Baia Bodrum Hotel

2 readers found this review helpful

The hotel is sold as a 5 star establishment. probably more like a decent 3 star UK hotel. The rooms were relatively clean, and okay, however, the air con was simply dreadful. We had to be moved mid holiday as our air con started to stink!. Service was fine and most staff pleasant, one or two were a bit 'moody'.
The food was very very repetitive and towards the end of our two weeks far from a highlight. The animation team were a total pain! a bit hi de hi ish.
i would never go back, to either the hotel or the country.

6 readers found this review helpful

This hotel ticked all the boxes for a family of three aged 42,38 & 11.
We were looking for a modern hotel with a relaxed environment and were highly impressed with the Baia. The location, decor, cleanliness, facilities & staff were all excellent and we would go back ourselves for a further holiday & recommend to others , which is the real test of a hotel in our opinion.
The availability & standard of the food was great with the Italian A la carte being our favourite on the decking overlooking the sea. We spent most of our time by the kids pool where the water slides got some serious use by our son. The mixture of nationalities through the hotel guests was good with no one group being in the majority and everyone was friendly. The lobby bar before dinner in an evening was fantastic as the sunsets, cocktails and live music from the band down near the pool was so relaxing.
The rooms are very large and decorated like a city centre boutique hotel which we appreciated after many trips to hotel rooms that all look the same regardless of the destination. Most face the sea so if you don't want to pay the extra for a sea view room take the chance as there are very few that don't have sea views.
Gundogan itself isn't 'in your face' & lively .You can walk safely around the bay for a good way and there aren't lots of shop staff hassling you to have a look around which is great as far as we were concerned. There are a few bars & resturants but we tended to stay
in the hotel. Bodrum took 30 mins to reach and that was hot & loud but great for shopping. Be careful about the amount you buy as you will get charged for excess baggage at Bodrum airport.
Mosquitoes were not a problem for us but we sprayed deterrent on each evening. People that didn't were getting bit.
If I had to find a negative it would be that the cord for the hair dryer wasn't long enough to allow me to style my hair as I usually would and if that's all I can find then it must be a good hotel :)

3 readers found this review helpful

Did our usual and booked through tour company Website. Thomson a la Carte bought through Thomson website for an early, slightly out of season battery-recharge.
The hotel was fabulous - an official 5 star built on a number of different levels and exactly the relaxing slightly out-of-the-way luxury that Thomson said it would be.
Low key entertainment got a bit same-y after a while but with a mix of a few Brits, Dutch, French, Belgians, Germans, Russians etc the company was great when you sat around the bars in the evening relaxing and chatting.
Good un-crowded private beach and jetty area on the Bay of Bodrum and a choice of pools where good quality sunbeds were always available.
Great quality and choice of food - a choice of speciality restaurants etc (in fact food quality and restaurant service was far better than the 60-ish % indicated by the brochure).
Everything 100%+ ... until the party of 150 corporate Dutch came in and took over the whole resort for a "team building weekend" with the full blessing of the hotel management.
In the wake of rising noise levels and harassment of bar staff who were doing more than their best.
Facilities were withdrawn around the pool so that the group could have exclusive use; areas of the buffet restaurant were cordoned off and reserved for them alone (including the NO SMOKING AREA); we were told that we couldn't use the private beach and that all pool activities -aerobics, water polo etc had been cancelled.
Rules in the bar were changed so that the group got the "top shelf" International drinks at no extra cost to them as individuals, but we still had to pay extra.
Disco (the main entertainment, but it didn't open until midnight normally) opening hours were changed for them so that they could get in earlier than the published times etc etc
I can't blame the delegates themselves - I think if we were honest, we would all take similar advantage of what was to offer -but all this was to the detriment of a hundred plus holidaymakers from all over Europe who had paid a lot of money for a peaceful holiday. Reps were called.
They, as well as individuals and groups of all nationalities (including Dutch holidaymakers) approached the hotel's managers, and we were all, without exception, treated as if we had crawled out from under a communal stone somewhere under the jetty.
A great hotel as I said but far more interested in the power of major group bookings, than in the needs and desired of the couples and families who make up the backbone of their clientele.
The moral is - book it - it's great, and just what the tour operators say it will be, until the "seminars" take over, but just take the trouble to ask the hotel direct about what's in their diary before you part with your hard earned cash.
They may tell you direct, but I doubt they would have notified your tour operator so that you could be warned before you buy!

2 readers found this review helpful

My partner and I recently visited this hotel after booking a VERY late deal on the internet...we were absolutely amazed by this breath-takingly beautiful hotel overlooking a magical bay.
From the moment we walked through the reception onto the lobby bar balcony we knew not only had we made the right decision by choosing this hotel but also that we would definitely be returning. Again and again and again!
Our holiday from beginning to end was perfect. We ate like kings at the buffet style restaurant, drank cocktails by the gorgeous pool, enjoyed the amazing sea views from our ultra-modern room and watched the world go by for a week (although we could have easily stayed for longer).
This hotel had everything we could of asked and more, such as evening entertainment, live music during dinner, a cinema, bowling, free daily bus service into Bodrum, a disco and extremely attentive and passionate staff.
I would recommend this hotel to anyone looking for a relaxing holiday to remember in beautiful surroundings.
Just Magical!