Kentia Apartments

4 readers found this review helpful

I don't have one complaint about my stay at Kentia and would recommend it to everyone! The area is quiet and only around a twenty minute walk from the beach. The staff are so friendly and are very passionate about their work and about making guests happy. Most of them talk very good English. They are just funny and genuinely nice people,,some of the kindest people I have ever met to be honest and they are so down to Earth. There are many theme nights that are also worth going to and there are also happy hours where you can get cocktails half price! (: The food is great and always hot when you get it. Some of the nicest food I have ever tasted. Although previous complaints about there not being enough sun beds are true,,the pool area is still pleasant and although you have to reserve sun beds early it is worth it. The rooms are spacious and absolutely everywhere around the Apartments is kept spotless. The Maids are very good at their jobs and clean the rooms out daily. I also recommend you to try Turkish bath early in your stay. It is a great experience and leaves your skin feeling soft for days. There is a restaurant down the sea front called the Alremu Restaurant. Although the staff urge you to go in it is totally worth it to try it out. We went there a few times and the staff are so geniune and always make sure you are alright. The food is delicious and worth waiting for. They also arranged a night for my Mums birthday and it was so much fun. Although this is great overall just watch your money. The reason for this is because the staff are so nice and the food is just as nice you end up staying there for hours and end up with a big bill (well we did anyway). The beach itself is gorgeous and t is great being there at sunset. The two trips I would highly recommend are the scuba diving trip and the trip to the Aqua park (these trips may vary depending on your tour operator). The scuba diving is great and very suitable for people who have never done it before. One tip...whilst going down for the first time it can be quiet scary but the most important thing to remember is not to panic and to keep your breathing under control. It is helpful to relax yourself and take deep breaths before actually going down. When you are down you have someone constantly by your side to help you and to guide you. Beforehand you are told all the basics about how to stay safe and what to do if a problem arises. The Aqua park is so enjoyable and just a fun day out. Mind yourself while going round the lazy river because the walls aren't particularly smooth and you could easily hurt yourself. Also another risk is the parts surrouding the entrances into the water. They are very slippery so make sure to walk steady. Other than that...that slides are a total joy and there is a Dolphin show (for extra). For both these trips,,food is included. Our Thomas Cook holidat rep Chris was geniune and couldn't do enough for you. He always made sure you were alright and was just geniunely nice. So this is my review on an amazing holiday and definately one that I will remember for a long long time. Thinking of going to Turkey? Chose the Kentia Apartments and Thomas Cook. Trust me,,you won't regret it.

