Olu Deniz, the scenery is simply breathtaking from wherever you are and the Sea it self is never polluted in any way. The hotel, Fuga, has had mixed reviews and I'd say as a whole, that’s probably fair. As I said, Bodrum isn’t the nicest of areas, but having said that, it is still beautiful and Fuga offers you stunning views of the area all around. The food in the hotel isn’t amazing, but I have never had an all inclusive where it is!! There is a large selection of food available at all times of the day, some of which is perhaps not absolutely fresh, but some of which is cooked in front of you and is of a more than adequate standard. You had to book for the Mongolian Grill restaurant when we were there, a few days in advance and we couldn’t understand why, because there were hardly any people in there! This was of a higher standard than the food hall and it was friendlier, more civilised and it was a very unique and interesting way of ordering the food. There were also cats roaming around in the downstairs snack bar, that would sometimes try and snatch food from your plate, which was a little off putting, especially for older guests, but I didn’t find this too much of a problem. On top of this, birds would often swoop in from outside and nibble at the bread on display in the buffet, which wasn’t a good thing, especially with murmurs of bird flu kicking off in Turkey!! We did a little research and looking around Fuga was probably the best site for a hotel in the area; it covered a large area and had beautiful views, as well as being right next to the sea, with watersports available on your doorstep. Some people have complained about the amount of steps at the hotel, but this didn’t bother us. For a start, we came back fitter. Second of all, how else do you have a hotel on the side of a mountain, without having steps back up to your room? And lastly, there is an elevator carriage at the side that goes up and down, taking you to your 'floor' (I say 'floor' because the hotel isn’t indoors... it's just lots of apartments and the elevator is like a carriage). I had heard a review from before saying that the elevator was constantly out of order... needless to say, it never was during our stay and it was ideal for older guests, but us young-n's found it easier and quicker to walk back up to our rooms most of the time, anyway. There is also a shuttle that can take you from reception to your room (this is like a golf buggie). Now onto the facilities. The gym is great. It is virtually as fully equipped as any sportsman would expect or need and far more than the usual dumbbell and one mat that we have come to expect from hotels that advertise as having a 'gym'. Other things worthy of note are the table tennis and sauna, that seemed in good working order to me. The pool table was rubbish and was virtually falling apart, but was useable. The pools were both freezing but that was because of the time of year and they aren’t heated!! You can't use the Jacuzzi unless you have a massage which you have to pay for and apparently neither are very good anyway. You can use the internet free of charge and charge your ipods at the apple shop in the hotel. The free drinks are ok... although the free wine was apparently a bit naff. Think that covers the facilities... Must mention one thing that took the rating I have given it down to three... my brother and his wife were given a room that smelt pretty weird... kinda like sewage... so they asked for it to be changed. At first the hotel wouldn’t comply, really. They offered them a twin room or they would have to pay extra for a master room. But we spoke to our holiday rep from First Choice and by the next day, they were given a huge new room, with a living area. The staff seemed pretty friendly. But obviously this varies from person-to-person, day-to-day and place-to-place anyway. But generally speaking, Turkish people are extremely nice and helpful people. From my experience, they are always willing to listen, learn and have a laugh with strangers. We had a taxi driver who we took on a wild goose chase as we asked him to take us around several restaurants so we could see what they looked like and he still knocked money off at the end. Sometimes you have to force tips upon them, as they really don’t expect it, even though the average Turk earns just £3k a year. All in all this is a nice hotel, with great touches and ideas and a lot of imagination; the design is original and it has just about everything - it's just a shame that some parts seem a little unfinished and shabby. At only three years old, this hotel still needs work and is not really up to the standard of 4*+, and I would have given a much higher rating had the stars been lower. It isn’t quite what you expect from a 4*+. But all of the problems come from trivial matters, like too many stairs or getting given the wrong room; but all of these things can be rectified just by talking to the right person. Ignore reviews that say "if it's not too late to back out of going, then don’t go", because those people obviously had a bad personal experience there and can't see the hotel from an objective perspective. I say, go, have fun. You will really enjoy your self and it seems to be about as good as it gets in the area, but there are nicer places in Turkey to visit in the future. 3/5 - Stylish, inventive, unique, with a pleasant atmosphere and stunning views, but lacks the killer punch of some places and not many interesting places in Gumbet or Bodrum worth visiting outside of the hotel.

