Hotel Adakule

1 reader found this review helpful

First impressions were good as entering the hotel lobby. Was feeling apprehensive as had read a few bad reports just before we came out for our week holiday with our daughter of 10. The walk to the bedroom which was two floors down started to fill me with dread, there was a strange smell, musty!
The bedroom was big and clean, but still the musty smell lingered (got used to it). The room was a bit shabby and had seen better days, but then I knew that five star in Turkey is like 2/3 in England. The mini bar was a 2 litre bottle of water. One English channel on the TV, BBC World News but keep watching and we found Top Gear coming on.
The linen was changed often and the bedspread had different patterns made into it every day. Clean towels were left every day. The disposing of toilet roll into a small open bin was a bit off putting but it's like that everywhere, maybe better if it had a lid, but an open bin! Needless to say other half was banned from doing a number 2 in the toilet and had to go to the hotels. I just couldn't put up with that! We took a walk around the hotel and I was still in two minds. Still thought about the pictures on the website.
However, after a day or two really started to like it. It is more of a family hotel, those wanting raucous Butlin style entertainment for yourselves and your children will be heavily disappointed it is a very quiet hotel except at 3.30 at the pool when the men become children in the water polo contest which is held in the kid's pool so they generally can't swim for an hour while that goes on, recommend watching it though men are hilarious.
The entertainment was thin, one night I thought we would go to a show and ended up being it. I won Queen of the Show beating Turkish women (90% audience Turkish, shock!), Iranian and a German. All good clean family fun! Won a bottle of wine and a bubble massage.
No films were shown in the cinema or if they were we didn't know about it. The internet was £4.00 for an hour much to the delight of our 10 year old, 3 antiquated computers, but hey they worked. The games room was basically that, a pool table, a snooker table and some archaic games machines.
The pool is too small for the hotel, however if you are not a pool person it's not so bad and it's better at particular times of the day. You also have the "beach" (stones) and the jetty with two other areas also to sunbathe or swim in the sea.

The hotel is a lot bigger than what it shows on the internet and if you don't like lifts there are lots and lots of stairs or slopes. We found the food okay, there is so much of it there is bound to be something that you like. My other half and my daughter are the fussiest eaters going and they didn't go hungry. If dinner is not to their liking, which was quite often the case they would fill up on spaghetti, pizza, burgers, chips, salad, doner kebabs at the pool bar. Ice cream was served but only for half an hour a day 4.30-5.00p.m. that was very disappointing. The drinks are a good selection. Avoid the canteen coffee if you can, the machines at the pool and in the lobby do a much better coffee. Forget tea unless you like it really strong.
The view from the room is stunning and to sit and eat on the balcony in the dining area and watch the sun go down is just beautiful. We found some of the reception staff quite unhelpful when I lost my tour ticket (just got a shrug of the shoulders, bothered!) However, after insisting I use the lobby phone and not my room got it sorted much to her disgust! I found that quite hilarious. Beware of the photo guy, he charges about £80.00 for a set of his photos and gets some bizarre poses out of people, check his board out.
I suggest you explore the hotel once you have been allocated your room. It's huge! You will be picky about things here and there, ie. a bit shabby, pool a bit small, not a lot of entertainment, do with a bit of a scrub here and there.
We would definitely go back there again as it was the most chilled out and relaxed holiday that I have ever had. It is a fantastic base to explore Ephesus and the Temple of Artemis, Highly recommend Ephesus, Temple of Artemis turned out to be a ditch with water, a load of broken pillars and one remaining intact. Wonder why it's a seventh wonder! But still, its history and I love it.
I recommend Yelcin as a waiter, what a lovely young man. Even reserved a table for us on our last night when it was really busy with the new intakes.
This is not a place for raver's, people with young children or those that have difficulty walking. If you are looking for an attractive setting, Turkish food, a good Tourist base, sauna's, massage, private cove, hammocks in the garden, a giggle at the entertainment (10p.m.-11p.m.), watching a Turkish wedding (one held when there, beautiful), sunset at dinner on the balcony, stunning views, lively town, cheap shopping then go! I paid £300 for a week all inclusive so didn't expect the Ritz, got what I paid for and more I reckon. It was no way five star, but we had a fantastic chilled out time. Daughter was happy swimming, internet, beach, bit of entertainment, food and also met some lovely English people (not many there, but that's not always a bad thing).
One warning beware of ear infections they are rife in Turkey, not just in this hotel. We did not suffer and neither did another family. But 5 children from 2 families did! If you are prone, wear ear plugs. Also BODRUM AIRPORT IS A RIP OFF, £10 FOR HOTDOG CHIPS AND COKE, £5.50 FOR A BEER, £5.40 for two coffees, not to sad, but coffee is mank! So make sure you have some money left and also some oxygen. Very smoky. Has smoking area downstairs, so you go upstairs to cafe and they also smoke there. As there is only two rooms, upstairs and downstairs, hard to get away from the smoke.

To save me writing endlessly, please read Cindy's comments in which she has covered most of what I would have written ie., overcrowded swimming pool area and dining area.
Mini bar not stocked up as stated in the details we were given, air conditioning non existent etc etc. I would say however that we were luckier with our room which was reasonable although having said that, not really up to 5 star and of course still the air conditioning problem and no mini bar.
The companies using this hotel should really give people a much better idea of what they are going to, as we had the offer of a 4 star when booking which could well have been much better but we chose to pay another £150.00 to go to the Adakule because of it being a 5 star. Ever been had!!