1 reader found this review helpful

Having visited all over Turkey 22 times over the past 8 years, we have not stayed self-catering in a long while, we usually stay at All Inclusive hotels, but we wanted a cheap week and found this would be ideal. We arrived late afternoon on the 19th May 2011 and stayed for one week (this was enough) The party that travelled were 3 people, however, the room only caters for 2 people, they only provide 2 Hand Towels and 2 Large Bath Towels - a little silly for 3 people staying in the room, this was also the same with the balcony chairs, you only get 2. I thought this was stupid as you pay for 3 people they should cater for 3 people. We mentioned to reception that we needed another set of towels which fell on deaf ears, everything is TOMORROW their English is not very good and the REP did not help much either, he seemed to have agreed with the staff all of the time, as if scared if them.
Chris the rep is very unprofessional and does not seem to like confrontation at all, a very nervous person - someone i would not have as a REP for my company. He was also telling us that his other 2 hotels he works at are brothels?? now i don't think Thomascook want that information given to guests tut tut!!
Anyway, the next day we still have not received the set of towels so we asked yet again via the telephone and also in person when we left the room - when we returned back the towels were still not there. I decided to call again, and a maid did bring up another set of towels, so i decided to hide one set of towels in the wardrobe to prevent them taking it and again leaving us with 2 sets for 3 people, the next day i was shocked to return from a day out to find the wardrobe open and the towels gone? I was stunned to say the least that the maids have the permission to rummag though personal things (WHY DO THEY NEED TO GO IN THE WARDROBE) my mother was appalled and visited reception where she asked reception WHY the maids where in her wardrobe and why her personal white Disney towel had gone?? Their answer was the maid was looking for towels to give to another guest?? This was not on.. the REP Chris also could not give answers and sort of tried to back away and not get involved, this was unprofessional and a letter of complaint has been filled in - after this we were sure not to leave anything on show for the maids as we lost all trust from that and never in my life i have experienced that in all the times if visiting Turkey. I stayed in Africa for 3 weeks at Christmas and New year and the staff there treated you better and that is a 3rd world country - i expected more. The staff also let people carry their own luggage up 3 flights of stairs, i watched an elderly couple struggle and offered a hand, while staff just seemed to watch - they all seemed selfish.
We were in Block D - a nice quiet block, the room was good, not the best i have seen but OK for a week stay, we had no issues with the room at all, apart from the 6th day of our holiday we returned to see that 4 of the tiles on the balcony have risen due to the heat and was 6cm high, very dangerous - especially if we would have come back at night, we called reception who sent someone up who looked at it and left, nothing was done! I went to reception (again a waste of time) and they said TOMORROW? tomorrow never came and the times were worse, we could not sit on the balcony at all on our last day as they had risen more and it was not safe.
The pool: What can i say - if you like to lie on top of other people you don’t know, then great! This is the place for you. The sun beds are so close together not even 1cm apart and there is no room to move them around - i like my own space when sunbathing and found this horrible and could not settle, so we decided to find a little hotel near by to use there pool of a day! The best thing we did, we found the FOX near the red lion and what a great time we had, we spend every day here and had the pool to ourselves, the staff were great and the Bar owner Ken looked after us. We never spend one day at Kentia and this was the BEST THING we did, no fighting for a sunbed and no need to lie on top of people to sunbathe - it was bliss. I would recommend this if you prefer space to sunbathe. The kentia has a lovely pool, just a shame about the layout! I would hate ti visit here in peak season, it must be a nightmare!
We visited Butchers restaurant, Britannia and also the Flying horse while we were there and had nice meals at all 3. Butchers was our favourite however. The Crown pub is a nice bar and the staff were friendly and helpful, worth a visit.
All in all, we had a nice week (away from Kentia) At the fox and would NOT return to Kentia - would definitely go all inclusive again maybe Kumkoy area - more things going on.

2 readers found this review helpful

They had only opened the day before we arrived for the seasons, and so there were teething problems, such as water not being turned on in the apartments, but they put it right as soon as they were told. The apartments are kept spotlessly clean and the staff are lovely. I preferred the location Kentia was in as compared to the rest of Side, as it seemed cleaner and more spacious. The down side of being further from the beach was that you are the last to be dropped off from the airport coach which meant almost an extra hour on the coach. Also on day excursions you are the first to be picked up and the last to be dropped off.
The beach is within 20 minutes walking ditance and the local bus only charges 1.5TL to take you into Side Town Centre.
A great holiday, I would definately return.

We stayed at these apartments from 24th August to 3rd September 2010, bad points no lifts and little help with luggage upto the top floor on arrival. Air con is vital and is not included no matter what the agents in the uk state, we were informed that it was definately included but on arrival we were charged an exta £13 per night and this could not be actioned until the following day, we therefore had a very uncomfortable first night. When we had paid for the a/c we then found out that the built in a/c does not work, instead there are 2 hang on the wall units one in each bedroom, the kitchen/living area had nothing and we were so glad we had a 2 bedroomed apartment because you could not bear to be in the living area. the apartments are modern and very clean the maid service is great. the gardens are beautiful and the swimming pool area was lovely, these apartments are cheap but other than the a/c situation they are worth more. the restaurants were good value and the entertainment staff had various themed evenings were good value and great fun. each evening in the bar the staff entertained guests with a party like atmosphere, they were great fun and took good care of us, probably the best resort staff we have encountered and we have travelled lots for leisure and business. We certainly did not experience any short changing, the staff we honest and very hard working and it is because of them that we would return to this complex, they would chat to us throughout the day and were great with the children showing them card tricks and encouraging them to join in with the local football games. pool competitions and even dancing with the chef on the Turkish night. The Dolmus bus or taxis outside the complex made getting aroung easy and for 10tl a trip into Side is worthwhile. There are plenty of bars and restaurants within walking distance and we thought the best one was The Apollo, excellant food and cocktails.
A free shuttle bus runs from the apartments and the beach is lovely with free sunbeds and a great beach bar and water sports.
We would definately recommend this complex if you want a nice setting with fantastic service, just be aware of the poor a/c for the hot months.