We booked this hotel for our Honeymoon we arrived at 4am to find 2 single beds in our room. The following day we went to reception which resembles a very large portacabin and asked to be moved to a double room which is what we had paid for only to be told they would push the beds together.
We told our rep about this who said she would sort it, after 10 mins we received a phone call to say they would be moving us in 10mins, 2 hours later we were still sat in our room waiting to be moved. We made a further phone call to guest relations who said they would be round now. We were moved to our double room at 8pm but never received an apology or a honeymoon package as per brochure.
We would not recommend this hotel for Honeymoon couples or a place to get married. This hotel is definitely not 4*+ just about 3* although we found the food and beach very good.

I concur in the most with Mr Hammond’s review. which is fair and balanced and was the view also of many U.K. people we spoke to.
However we found all-inclusive drinks to be of poor quality and selection eg. only Spiris on offer were local vodka and local gin. The wine was very if -y
Only entertainment on offer was a disco down at the beech bar really for the younger set, nothing to suit our age group (50's) which was about 40% of guests.
The staff are young and need a lot of training in the aspects of how to treat guests with respect. This is a management fault.
The rooms were sparse on furniture ( no dressing tables girls)
The bathroom had no vent extractor or window so you got the smell of the drains in your room constantly.
The room maids were superb the only ones who you could say were 4* plus
On a good day this hotel is no better than a middle 3* rating
though with a bit of thought and upgrade it has a four star potential. Yes it is a cheap price for a so called 4*+ but we would rather have paid the extra to get a proper 4*+ hotel
Lastly if First choice consider this to be one of their premier range hotels we will not be using them again.

Fuga had had mixed reviews on this site, so my husband and I were a little concerned about what our holiday would be like. However, our worries were unfounded, and we both found the hotel to be excellent.
From the beginning, when we arrived after a four-or-so-hour delay at midnight, and the check-in staff told us that "Fuga" means "escape" in Turkish, we knew that we’d made the right choice in going there.
The hotel is built on a steepish hill, as other reviewers have said, and so a little jeep takes you down with your bags to your room. I didn’t find the hill a problem - and in fact I thought it was quite nice, as the walk down to the main facilities was lovely - with lots of greenery and the stonework on the steps was lovely. When we were feeling lazy there is also an elevator at one side of the resort that takes you right from the top to the bottom, and has a few stops in between. The view from the elevator is amazing.
The food was excellent and little touches like the late night soup, which is served beside the pool, was brilliant - especially after a long flight and a late arrival (I think a lot of the flights to Turkey arrive late at night).
The self service restaurant has an amazing selection, and everything seemed very fresh. There is also a cafe bar beside the sea which serves salads/burgers/paninis at lunch time, which was excellent if you fancy a change of scenery from the main buffet restaurant.
We also ate at Fugamarin, the night time restaurant which is on a sort of jetty over the sea. This was brilliant too - the food is included in your all-inclusive package, and all you pay for is your drinks.
We were especially pleased with the Mongolian Grill restaurant. You can choose exactly what you want in your meal, and then you take it to the grill, where the chef cooks it in front of you. I had some really juicy squid with mine, but there is all sorts (chicken, beef, fish etc). What made the meal extra special is our waiter (Nusrat) who was incredibly friendly and helpful (even to one extremely awkward customer who was so rude to him that if I was in Nusrat's shoes, I would have chucked her out!).
The beach is lovely for relaxing on. We though it was especially good that there are so many comfortable and pretty places to lie and relax. This meant that you didn’t have to get up at the crack of dawn to get a sun lounger (in fact, my husband saw the staff removing the towels from a few sun loungers which people had reserved and then disappeared off). We went to the beach/pool at about 10.30 to 11 most days and had no trouble finding a nice spot to lie. The hotel also provides beach towels free of charge.
The whole atmosphere is totally relaxing, with comfy cushions, low chairs etc and the evening entertainment is low key and relaxing too - with DJs and live music (but you can stay around the pool area if its not your cup of tea).
I don’t think that the drinks/shop prices were over the top (although there were happy hours at the bars for most of the night when we went). We spent about £50 during our time there, which isn’t bad as I got a bit of a taste for cocktails (which aren’t included). There are loads of drinks included in the package, though, so you could easily not spend anything at the hotel.
Finally, we were very impressed by the rooms. We had a very spacious bedroom, which was bigger than most hotel bedrooms I'd stayed in, with good air-conditioning and a very comfy bed. We also had a separate sitting room, and a bathroom (which was excellent by Turkish standards - the shower was like you’d expect to find in a health spa). There were also two balconies.
All in all, I'd say that this hotel exceeded our expectations. My husband and I both expect very high standards (and we complained a lot during our stay at the 5* Radisson in Manchester on the weekend before we went to Turkey), but we’d both recommend the Fuga 100%.

