Saray Hotel

I visited the Saray in Hisaronu during the first two weeks of September 2008. As a first time visitor to Hisaronu I tend to agree with what Bonita22 has said about Hisaronu. If you want a resort that is completely geared towards British holidaymakers (Sunday lunch, full English breakfasts, luvly jubbly shops selling rip off clothes and other assorted crap, karaoke bars, fairgrounds, go karts etc) then come here; if you don’t, avoid it completely: enough said. Otherwise Olu Deniz or Calis Beach are probably more what you are looking for. Olu Deniz is easily reached on the very regular Dolmus, as are Fethiye and Calis Beach although both are a little bit further. At night when the main street though Hisaronu is closed, the Dolmus stops right outside the Saray, which is cool and really handy. The Saray is quite a nice hotel and is better than I expected having read some of the reviews on here and on other review sites; so some of what follows that may appear like me moaning and criticising is not really more than observation/advice, as I did have a nice and comfortable holiday all in all. The location of the hotel was good for Hisaronu; out of the way of the main drag and in a quiet position. The accommodation was in three blocks. I was in the block furthest from the road and from the reception/bar area, so this probably limited the noise from the go kart track and the bar, although neither seemed overly noisy to me anyway. The go kart track closed quite early at night and I cannot imagine that it would cause too much of a noise even if you were closer to it. The bar never seemed to be that noisy; at least not constantly although it did have its moments, but not late at night and certainly not all night long. The pool area was ok, albeit a bit bleak and shadeless. It was rather unkempt though and wasn’t cleaned down every day and some of the sun beds were a bit worse for wear. It was commonplace for guests to reserve ‘their’ sun beds and areas of the pool by leaving towels all over the place overnight every night, which was frustrating and rather selfish I thought. The message here is if you cant beat em join em, as everyone did it and the hotel did nothing to stop it. However, as much as it annoyed me, I didn’t spend a lot of time there during the day as I went to Olu Deniz beach and another hotel’s pool quite a lot. The hotel gardens are, unlike the pool area, ‘very’ well kept and nice as there is a man who goes round tending them all day long, (when he isn’t busy doing other maintenance around the hotel). Oh, and they do like their signs at this hotel; commanding guests what, and what not to do! I was half board in a hotel room, so cannot comment on the self catering side of things, although from what I could see and from what I heard, the apartments seemed nice, roomy and well equipped. The hotel rooms were basic but clean and tidy and were what you would expect for that class of hotel in Turkey. There was no bath but a good shower. There was air conditioning (£50 for two weeks) which was worth it as it was very hot even at night, and also meant you could keep the windows closed at night for that extra bit of noise prevention and to keep out the mosquitoes. The beds were comfy and all in all the rooms were nice and homely in my opinion. The breakfast was again exactly what you come to expect in Turkey, if not with rather better choice than I have found before in similar places, although it finished at 9.30 prompt when everything was whisked away, which I found to be a bit early and often missed if I couldn’t be bothered to get up. I was half board so I got an evening meal as well. I got the impression that half board guests were a bit of a rarity as most hotel guests were B&B I think, so consequently the arrangements for half board were to say the least patchy. You could choose things off the dinner menu that operated in the bar/dining area, but they were a bit funny about what you could have, e.g. ‘Red Meat’ and the more expensive fish were charged for at 8YTL extra than cheaper dishes. As a result, it did get a bit confusing at to what you could have off the menu, and you felt a bit awkward keep asking what you could or could not have, which was a bit embarrassing sometimes. I ended up playing safe and having more or less the same thing most nights, which got a bit repetitive. However the menu was quite extensive and the food was very nice (try the Chicken Cordon Bleu). I think there should have been a separate menu for half board people as this would improve the experience a bit I think. Organisationally, some aspects of staying at the Saray left things somewhat to the intuition of the guests. I felt that you had to be rather persistent and cheeky to get what you wanted and to get your way at times, otherwise you would often be ignored (in favour of repeat guests and those guests who sat at the bar every night and had their own same tables set for them every night etc), and/or not get what you wanted which I was not prepared to accept, and didn’t. Do pay for EVERYTHING as you go along; don’t tab things up as extra items do tend to find their way onto your bill!! The place appeared to be run by the lads behind the bar who whilst ok (the one who called himself Michael was the best by a long way), were a bit lapse and cocky sometimes and I got the impression that one or two of them were a bit shifty. I didn’t use (or even meet) the Tomas Cook rep, but I would say that if you are unsure about things and need anything sorting out at this hotel without being overly assertive yourself with the staff, if you have a rep to call on, then kick their [--] to do it for you. The management/owners were present but didn’t take much interest in the day to day stuff and didn’t seem very interested in the guests or how the staff dealt with people. This however seems to be the standard for mid range hotels in Turkey who receive package holidaymakers. If you want more professionally run places with staff who know their place and where the service is more straightforward and forthcoming, I think you have to pay that little bit more and/or look for an area/resort which suits your needs and what you are looking for. All in all Hisaronu and the Saray are alright if you know what the sort of thing you are letting yourself in for at the price you pay for it, but certainly will not be to everybody’s taste.

