Hotel Fantasia Deluxe

Just returned from two weeks all inclusive at The Fantasia. We booked last minute, ten days before departure, after reading mostly positive reviews on a number or sites.
We flew from Birmingham to Izmir with Thomas Cook. The transfer from the airport to the hotel took around 1 hour 30 minutes, having had three drop offs en route. The transfer rep, Caroline was great, cheery and very informative about currency etc.
On arrival at the Fantasia, just after midnight, check in was quick and painless. The bell boy tagged our bags and said he would bring them to the room, which he did about 20 minutes later.
Our room on the sixth of eight floors was clean and tidy. The furniture was all in a kind of onyx veneer, but well kept and stylish in an 80’s kind of fashion. The bathroom was clean with bath/shower, sink, toilet/bidet, large mirror and hairdryer.
The air-conditioning was controlled from a wall panel, it was noisy and a bit inefficient which was not a problem in early October but a big issue I would guess in July/August. The TV in the room had 40 channels, a combination of English, Turkish French and German channels. The safe in the room was free, secured with a £10 returnable deposit. The minibar is stocked with a couple of beers and soft drinks, but these are chargeable so don’t over indulge as the charge is about £1.20 for a can of Coke.
Upon waking at 6am, to the call to prayer from a local house which doubles as a place of prayer, I went out onto the balcony to a great view of the pool, the beach and a beautiful mountainous landscape.
On exploring the hotel it is evident that it is well equipped with an indoor pool, three outdoor pools, a gym, Turkish bath, ballroom, a lobby bar (Ballade Bar), two pool bars, a clothes and beachwear shop, leather shop, jewellers and the souvenir/newspaper shop.
The pools were analysed by staff every day. The pool area was very clean, I observed staff hosing the area down at 2am every day. There were plenty of loungers and mattresses at the pools and the beach, and there were loads of fresh towels available from the friendly and helpful pool man every day. There were plenty of brollies too, for those who are not sun worshippers.
My only caution would be that those who are a little squeamish beware, at night the huge beetles (about the size of a 50p) crawl into the brollies, so when you open them up be prepared for an insect shower, and pick your feet up whilst they scuttle of to find another hiding place. The pool man takes great pride in his environment and is constantly straightening up the loungers, and if any of you race down at 7am to put your towels down to reserve your spot you will be disappointed to find your towel has been removed when you return. There is no reason to hog the beds anyway because we found a bed every day, even when we went down after lunch. The beach is not the most beautiful, it is a man made beach of concrete and sand, but those people who swam in the sea said it was lovely and clean and the jetty is lovely.
In the evenings the entertainment was a choice between a ‘show’, Turkish night, Mr and Mrs Fantasia, Circus show etc and the Cabaret singers in the Ballade Bar. We went to a couple of the shows which were okay, but we spent most of our evenings in the Ballade Bar, crashed out on one of the many comfy sofas, reading, playing scrabble and chatting to other guests from the UK, Turkey, Germany, Belgium, France and Russia. My husband assures me the Efes lager is lovely and there is a good choice of local spirits. The Bar Staff, especially Deniz, are all very efficient and hard-working, and there is very rarely a queue for the bar.
A must for your stay at the Hotel is a Turkish Bath which is free. We chose to have a Sultan package which included the Turkish Bath (a bit like a Sauna), a peel, soap massage, relaxing massage with oils, head and foot massage and facial, which totalled 30 Euros each. We were there for about 1 and ½ hours and left feeling totally relaxed, clean and shiny and ready to hit the sun.
The hotel is located about 8km from the city of Kusadasi. It is easy to reach either by Taxi from the front of the hotel or by Dolmus, the local bus. We went by Dolmus which stopped at the side of the road at the end of the drive and dropped us into the centre of Kusadasi for 1 Lire each way (about 40p). The bus was quiet when we went but can apparently get very busy. Dolmus means ‘stuffed’ so be aware. Kusadasi itself is a shoppers paradise where genuine fakes can be bartered for. Ephesus is also close to the resort and apparently well worth a visit.
We visited Mistur’s bar and shop at the end of the drive several times. Hussain and his father make a walk down the drive well worth it. After our first visit we were treated like family. My husband was invited to join in with their tea when he went down to watch the Football.
Now after all the positives, a negative, the food.
Main meals are taken in the dining room and are a bit of a chaotic affair. The dining room is huge but with half of it reserved for SAGA guests, it meant the younger element were all scrambling to find a table that was laid. As there was just the two off us we managed to tag onto the end of the table of other guests.
Breakfasts are a choice of fruit, yoghurt, toast, ham, cheeses, sausages and fresh fried eggs and omelette. The lunch and evening meals are a selection of meat, fish, rice and casserole type dishes with a huge choice of salad and desserts. In addition to the main meals, there are fast food snacks available by the pool at lunchtime. An a la carte restaurant is also available in the high season. It was sometimes difficult to put a meal on the plate that went together and the biggest criticism is that the food was rarely hot. The flies on the salad were also off-putting.
We have gone all inclusive twice a year for the past 6 years to destinations all over the world, and have been to Turkey twice before in the last twelve months, and both my husband and I agreed that the food was the poorest quality we have ever had. I developed a stomach upset after six days. This is not unusual in a different climate etc but I can only attribute it to the food because it cleared up after treatment and when I ate in the restaurant it resurfaced. I do not eat meat and do not drink so it could not be due to over indulgence. I avoided the food for the rest of the holiday because I could not face feeling that ill again. I ate only half a packet of Pringles a day for the remaining six days of my holiday. I have never lost weight on an all inclusive holiday before!
The stomach upset also meant that we were unable to go to Ephesus or exploring as I was loathe to be too far away from the safety of the hotel toilet. I was not the only person who was ill either, I spoke to four other people who had seen the doctor and were diagnosed with ‘Gastroenteritis’, one of whom ended up on a drip. One of the families we met, ate out in Kusadasi nearly every night, because of the poor quality of the food, incurring a great cost. I am sure I would also have done this had I been well enough. I have written to Thomas Cook to outline my criticisms about the food which I think brings down the ratings of this otherwise excellent hotel.
Anyway sorry for the long review but I hope someone finds it helpful.

1 reader found this review helpful

Well best all-inclusive I had stayed in great for kids food was excellent right on the beach.
Food all day so you would never starve snacks in day also ice-cream ...free pool towels every day Dolmus right out side hotel can be quite dangerous waiting on the road no path.
The road you have to cross is like a motorway so be careful beautiful gardens play area excellent kids club run by a lady called Freda if you have a shy child believe me they will have loads of friends if they go to kids club lots of English at this resort. Overall excellent all-inclusive been to turkey found this the best hotel so far.

This is my second time to the hotel and am just about to book my third.
The Hotel is situated right by the sea and is approx 7mins from Kusadasi. I thought I might find things slightly different this year but everything was the same if not better. The staff are all so friendly and the hotel is kept spotlessly clean 24-7.
I spoke to lots of people this year who had been back or were coming back again. I completely recommend this hotel to anyone who may be interested.