I have just returned from my stay at the Fuga Hotel , the hotel was the worst hotel I have ever stayed in. The rooms were like shacks and were not finished off properly. The food was ok apart from the flies burying themselves in it and the birds flying around the restaurant. The staff were very rude and weren’t very helpful and the prices of extras and in the shop were ridiculous compared to those in town .Overall this hotel is too highly rated and I would recommend First Choice to pull out of this hotel and also anyone that has booked to cancel and go somewhere else.

Transfers were longer than anticipated (roughly 90 minutes) - hotel overall very pleasant with lovely views of the surrounding area. However, not 4 star superior standard. Steepness and steps of the property could make it difficult for anybody in particular elderly or young children. Did not feel the hotel would be suitable for children under 5.
Rooms were adequate, very small bathroom only shower no bath, TV only one English channel BBC world, air conditioning good. Seating area in the restaurants dictate that you could have to share your table with minimum of 4 other people and also share your table with staff. One evening we had to share our table with 5 members of staff who just sat at our table to eat their meal. (odd). This is normal practice at the hotel as the staff eat their meals in the restaurant with paying customers.
Food - salads and desserts were very nice and breakfast was adequate. Mongolian restaurant was very nice (can only use once or charged for it) Restaurant on seafront was closed on day we were booked due to weather conditions. Food at the beach bar was very good (lunchtime only). Drinks were overall good on the all-inclusive however, if you wanted a drink that was not on the all-inclusive it was extremely expensive as were the shops and boutiques on the complex. Battery for camera = 36ytl in hotel but 11 ytl in Bitez. Newspaper in hotel 10ytl Gumbet 6ytl. Hairdresser was fantastic and cost was very reasonable at 17 euros for a cut.
Staff were indifferent and the only area we felt we had good service was in the Mongolian restaurant. A nice hotel with great views and evenings were pleasant by the waterside sitting on cushions. If you are used to staying in a 4 or 5 star hotel you may find this hotel disappointing. However, if you want a chilled out holiday and service/standards are not of paramount importance then the Fuga is for you.

Me and my partner recently visited the Fuga Hotel in Gumbet in July of this year and found our experience there exceptional. The only downfall being the steps as we were located near the top of the hill but the lifts were frequent and always in service.
We found the food lovely (especially the freshly made pizzas on request) and a wide range was always available with variety from day to day. The food was prepared in front of you and was refreshed every ten minutes or when empty. The desserts are gorgeous and the profiterolls are to die for! (I ate like a pig)We could always find places to sit inside or out, depending on which we preferred. The waiters in the dining area were very helpful and did promptly fill up our glasses and remove dirty plates after asking. We visited the Mongolian restaurant twice in our week stay as it was delish and we sat on the decking by the sea, top scores there! I hear the fish restaurant is lovely too, but I aren’t really keen on fish.
Upon our arrival we were welcomed at reception and shown to our room by the staff with our luggage carried for us. Then they quickly showed us where everything was in the room. They were very polite.
The cleaners were also very good, with fresh towels every day and nice patterns on the bed with the sheets. However I can say there was a slight smell in the toilet, not through it being dirty, just the Turkey sewages.
The room was very modern and nicely furnished, along with the rest of the hotel and bar etc. It is a relaxed atmosphere, with comfy sofas and bean bags. One night at the bar I was laid on one of the sofas listening to the live music, when one of the bar staff came over and laid a blanket on me so I didn’t get cold. That was also a nice thing about it, the weather was hot during the day but cool at night.
The transport service is very frequent, with busses passing by the gates of the hotel every 5mins and it is cheap too, the same price no matter how far you go. We went to Bodrum centre one day to go shopping, its real cheap for nice fake designer clothes and bags but you must learn to say no as they all try drag you in the shops and give you a good "morning price". You can also flag the busses down and get off where you like, not just at designated stops. One thing to note though, is when planning day trips, Fuga is the first collection and the last to be dropped off.
The bars were all open when they should have been. Occasionally slow at serving at the bar but they do a good local alcohol cocktail, freshly squeezed lemonade (lovely with vodka) and 3flavoured milkshakes. We never spent a penny on food or drink our entire stay!
The day time activities are also good. We took part daily in Water polo, mini football, water aerobics, darts and a learn how to massage lesson. Laptops and board games are also available all day at no extra charge. The onsite shop is very expensive, but was open all the time along with the small clothes shop and salon.
The staff didn’t speak excellent English and there were alot of German and French visitors, however we did manage to meet 3 English parties in our stay.
Overall we had a fab time and would definitely recommend the Fuga Hotel to anyone wanting a relaxing holiday.

