Club Mermaid

Alanya is approx 20 min bus ride and we booked our boat trip there, much cheaper, go to the harbour

8 readers found this review helpful

I booked all-inclusive on last minute. This looked like the best of the lot and the all-in was a big draw - boy am I glad I didn't read the negative reviews - I probably would have missed out on a really great holiday!
I was there with my sister (we're in our late 30s) and the hotel is clean, pretty and has little gardens everywhere.
The restaurant gives a wide range of foods and a variety of fresh fruit and salad with EVERY meal.
The times that everything is served from and to is very clearly stated but to be honest, other than breakfast and dinner, we had no need to leave the pool area.
This is NOT an ENGLISH resort, so don't expect the staff to speak English very well. Personally that is what was so good about this holiday - no English yobs. Instead European families and a European flavour.
The Entertainment is good, interspersed with corny (just like most resort entertainment) and there are 'pay-for' trips to Alanya every night.
There is a bus stop for Alanya on the main road and it's TL5 for a one way trip - go at about 5 in the evening and take a trip to the castle.
The only downside is the male harassment, which is something most of the reviews picked up. We were very rude to a couple of the worst offenders and they did stop. Other than that it was lovely - I don't know what other tourists were expecting (since when has all-in included external excursions?).
All in all it is a fabulous holiday destination if you want to lie in the sun, eat, drink and relax completely!
(P.S. I wouldn't go at the height of the season as I get the impression it gets VERY busy and, as most of us know, busy usually equates with a drop in standards - and take Euros, not Lira)

6 readers found this review helpful

At club mermaid it was brilliant.there was multiple choice of pools and a chacuzie.
the rooms were great there was anough room for your things.
the food was 5/5.
there is also 2 water slides and a kids club for the kids.
the staff was very helpfull if u needed them and they were there for your needs.

7 readers found this review helpful

Just got back from club mermaid. I would say this resort is not to noisy and not to quiet. There are two swimming pools the smaller one is great if you just want to chill out and great for the little ones. The bigger pool is mostly enjoyed by teenagers and thats were they do the watersports and aqua aerobics which is everyday. Various activities going on, in the day including tabletennis, darts, creative activities for children, however some of these activites are charged. Also a tennis court which you have to pay for.Would not recommend this resort for anyone who is into clubbing. Disco 3 times a week but no other dancing place, nothing going on outside the resort. If you are a person who loves the beach forget this place, its not a very nice beach, to many stones everywhere and very small, we only went once. The place is very very clean the staff all work so hard and try their best to be helpful.The entertainment team were fabulous, really enjoyed their shows. Loads of food, loved it, very healthy, a shame our diet isn`t the same.Most of the tourists were german, dutch,polish and russian. Met lots of nice people. Went into Alanya twice, which is about 25mins away, lovely place and lovely people. Of course you have to haggle with prices but they have to make a living too. Just say what you think its worth and you will most likely getting for that price. Me and my family really enjoyed this holiday and would go back again.

the hotel is very clean, altough we went a couple of years ago it was very good.
this was a holiday to remember for me as this is where i met my ex-step dad!
he was a turkish man and was horrible to my mum.. worst part of the holiday.
anyway back to the hotel the slides were absolutely fantastic i had so many good times in the slide pool.. the food i didn't really enjoy because im very fussy with food in foreign countries, i was living of tomatoes and salt haha..but alot of choice. !, there was if i remember correctly 3 pools and all was very good, alot of entertainment in the pools when we went and i do reccomend this hotel. There is alot to do at night and very good entertainment.I had many pictures done by the photographer which i also reccomend. the rooms were very clean and the service was woderful, we had a lovely view of the main swimming pool and are room was cleaned almost everyday.
i met a wonderful friend there who i am still intouch with and she has been back 3 times !!
overall i had a wonderful time the food was ok and the pools/slides were amazing , the entertainment during the day and at night was worth seeing as i thought it was very good!
go.