1 reader found this review helpful

Holiday from 6th Aug to 20th Aug 2006..... Party of 3 families. Don't go to this hotel, I would class it as the pits... Thread bare carpets in the corridors leading to your rooms, the smell of damp were ever you go in the hotel.
Air con did not work if did was warm air blowing out.... Bathrooms had mould around the bath & sink. Rooms were big but some of the rooms were shabby.
Swimming pool was a joke for the amount of people in the holiday.
Mini Club, what mini club just a fenced off area with a slide & few toys for toddlers. Nothing for my 5 year old. And it was not safe to leave any child there.... Management of the hotel was no help in trying to sort our complaints that we had with the hotel, Just interested in taking your money.
The beach had a few problems with sewage from the hotel & paints being emptied into the sea from the hotel. Was not a happy site to see....You don't get what you see on the internet, the dining area is not the same as the photo's on the internet... So you are mislead in what you’re reading & paying for....
This holiday was booked for my Birthday my Aunt's plus my parents 25th Anniversary, was not a 5star hotel in any way... This holiday was not cheap so feel we was robbed. This Hotel needs closing down it's so dated...
I would not recommend this hotel to anyone, Avoid it don't lose out like we did. Looks good from the main entrance but that's it, looks like a prison from the sea view.
We have photo's of this hotel & have put in a complaint about our stay here. We have been going to Turkey for many years now, this was the hotel from hell... Hope this review helps anyone in thinking of staying there DON'T.

Absolutely awful. Stinking rooms with disgusting bathrooms non existent air conditioning. Everybody we met had the same complaints. Pool was too small for the Hotel and was heavily chlorinated. Many guests were ill with some ending up in hospital.
The beach attracted condoms/ sanitary towels. My 5 year old picked a condom up one day !! I requested the beach/sea be cleaned one day and I had to complain 4 times over one and a half hours before at least a dozen condoms and 3 sanitary towels were removed from the small beach by less than happy staff.
Two days after this incident a painter at the hotel disposed of his paint down the waste and it bubbled up onto the beach. There was a white slick of paint and no attempt was made to get people out of the sea, all that management did was to send in a jet ski to try and diffuse the slick.
We left after this incident, there are other stories including children's safety which I won't go into.

I have film photos of these incidents as proof. Simply put, do not go to this hotel.

Holiday from 6th to 20th Aug 2006.... Well were do I start, after we entered the 5*Star hotel thought looks good... then it went down hill from there. We were 5 in total so had 2 rooms, got given our key to our rooms and told it was 2 floors down. So to me it was in the basement.
The smell that hit us was of damp in the corridor leading to our rooms. The carpets in the corridor were all stained with black marks plus bleach stains. Skirting boards were missing floors uneven.
We entered our rooms they were big, but what a let down no balcony, mini bar was empty, bathroom full of mould, smelt of damp plus the air con did not work when it did it blew out hot air. Then started leaking causing the carpet to be soaking wet. My daughter that was in the other room, was just as bad even worst then ours.
The cupboard to put our clothes in was full of dust so you can tell no one had been it there for some time. We called the rep desk to change rooms they said that all rooms were full. We never unpacked, that day waited for my sister inlaw & family that was coming to the same hotel the next day.
She was shocked to see what she was getting for her money a big let down. My daughter had to move rooms because the air con leaked that much the carpet was almost floating.... we had a window in the corridor next to our room that was the sewage from the kitchens I think & the laundry that was running freely from some sort of metal doors the smell was unbelievable.
It made our eye's sting entering our rooms, some night. The staff on the rep desk were not helpful in any way, plus the manager unless you was one of them, the food was ok but got a but boring after a while.
The swimming pool was too small for the amount of people in the hotel, it was like being on a dolmus. You had to get down early to get a sun bed. The best out of the holiday was the jetty on the beach, only problem was the bar closed at the beach at 5pm so was unable to gets drinks if you were still chilling on the jetty.
Had to go to the pool bar that closed at 6pm, if after that time the Lobby that was a round trip of 20mins walking we could not understand why they closed the beach bar & pool bar if the swimming pool bar did not close until 8pm.
We had the sheets changed once in 2 weeks, my grandson was sick on his sheets they turned his sheet around. The towels were changed after 4 days.
It was so hot in the hotel at night we had to keep getting up to have a shower.... Because of the the air con, after a day being out in the sun you just want to cool down to get ready to go out in the evening, no chance of that. You'd be sweating before you even leave your room for dinner. The Lobby had air con but they did not put it on... I asked if they would put it on, they said no because the windows were open, so we said close the windows then... They just laughed.
I've lost a stone just from sweating. Also stated a kids club well if you child is 2 to 3 year old they have got an area with slide & small building blocks & that's it. Nothing for older kids & it's on a high drop down if you child leans over the 3 foot fence that has benches next to it. Not safe in anyway... I could go on with problems with this hotel, but I think this will be enough for you to avoid. 10% English, 80% Turkish & 10% Germans/French family at this hotel.
We booked this 5*Star hotel because we had 3 birthdays & a 25th anniversary in our stay there, between 2 families of 8. We paid a lot of money for this hotel, and got a poor standard I would at a push rate it 3*Star... well I won't forget this holiday.
Glad we’re back home but need another holiday to get over this one. I'm not a moaning English person as I'm married to a Turkish Guy. This is the worst hotel we've been to in the 18 years we've been going to Turkey... It needs a major re-vamp 200%.
I've taken many photos of the hotel & the room you would not like what you see, I promise you that. Turkey is great but not this hotel, stay clear of it.