I have recently returned from my holiday staying at the Fuga Hotel and I have to say it was wonderful. We liked it so much that we are going to book are honeymoon there next July 06. When I book any holiday I always check holiday watchdog or look at any reviews. I was a bit disappointed not to find any about the Fuga Hotel until 2 days before we went. The review was from a Mrs. Thompson I think and was really upset to hear what she said. I was not looking forward to my holiday!
I think she must have been staying at a Hotel with a similar name as the Hotel Fuga was one of the best I have stayed at. It is not your normal package holiday with the awful entertainment but a relaxing and romantic place to stay.
The rooms where great the maids did lovely arrangements with the towels and flowers. The staff could not do enough for you, though I must say we found a couple of the bar staff a bit rude but I think we have to put that down to lack of communication because they do not all speak very good English (our fault not speaking Turkish) we learnt two words Thank You and Bye it took me a week.
The food was wonderful a real choice. The thing I enjoyed the most was relaxing on the decking by the sea with a wonderful view of Gumbet bay. I only ever use the pool because I’m not keen on the sea. I spent all week in the sea, it’s so clear and you have steps to get in and out and there is a shower near by to rinse off after. Perfect!
The Hotel is on a hill but they have little bus stops everywhere and you just press a button and in a few minutes a little buggy appears to take you up or down, its great fun plus there is a lift that goes up the side of the hill, don’t worry its not noisy if your near it.
Don’t forget to have a Turkish Bath, we went to the hotel on the left as you come out of the Fuga. It cost 10.00 each but we where there 2 hours. It was great fun. They seem to take all currency, pounds, Turkish and euros.
The Fuga hotel has live music some nights down at the beach bar and sometimes a DJ. People are lounging around on cushions and bean bags looking totally relaxed.
I said I was going to put in a review when I got home, so if you have booked a holiday at Fuga you will have a lovely time and wonder what the bad reviews where all about. PS. It was the first time in Turkey and the people are lovely. Enjoy your holiday we did! x