2 readers found this review helpful

as a family of 4 we stayed at the mermaid hotel in june and had a brilliant 2 weeks. the staff were really friendly and also helpful .the hotel was kept spotlessly clean.the entertainment team were fun to be with and were always makin sure we .were ok and askin to join games.the only setback we had there was no bank on site .there were bus trips which you put your name to in reception these were free and a couple were acouple euros.the food was really nice too and restaurent well maintained and to a very good standard.plenty of selection on food.i would recommend this hotel to friends.i would also like to say thankyou for a great two relaxing weeks.the beach is only a 5minute walk and there is also a bar and you can get chips and burger this is all included.water sports are situated near the beach bar.HAVE a NICE day............

2 readers found this review helpful

the overall holiday was better than expected as i had read reviews before going and was getting apprehensive. it was a good holiday tho. me and my boyfriend (both 23) went for 1 wk and had a relaxing time.
the food in the restaurant was lovely- it was like a 3 course buffet each time, with quite a variety of dishes. lots of salad, about 5 hot dishes,soups and various deserts. there was always a choice of drinks at the bar so you could have an alcoholic one or a softdrink if preferred.
the complex itself was very smart, and the rooms clean. the hotel was only 5min walk from the beach and the hotel actually had a free bus service down to it. it seemed like all the hotels had their own section of beach.
the hotel had a bus service that ran to the local market towns, but they only went when there was a minimum of 10 people, but it was just as easy walking to the end of the road and catching the dolmus.
the all inclusive pretty much only included food and local drinks. the hotel had pool tables and a tennis court but they charged 10 lira for equipment hire.
another thing, when we arrived we had to put £25 on a card. we were told this was because the hotel didnt accept money for the chargeable extras, but when we hired equipment we had to pay cash. we did however get the money back on checkout.
there wasnt that much to do at the complex other than the pool and the beach, but it's fine if you want a chilled out time.
we went to a dolphin park (about 15 min down the road if you turn right and walk along the main road) which cost 35 lira to see the show.
the markets were great. all the stalls were selling fake sunglasses, watches, clothes. they ash ridiculous prices, but you can haggle them down and get some bargains. every tourist place was priced in euros and to convert ot to lira they just double it which means you actually pay more. so if you're planning on going to turkey take euros.
the worst thing about the holiday was the night time entertainment, or rather lack of it. it was the same thing every night and the comedy sketches were just dire.
overall tho, it was a good holiday, definately worth the price for the room and board alone. if i went to turkey again i'd choos a better all round complex tho.

We stayed here on the 28th oct 08 till 5th nov 08. iv never been to a hotel where there is nothing to do and is surrounded by a war zone. The whole area looked like the yanks had dropped bombs on iraq. The food is cold, The whole complex is full of perverts, and i mean the staff not the ppl staying there. Every bar staff and restaurant staff tried it on with my girlfriend and her sister. Even after being told several times to stay away they don't give in. I reported it all to the manager. She said no no no, my staff are good, nothing like that happens here. I can not tell you how much this site is derelict. There is nothing but 3 little shops that sell sweets (well there is your kids entertainment). The only fun we had here is when a few of us got together and threw many staff fully clothed into the pool. That was the highlight of the holiday. all you can do is sit by a pool, or have so many perverts trying it on with your partners. DON'T USE THIS HOTEL. Also we went to Alanya, what can i say, What a bunch of tossers they are. We were conned, robbed and harassed so much we had to run back to the bus stop and go back to the hole of a hotel. I had 2 daughters with me, 10 and 13. They felt so unsafe around the Turks. They are horrible people who do not like us in their country. Oh yes also don't book excursions, we we conned by the rep of 225 lira and told we will get it back at the airport, ye right. More chance of the manager sacking the staff at the hotel. Look at my pics, you will see for yourself. happy holidays if you risk it there. P.S it wont let me upload pics, but if you want them email me

We are an extended family of 6 aged 4-55yrs who have just returned from a very relaxing and comfortable week in this hotel. Having read previous reviews we were a little apprehensive, however we found the hotel very clean, our apartment spacious and comfortable, food typically Turkish with something for everybody. All of the staff are very family friendly and go out of their way to help you.
The swimming pools were used daily by the 2 children in our party and are excellent. The beach bar is a real plus - say "hello" to Ibrahim - with perfect location on the beach, serving drinks and food and with clean toilets.
Our only 2 suggestions are a cash point within the hotel and earlier evening meal, our 2 little ones were going past it by 7pm after a fun packed day beach and pool side.
Holidays are what you make them, we really enjoyed our week here and thought the location - set back from the main road unlike many 5 star on the roadside - made it a tranquil setting with lovely weather to enjoy it in.