12 readers found this review helpful

I'll start with the bad and finish with the good! We booked this hotel 8 months in advance through Direct Holidays (Thomas cook). Arrived at the airport at 4.30 am after a delayed flight to be told our room had been double booked by Kentia. For two nights we were placed in an alternative and substandard accommodation by Thomas Cook and offered very little in compensation which we haven't accepted and are still fighting. PLEASE BE AWARE THIS HAPPENED TO AT LEAST 6 OTHER FAMILIES THAT WE KNOW OF DURING THIS FORNIGHT. ACCORDING TO 'BILL', THE THOMAS COOK REP FOR THE HOTEL, THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING REGULARLY FOR AT LEAST THREE YEARS and Thomas Cook have done little to prevent it and continue to send customers there. If it happens to you DO NOT sign anything - even if you choose to accept their compensation offer whilst at the resort (for us it was the price of the hotel room for two nights totalling less than £70 in its entirety)if signed you will have difficulty taking your dispute any further once home - you are within your rights NOT to sign.
Kentia is a well maintained appartment hotel. It has lovely gardens and a nice area to eat. The food was good with many themed nights, one included bringing in real camels and a donkey for kids (and adults!) to ride on, bellydancers, folk dancers, snakes need I go on. Our appartment was basic but very clean and modern. downside is that it only had one bedroom with one double bed and a single, we were a party of two adults and two children 11 and 12 years. The forth 'day bed' was in the sitting area. The only air conditioning unit was in the bedroom and becasue it was so hot at night we had to put the mattress from the day bed on the bedroom floor at night to keep everyone cool. The maid cleaned our appartment everyday and our bed linen and towels were changed four times during the two weeks. There is a small supermarket on site but it is a little pricey, one or two others are alot cheaper 1 minute down the road. Beware of the waiters - THEY WILL rip you off with your change, on one occasion after ameal they tried to get an extra £22 from us! we found this happened regularly and to most people so have your wits about you! Pay as you go like we did and do not get a tab up to pay at the end of your stay or you will get a shock as we found many others did. A small pool suitable for very young children has a slide. The large and lovely pool has no deep areas. water went neck high on my 11 year old. There is pool entertainment and music blurting out all the time. Beware there are not enough sunbeds for everyone. People put towels out to reserve sunbeds usually between 5 and 5.30am for the best locations! Alternatively a free bus transports to the beach in both directions. Music late into the night can be tiresome if you have young children and need to sleep but it does usually stop around 12 - 12.30 am. if it doesn't and you are sleeping above/near the speaker just ring reception and they get the volume lowered or stop it altogether at twelvish. The hotel is fairly well situated and within a 3 or 4 minute walk to where you can catch a dolmush minibus. There is always a taxi parked right outside the hotel door at all times or you could - like we did walk to the harbour, town centre, ancient ruins and beaches in around 15 - 20 minutes in any direction. We booked our excursions with outside agensies. Less than half price of the Thomas Cook for the same trips and all insured the same. Many Germans and hollanders in the hotel and resort in general when we went but probably because of european holiday time - note they completely outnumber the English in this resort. Everywhere takes lira and euros - most people speak some English and the people in the hotels all speak very good english. Bon Voyage!!