My wife and I spent two weeks in this hotel in June (05) and have no complaints at all, in fact I am quite shocked that the reviewers posting here from May who are reporting so many things that were not the case in June.
It seems the people who went in May experienced a totally different level of service to us (seemingly a total different hotel in some cases!). Perhaps there has been a change if management again. From our more recent experience I would not recommend people "cancel their booking" as there is absolutely no reason to at all.
As of June 2005 I can categorically confirm the hotel is clean, well managed and very well run... I do not work for First Choice and like all reviewers I am a normal fare paying holiday-maker. I do not know what happened in May to make the reviewers below so aggrieved but I am sharing my view as it is so vastly different to these people.
I’d like to quote Ragirl's previous review list of problems as nothing we experienced was the same:-
"The maintenance of the room had simply been neglected as we found:
-Exposed wires in the wall
- None at all
-Exposed terminals on light bulbs (220 Volts)
- None at all
-Broken key slot in which you were supposed to place your room key to activate the electricity
- No
-Several holes in the duvet where foam was leaking out
- There were no duvets in the room. Clean sheets and blanket
-Air-conditioning did not work, which was an issue in the daytime as it was over 30 degrees centigrade outside
- Air conditioning was clean, working and very efficient! And it was 35-38 degrees during our visit.
-The toilet flusher was broken
- No
-The TV reception was poor, and there was only one English Channel, which was BBC World
- The TV reception was clear, all standard Euro channels (RTL etc) along with BBC World, BBC Choice, CNBC Europe (English) and CNBC UK.
-There were no ceiling lights, only one light either side of the bed
- There were two ceiling lights in the bathroom, 4 wall lights in the bedroom. The sun was bright until 9pm at night so the lights were rarely needed!
-There were ants all over the room
- No...
Our room was clean and very well maintained. The Air conditioning was very efficient and handily remote controlled. The units were made by Beko and looked fairly new in all rooms.
Ragirl:- "The food in the international restaurant was left out in the open for the entire time the restaurant was open for each mealtime. This was an issue due to the fact that birds were flying around the restaurant and landing on the food frequently. I saw members of the Fuga staff had noticed this, but they never made any effort to chase the birds away, and worse still, did not remove the food they had seen the birds land on. It was left out for other guests to consume."
I am confused about this, at a buffet it is standard to have the food out. We found that food was put out but refreshed regularly. Most food was consumed within to 15-30 minutes of being brought out and the empty bowl would be removed and replaced with fresh. This was a continual process on the salad, fruit and desert bar.
Hot food was cooked FRESH on FIVE different stations in the restaurant at every meal. The Pizza station was manned for the duration with fresh pizza’s cooked every couple of minutes. Alongside was the meat station (generally kebabs, burgers etc) where the meat was grilled in front of you. The other three stations did flambé food, freshly cooked pasta dishes, roast meat and usually some type of fried fish. The food was cooked and put into heated serving tureens and the turnover was fast, I never saw food sitting for any length of time as it was cooked to demand of the amount of people in the restaurant. The other heated tureens around the restaurant contained vegetables and these were refreshed as soon as the food went, which again was no longer than 30 minutes.
During breakfast time, mostly early on, birds could be opportunist and take a peck at the bread rolls on the bread station but I don’t believe this a fault of the hotel, especially as all baskets were covered with polythene to deter the birds. It was only when guests removed the polythene (and didn’t replace it) that the birds had access. But birds in the restaurant are a pretty frequent experience in hotels with open restaurants. We’ve seen birds in hotels in St Lucia, Barbados, Israel, Egypt and many others places, including a 5 star Hilton Hotel!
Ragirl: "On several occasions, we tried to eat the poultry, but it was red in the middle, indicating it had not been cooked properly. Again, this was pointed out to the Fuga staff, but they did not seem to understand out problem. You can understand our concern when we spoke to an elderly English couple who had contracted gastroenteritis during their stay at the Fuga."
My wife only eats chicken and turkey and therefore pretty much ate poultry every night.... roast chicken, chicken kebabs and battered chicken and never once was it red/uncooked. The roast chicken was carved at the roast meat station in public display, the kebabs were cooked in front of you at the meat station... there was nothing hidden.
Ragirl:- "The staff in the restaurant were obviously untrained. They would take your plate away from you, even if you still had a mouthful of food, and may not have yet finished eating. The drinks were self-service, which I think is poor service for a four star plus hotel and it was a real issue getting to the drinks area, as the restaurant was very crowded, being that it has a capacity of 140, and there were 500 guests in the hotel. The hotel had no rotation system for food sittings, it was turn up when you felt like it."
During our stay the hotel was FULL and we never had a problem getting a seat in the restaurant and even at peak times it was never full. It was nice to be able to go for your meals when you wanted rather than being forced to a timeslot. The drinks were self service BUT also served. When shown to your seats you were given a glass of mineral water and asked if you wanted a drink, which would be brought over. After that if you had wine it would be topped up by the waiter for the duration of your meal.
All in all my wife and I (37 and 40 respectively) had a lovely time at the Fuga. We were at the top of the slope, near the Relax Pool and therefore had almost the longest walk to/from the restaurants... but we liked that.
I certainly would not dissuade anyone from going to Hotel Fuga... and in fact my wife and I and two friends are going back in October!
I am sure there have been vast changes since whatever problems were in May and everything now makes for a smooth running, clean and friendly holiday.

Have just returned from a one week stay at the Fuga. Like the last two reviewers I too read the bad review just before we went away and PANICKED! However found the review (at the time we went) to be unfounded. Whatever problems the fuga had - they are now resolved. Everything is now open and the staff were charming at all times.
Found the Fuga to be ideal if you are looking for a relaxing holiday a bit away from the hustle and bustle. Saying that, Gumbet is literally just down the hill and if you don’t fancy walking the bus stops just outside the hotel (and runs every minute practically) and takes you into Gumbet or all the way into Bodrum - for bargain price of 75p approx!
Best points regarding the hotel are the amazing panoramic views and its pool/sundeck on the beach areas, they are really different from most hotels and ideal for a comfy day sunbathing.
Food is lovely and if you get bored of the main restaurant there are two other restaurants to choose from.
Rooms spacious - the only downside being our slightly smelly toilet - due to turkey’s sewage system I guess - but we have had that in other countries. Our room was certainly not damp. The maids did a really good job and left nice touches such as towels folded into shapes and flowers on bed.
The only other downside (but this is due to laziness really) is the fact that the hotel is on a steep hill so walking about the resort can be abit exhausting especially in the heat. However as other people have said there is a shuttle around the resort and an elevator.
All in all we had a fantastic time and were very happy with the Fuga and with the service we received from first choice.