Me and my partner have just recently returned from the Saray Appartments in Hisaronu. Overall the appartments were clean and quite basic, but comfortable. We stayed B&B for 1 week, which now looking back, we should have maybe chose the self catering option instead. The room did have a mini bar, which was useful to keep any drinks we brought in cool and also an air conditioning unit (which we had to pay for), but was a welcomed relief as it was extremely hot. The maid service is very good, they come in every day and tidy up etc but the towels are only changed every 3 days. The breakfast although basic was enough to pass us through the beginning of the day, however, if you have kids there isn't much variety. The people who work at the bar in the appartments are nice too but be ready for them trying to sell you as many trips as possible within the first 5 minutes of them meeting you. We did the 12 islands boat trip recommended by one of them - (Michael) - and although it was only 9 Euros each, there were no 12 islands to stop off and see. Plus we were on the boat for a total of 9 hours which was too long. Also, be aware that right outside of the appartments is a Go-Karting track which is a bit of an eye sore and you can hear the screaching of brakes at all hours. Hisaronu itself isn't particularly nice to be honest but is depends on what you look for in a holiday. If you want, Traditional Roast Beef Sunday dinners, Chinese restaraunts and Irish bars etc, then its the place for you. For us it was everything that us Brits should be ashamed of as obvioulsy our influence over the years has made the place the way it is. My opinion is, if you got to a different country then you want to experience that different country/culture and that includes their way of life, food, drink etc. The better places to go are Olu Deniz for the famous beach and also Fethiye for the town/market/harbour/Bizarre. Lastly, we booked this holiday on the idea that is was a last minute cheapy....... we were wrong!! Unfortunately, Turkey now seems to want to get every ounce of money from you the visitor whether it being by having to pay for the use of a trolly at Dalaman airport, pay £6 each to ensure that you can sit next to your family etc on your return flight or be charged £8 for every kilo you are over the luggage limit. (Please read you holiday information carefully). We were charged £40 for being 5 kilos over weight, them saying our limit was 15 kilos, however, going over it was 20 kilos allowance. Put everything you can in to hand luggage. I do like Turkey as it is very beautiful and it's my 5th time there. When you sit by the pool at the Saray, luckily you can drift away into tranquility as it isn't too close to the 'brit resort' hustle and bustle that is Hisaronu and the back drop of the mountains is stunning. (P.S please keep an eye out for the dog that belongs to the appartments. He is a Golden Retriever called Hector and is constantly tied up outside the front of the appartments. I spent most of my holiday worrying about his welfare and even bought him food from the local shop and stole food from the breakfast buffet for him. He seemed to be tied up for the whole 7 days I was there, but I did find out he belonged to one of the staff who worked behind the bar and was walked 3 times a day. Please Please, if you do visit these appartments keep an eye on him, he is a loveley dog and I think the more people that question why he is tied up, the more they may take care of him).

friend and i were at my "second home "last year had a fabulous time.As always the hotel was clean and food great,the staff mustafa,and the boys especially mehmet were always pleased to see you and the service faultless The area is just fantastic everywhere you look there are wonderful scenes of mountains.The shops are ideal for bargains especially for gold and leather.The hotel itself is in a great position,near enough to the main road but far enough not to hear the noise.a must have is a turkish bath i had two while there,and looked and felt a million dollars,even weeks after i returned.Met a fantastic couple hi to maureen and pete,still keep in touch and hope to get back at some point in the near future.

