Fabar Aparthotel

A little trip to heaven! Just wanted to tell you about a trip me and my man took to Turkey 30.05-20.06.
We arrived after a long trip from Iceland about midnight, and then drove by bus for 2 hours until we arrived in Icmeler. First we drove people to hotels in Marmaris, and I knew right away that we were lucky to have chosen Icmeler as our home for the next 3 weeks.
Faber hotel was the place. Really good hotel and the apartments are great, the beds are great and just everything is clean and spotless. The maids do their best to make it good and clean and make roses on the beds everyday! The apartments are very well equipped and have just everything you need. It is a new hotel so everything is really nice.
The pool area is terrific and sun beds are very comfortable. You get full service from the staff if you need a drink ASAP! You could see people stopping everyday to look at the garden and the hotel, stopping when walking by. There were not many people there, just a few Icelanders and Dutch people. Also people came from England.
I would highly recommend this apart if you are planning to go to Icmeler. Also it is well situated, in the old village, not far from very good restaurants, such as cafe rose, wayside and more. Just a 10 min walk to the beach, but the pool are is so nice that we stayed most of the time at home.
The restaurant at the hotel Faber is fabulous. And the chef cooks so good food and everything fresh. They did everything to please us, threw a Turkish night which was very nice with Turkish food and belly dancer, folk dance and break dance, and the whole thing cost 25 liras per person! The menu is good and we often ate at the hotel restaurant. Why look further for a great meal.
The prices at the restaurant are good, and often cheaper then by the sea in Icmeler, where the music is often so high that you can’t even talk to each other!
Restaurants: Faber restaurant is terrific. Wayside is a restaurant near Faber, close to the children’s school in the village. It is absolutely fabulous. Got everything and very classy and tasty, but the price is very nice and you get a lot on your plate! Got very nice chicken dishes, I recommend Wayside nest, and the chicken roulade, yummy. They also have the best cheesecake in town, and the Fried ice cream is to die for!
The next restaurant I want to mention here is called Kardelen, and is the next one to Wayside on the way down to the sea, on the way to Tansas from the village. It doesn’t look like a nice place or a fancy restaurant, but if you like really good and authentic kebabs you should go there. The döner is great and the chicken also. Home baked bread, they have a Turkish oven and the staff is really friendly, although they don’t speak much English. The price is really low, I think 7 liras for a decent kebab meal! Also the Kardelen special is good, that is bread baked in the oven with tahini sesame butter, almonds and honey! Yummmmm.
Finally I would like to mention Cafe Rose. It is a must if you are in Icmeler. Finally we took a walk to find it during our last week, and I was sorry I didn’t take time to find it earlier. First we had salad at lunch time and some sandwich, and Rose’s husband made it so nice and fresh. Cafe Rose is situated in the village. If you are at the right end of the beach, walk up to the main road, where all the shops are along, then you will see a cafe called cafe Anne, there across you see a road up to the hills, up to the village.
It has a sign which says cafe Rosa. Walk up to the village and then you see another sign, a grocer on the corner, you shouldn’t miss it, just ask if you are lost! Rosa has a really nice garden and has a small restaurant in there. She has Turkish nights on Wednesdays and Fridays and cooks authentic meals then. We had meze which were really tasty and then we had chicken casserole and melons for dessert. The price is hilarious, 20 liras p.p. the best Turkish food ever, and the atmosphere unique. A good place to relax and have a little peace from the tourist places everywhere.
Mimosa Restaurant was also good and Deniz Kapizi in the right end of the beach, karaoke and lots of fun!
We did look at some places while we were there. We took a day trip to Rhodos and that was worth a lot. Really nice to visit Greece. But the prices there a bit higher than in Turkey.
We took a boat trip around Gökova bay and that was nice, especially because it was Iceland’s national day and Icelanders all together!
We went into the country and took a trip to see an old woman at her house, we bought the best honey from her. We visited a mosque. We went to a carpet factory, and of course bought a very nice wool on cotton carpet, not dyed, just natural wool. it cost a bit, but it was nice to see something of the country. Next time we will rent a car.
We are in our thirties, but we did not go to any clubs or anything...just enjoying being in a vacation, it is terrible to be hung over in this kind of heat! The weather was really nice everyday, about 35 degrees and sunny. Got tan and no sunburn! The wasps someone told about did not bother us, we saw maybe 4 the whole time, but got about 3 mosquito bites, that was all. Just put roll on before you go to sleep.
We drank a lot of Turkish tea. They also have apple tea, but the original black Turkish tea is really nice, and at the Faber they are making it all day, and drinking along with you. Really good.
We went a couple of times to Marmaris by dolmus, that cost 1,50 lira per person. Taxis are very expensive there. Marmaris is ok, but we liked the old town better than the long road along the beach. That is very touristy. The harbour and the boats are very nice, and if you want to take a boat for rent you have no problem. There are all kinds, small, big, yachts, gullets (Turkish wood boats) And they have all kinds of trips, long or short. Everyone glad to help you out.
We dined at Purple Rain in Marmaris and that was good, but better was a restaurant called Jan De Wit. Very good in every way. The restaurants all want you to join them for dinner, and are very pushy. Just walk on and do not stop and shake hands and have a conversation! It is hard but you soon find out you have to!
What more can I say. Icmeler is just wonderful. It is the first time there is a flight to Turkey from Iceland, direct flight. They had trips in the spring and autumn for the last years but this was first summer flights, once a week. Everyone that were there were really happy about it and in fact it was surprisingly wonderful. We didn’t know what to expect.
We are going back next summer that is for sure. And will stay at Faber apartments. It truly is the best hotel in Icmeler, many people we talked to, people who live there, told that it was the best in the area.
So, just have a nice holiday and enjoy Turkey, ask anything if you think I can answer
Carol: I tried to find you but couldn’t! Rose told me directions, but I didn’t have time to come and say hi. I am very sorry! We will go back next year and then we will pop in! Take care until then!