8 readers found this review helpful

We were sick of vague reviews so kept a log so we cud write a thorough review. We travelled as a group of friends aged between 14 and 61, (9 of us at Kentia and one cpl stayed at a Kervan hotel - Kervan is absolutely shocking!! Breakfast was previous nights dinner warmed up so if u want chicken stir fry for breakfast with a good helping of e-coli u will love it!!!. Needless to say they may have been half board but they ate out with us self caterers) Don't forget on arrival you need £10 each to get an entry visa and 80 lira (£35) per wk for the air con - which is essential! The apartments are lovely, the cleaners are in daily and keep them spotless, and they changed towels more regularly than the brochure stated. We had booked 4 x 1 bedroomed apts, when we got there only 3 were available so one of our cpls had to spend 1 night in a studio. We did hear of other ppl having to stay in other accom for several days due to overbooking...i guess we were lucky!! The other problem we heard about before the hol was poolside sunbeds.....nobody lies!!! If we were intending to have a pool day one of our group got up at about 5am to reserve beds, mattresses and parasols, they did announce that any beds that had been reserved and not used wud av the towels removed to reception but we never actually saw this happen. There is limited space so guess its difficult to manage. There is a big pool which an adult can stand in and a childrens pool which to be fair we hogged as it was lovely to sunbathe then av a dip in to cool down lol. There is a mini slide (which us adults had a go on - great fun but keep ur head back lol) There are water polo and water volleyball which are great fun (even if us Brits did get a bit competitive against the Swedish -oops) We started the hol with a sultan turkish bath at the kentia....wow my skin has never felt and looked so good - def try one b4 u start sunbathing to get the best tan!!!! The alcoholic drinks were very expensive at the accom (44 lira for 2 x large local vodka with one can of red bull -(approx £20) Efes (the local beer is 5 lira for 1/2 ltr) The shop is great open 24/7 with a good range. The food is excellent - much better than we were expecting. We negotiated the price for the bbq night with snake show which was much better than we had had at other places in previous hols, the food was high quality and unlimited buffet. We shopped around for our trips (got one place to write prices down then took them to next place to beat etc) went to Waterplanet, Alanya water park which was a lovely day out about 40 mins on included coach - cost £12 each u can't take any food/drink but it wasn't very expensive to eat there, be warned the laxy river ride isn't a relaxing ride!! Its lethal, some of our crowd looked at the black hole, cobra and kamikaze and thought hmm lazy river is for me!! Several bruises and broken toes lata we realised names mean nothing!!! When we got in the park we saw a few sunbeds on the slope and chucked our towels on thinking we wouldn't get better but we found a lovely area by the wave pool/kids area which was perfect for a bit of shade whilst still remaining in the heart of things - head for there. Then the dolphin boat trip- cost £13 each which included lovely freshly bbq'd trout or fillets of chicken, drinks extra but not expensive - didn't see a dolphin but the trip was lovely all the same. Our last trip was the stunning green canyon boat trip about £27 each - a very tranquil day out in lush green surroundings, the day was a bit drawn out after the boat trip - lunch was too long but glad we went as it is so stunning, was apprehensive getting into the river to swim as it wasn't going to be as warm as the sea but thankfully it was just refreshing not shocking and am glad I went. If you are going to use a cashpoint make sure u only use one in a wall as card cloning takes place at the pin services places. I used the one at western union with no problems, opp the leather shop on the way into Side. Taxi's into Side (6 str) cost 10 lira approx £4.50, they are available outside the front door all the time. the beach is great - free bus at 9.30 or 10.30, free sunbeds/mattresses and parasols and good food at the bar - reasonably priced. Lots of watersports on offer. A steak meal averages £10 per meal (22 lira). We had an awful meal at the butchers but most people say its a good meal (maybe we dropped on a bad night?) The Britannia (cpl of mins walk) was ok but quite expensive, the red lion was good. Mehmets in the ruins was a really good meal and also gave a great money exchange rate (near to bank), the sultan was also a good meal, then we found Balance (opp Sultan), the humidity was so high we wanted somewhere with aircon, they had airconditioned lounge and when we asked they brought tables in so we could eat in the aircon lounge, they negotiated the price of drinks and we had large vodka and red bulls for half the price we had been paying anywhere else. The steaks were proper steaks that u cud cut with a teaspoon they were so tender and they even gave us a free lift back to Kentia!! In Side itself the restaurants hassle u a bit more to eat there but the sunsets are incredible and the ruins are beautiful so its worth going, one we tried overlooking the sea, and had a good meal at was Ikimiz the market is held near to kentia on Sats so practice ur bartering skills as it is expected - not to barter is insulting, as a rule offer about a 1/3 of what they say and then get to a price u are both happy with. Get ur cigs on the plane and a cpl of litres of spirits at ur departure airport for the best prices. nightlife was a bit sparce, we met ppl in their 20's who had found clubs but we had got used to entertainment being everywhere on previous hols so missed it this year, we were avin a drink on the balcony by 11.30 pm which is unheard of for us lot lol. . We spent about an extra third as to what we spent last year, this is either prices across Turkey have gone up or Side is more expensive than Bodrum and Altinkum? Either way we have come bak tanned and chilled out and are already wishing we were bak on hol.