2 readers found this review helpful

Re: Club Mermaid Village Aparthotel, Turkish Riviera, Alanya – 15th August – 29th August 2008
After significant deliberation, we selected Club Mermaid Village as our holiday location on the basis of the range of activities, entertainment, all-inclusive meals and the images on the website which portrayed a clean, family friendly location.
Arriving at 06.30 on Saturday 16th August we were told our room had been upgraded, the holiday was off to a good start. Furthermore, the brochure on the reception desk did everything to confirm we had made the right choice, with images of the village and details of numerous sporting activities to keep our two 15 year old boys busy.
However, within a few days we realised this holiday location was not what it seemed; the management were rude and un-helpful to guests, the reception staff constantly arguing with their guest and the facilities and activities were not what they seemed.
All-inclusive ??
The offer of an all-inclusive service was totally lacking here. Although for the most part the food quality appeared reasonable, it did not offer anything like a varied selection expected; burgers were “on offer” every sitting and other options were soon very repetitive.
What was certainly not expected was a single person cooking the one option of meat for the evening, the queue being so long that other items selected, such as vegetables, were cold by the time one reached the front of the line.
Some of the seating areas in the restaurant were inside, but the air-conditioning was clearly ineffective and it was switched off promptly at the time the sitting was planned to finish, a novel way of clearing the guests. Staff were clearly trying hard but were often sweating profusely as they cleared tables with dirty looking cloths, which did not portray a clean and pleasant environment in which to enjoy a family meal. After a few days of this experience we were very dubious about the hygiene of the restaurant, this was further emphasised when another family asked to visit/inspect the kitchen but were refused.
Whilst we have limited experience of all-inclusive holidays, a number of families told us this service was way below an acceptable standard and should not be perceived as indicative of an all-inclusive holiday. Given we were supplied with a single bottle of water in our apartment at the start of the holiday, our boys were severely admonished when they filled up the bottle from one of the four large water bottles so they could have water in the evenings. Otherwise the option was to buy water from the on-site shop as the large water bottles were taken away after meal times!! Even with our comparatively limited experience, this was an unexpected turn of events.
Swimming pools and health:
We noticed the first time we entered the swimming pools that the water was extremely warm, but other than commenting on it briefly, didn’t really think any more of it. Then we noticed that the water was cloudy and didn’t seem to be cleaned overnight. My husband started to get an earache on the 4th day and started to feel very unwell. His ear then started to bleed and he called the hotel doctor. Whilst waiting for the doctor to arrive from another hotel, the nurse mentioned there were numerous complaints of ear infections at the Village. The doctor was extremely rough when examining his ear and put both a tube and suction tube in together, flushing his ear with a saline solution. He gave him two types of ear drops and antibiotics along with an invoice for 190 YTL (£95.00). The medication seemed to be making no difference; indeed he was in greater pain and had sleepless nights resulting in another visit to the doctor. By this time we noticed there were numerous guests around the pool who were either wearing ear plugs or had cotton wool in their ears. Talk of in excess of 160 guests had been suffering from ear infections and the feeling the doctors were ripping people off circulating amongst the guests.
Having made a visit to the hotel doctor, one family took their child to the hospital during the night as the hotel wouldn’t call the doctor at that particular hour; he was running a temperature of 104. The hospital had to put him on a drip; the hotel doctor had given him antibiotics which his health card said he was allergic to, causing a serious reaction. He had a perforated eardrum and a major infection in his ear and returned from the hospital with consideration of suspected e coli. It appeared to the guests the hotel preferred not to engage the hospital for fear perhaps of negative publicity rather than the health of that child.
When they returned from hospital, we noticed for the first time the area surrounding the main swimming pool was being washed down with crystals of some kind. The grating around the pool, which was black with algae, was taken up and cleaned. The grating was left off for most of the morning and was a major hazard, but no real action had been taken to cordon off the area. One slip and a serious injury could have resulted. Only when people complained did they put up a few hazard signs.