We have just come back from 2 weeks at the Saray - what can I say but fantasic. We just could not fault it. We stayed self catering so we had an apartment that slept 4. I would recommend to get the air con as it get very hot on a night. (We paid £35 per week as we had 2 air con units, one in the bedroom and one in the dinning room) if you have a room with 1 air con its £25 but well worth it. Also get the safey deposit box for £10 per week. Room are very clean and the maids dont speak much English but do understand your needs, eg if you require more towels, toilet rolls etc. The restaurant/bar is open from first thing in the morning until the last person leaves at night. The staff, James and Michael, are so funny they keep you enterained all day long. The Saray is situated about 2 minutes walk from all the restaurants, bars and shops so you will not be lost for eating out etc, but its still far enough that the hussel can't be heard back at your apartment. We totally recommend the Saray and we are booking up for next year already !

Everything about the Saray apartments was excellent (once we'd worked out how to turn the lights on). The staff were lovely, the place was clean. it is in an ideal situation, close to everything, but just far away enough not to hear anything, excellent cheap bus service down to olu deniz running all day long. excellent trips - must try the boat trip fabulous full day excursion including lunch for £10, the journey to the boat was about an hour, so really worth the money. Just trying to get booked to go back first week in September.

We've just returned from the Saray Hotel and Apartments and have had one of the best holidays in Turkey. The other 'best holiday' was when we stayed here last year. Self catering but the restaurant is always open and the food is good. The apartments are great, very clean and all the staff are really accomodating. Nothing's too much bother. The pool is excellent. We look forward to the next visit in September 2008.

First went to stay at the Saray in August 2007 and we liked it so much we went back again in October. It is an excellent hotel, very clean, and it is a 2 minute walk to the shops, yet far enough away from them that you don't hear any noise from the town. The staff are fantastic! Had many nights staying up drinking with Mustafa and playing cards and dancing on the bar with James! The two lads, Joseph nd Mehmet are also a laugh joining in dancing. I would recommend it to anyone and I will be going back next year!

We have just arrived back from a weeks stay at the saray in Hisaronu. This was the first time we had been to Turkey and was a pleasant surprise. We stayed in a self catering 1 bed apartment [just 2 of us but it is supposed to be able to accomodate 4, I really don't think the sofa in the living area is adequate for adults]. The apartment was cleaned every day and fresh towels and linen every 3 days, [if you want them changed more often then just ask and they will do.] The grounds around the hotel are very nice, and planted with olive and fruit trees. The view of the mountains from the pool area is very beautiful and when we were there very peaceful and quiet. [no loud muzac from the bar all day as you get in some places]. Hisaronu itself is just a 2 minute walk away and is full of restaurants which cater for all tastes. We were led to believe Turkey is very cheap but we found their prices for food and drink on par with all other holiday destinations. All in all we had a lovely relaxing weeks stay and would recommend the Saray as an excellent base and hope to return for longer next year.

first time in turkey stayed at the saray ...in hisaronu.....what a fantastic holiday best we have ever had ...the saray staff are soooooooo fab , funny and brilliant .....we will be going back again and again ...cant wait for next year ..

Looking for a cheap family holiday we headed to Sary Apartments first in 2001. We liked it so much we immediately booked for 2002. Our kids were 14 and 10 the first time. The second time we took two more families with us. Good sized modern apartments. Large, user friendly pool. Bar good. Food served all day, excellent. But the staff! Fantastic. They got to know us and our pecadilloes. They were always cheerful and enjoyed the three dads singing to Abba on top of their bar! we had two lovely summer holidays there and would happily go back if there wasn't so much more of Turkey to explore.