5 readers found this review helpful

Read previous reviews about overbooking. Well they were right and I should have listened.Arrived early hours of morning to find no rooms, dumped in a flea pit with no information. Finally got room, nice and big and clean, bit basic on the self catering.Pol area nice, not enough sunbeds, not enough mattresses for what was there, not enough umbrellas. You need to be up before 7am to get one, reserved beds not used for hours. Expensive air conditioning/room safe. Staff nice and friendly apart from arrogant reception staff, long walk to good beach, food mediocre at best and expensive. Watch out for Orlando and his blank kentia music cd con, 10 lira for a blank cd is a bit much. All in all would not go back, would never choose Thomas Cook again.

4 readers found this review helpful

arrived at kentia to be given top floor with 6 of us an 2year old an pushchair. air conditioning a rip off, heard of most people there they charge what they like room was spotless, very clean but only a 2 ring electric hob to cook on very basic not even a toaster.entertainment boring music not loud enough, reception moody at times and dont even go there if you need to keep your room on! very exspensive around the outside very much like being in the jungle dusty roads. dirty rubish about cats every where.also they love the germans there, not much time for english they had all the sunbeds every morning, apart from one ha ha we chucked their towels in the pool. enough then for english scotish an irish:0.weather was scorching very hot. but we pefer marmaris alot cheaper there.

1 reader found this review helpful

this was our first time in side and kentia having arrived after a long journey through the night got to our room to find it clean but stuffy.i enquired the next morning about air con. to be told 110 lira, bit over the top some of the people on reception rude place its self clean but outside the appartment looks like your in no mans land dusty roads bit dirty in places. we took taxie most of the time the harbour lovely and loads of shops bars resturants, we found it very dear in side lot cheaper in marmaris which we will go next time. we also found the entertainment and music borein, we also found by talking to friends we made they charge what they like for air con. othrs paid 50 lira some paid 150 lira why this i dont know we was put on top floor d block 7 flights of stairs 6 of us and two year old an pushchair no lifts. wouldnt go back.

2 readers found this review helpful

I have just got back from a lovely holiday with a girl friend. The one bedroomed apartment was advertised as having a double bed and single bed plus a sofa bed in the lounge. Unfortunately there was only a double bed in the bedroom. We had to ask for a second bed and a Z bed was put in the room which was most uncomfortable.
Both of us work in high pressured jobs and whilst we were relaxing on the balcony on our first morning we were interrupted by a loud blast of a bugle followed by a cockerel noise followed by loud shouting to get up englanders. This lasted about ten minutes every morning at 10.00 am. This may be OK during high season when there are many families but the majority of guests were in the older age bracket. I feel sure that this was not popular. We went for a relaxing and stress free holiday but found this 10 am wake up call quite unpleasant.
Apart from the things mentioned, the staff were friendly, the cleanliness was amazing. We did not let the bed situation or the morning bugle call upset our holiday and we had a fantastic time.