During that day (Friday 22nd August) a number of people were testing the water in both pools; we assumed they were officials. However, one of the guests was a doctor and decided to take her own sample back to the UK. The result of that test proved our fears justified. Given the wide spread concerns, we told our boys not to enter the pools, as were many other families. It was noticeable that only after numerous complaints did the hotel make an effort to clean the place, with pools being closed and cleaners appearing in force. After all this and given the serious risk to health, we decided we needed to transfer to an alternative hotel.
We managed to pick up a copy of the holiday brochure at the start of our holiday from the reception desk, but by the time we were leaving the brochures had been removed. The reason being, we believe, is that the brochure failed to offer a true representation of the village. The hotel was not surrounded by lots of grass and trees, in fact derelict buildings and waste land were the order of the day. We never did find the mini golf in the time that we were there and the tennis court did not look as it does in the brochure. Along one length of the court was the emergency generator, (there were numerous power cuts too) and the smell of treated water next to the court was very unpleasant to say the least. There was a major crack across the court and as if this was not enough, the attendant was determined to provide us with worn out tennis balls whilst seeking to charge €4 for each one lost. Given the court surroundings, he probably made a profit!!
The Turkish bath shown in the brochure looks lovely but in reality was un-pleasant, smelt dreadfully and not at all inviting. The Jacuzzi, which was meant to be part of the all-inclusive package, was never turned on despite us asking a number of times.
Cleanliness
The accommodation was fine but after a couple of days they decided that there were only three people in the apartment and we then had to hunt the cleaners out to acquire another set of bedding and towels! The sheets and towels were not as pristine as we expected them to be and we heard numerous stories of sheets with holes, air-conditioning units failing and pumping out flies into the rooms and fridges not working.
One evening one of the guests across from us cut his hand on a glass. We followed the trail of blood from the side of the pool all the way along the corridors and up the stairs to the apartment opposite ours. The trail was still there the following day. As mid-morning approached, the new cleaning regime encompassed the area where the blood had laid but using only water and no disinfectant, the tiled floors and stairs were left awash and extremely dangerous.
Evening Entertainment
We have been fortunate to have enjoyed many holidays abroad and are open minded with respect to local evening entertainment. Clearly it is a challenge to entertain a wide range of visitors with different cultures and languages. However the “entertainment” here was embarrassing and on occasions down right abhorrent. Closing a skit to a family audience with the “unfaithful wife” being shot through the head is surely in appropriate, particularly given the audience. When a family complained the next day, they were told they should not have had their children watching the show at that time of night. The timing would have been around 21.45.
Beyond that, the evenings were very poor and many guests wanted to leave the surroundings, perhaps go for a walk. This is what the brochure does not show; the village is quite small and is in an area that is not conducive to enjoying a walk around the location in the evenings; walking the beach at night would not be recommended.
Great service from Medhotels
Once we contacted MedHotels, Sam in customer service proved extremely efficient and helpful and within 24 hours, (Saturday 23rd August) we had been moved to another hotel with the help of their Country Manager. The only downside was incurring further cost in being transferred to the Maritim Hotel, Hotel Club Alantur, this sum being an incremental cost of the holiday on top of the medical bills. Although there were additional costs, the difference between this hotel and the Mermaid was beyond comprehension. The staff were pleasant, tidy and professional, cleanliness was supreme, the options during meals times were excellent, cold drinks were on tap and we were not being charged for water.
In summary
In summary, the Mermaid hotel totally failed to live up to expectations given the suggested 4 star status and the associated cost. Furthermore, our holiday experience was blighted with worry and concern for our family and those around us, this hotel presented a serious health risk and we have records and photos and communication from other guests to prove this. We also incurred significant cost to cover medical expenses and the need to re-locate.
All in all we feel that because of the extreme lack of hygiene at the Club Mermaid Village causing three out of the four in our party to be ill, our entire two weeks were completely ruined. We were actually relieved in the end to come home and see our own doctors who have given all three of us ear sprays and in one case antibiotics to deal with our infections. In fact, as we write my husband continues to suffer from his ear infection and is on a further round of antibiotics (Ciprofloxacin) and sprays to treat Pseudomonas.
On a positive note, I would like to add that MedHotels were absolutely fantastic in the way that they helped us transfer. They called back when they said they would and both the Country Manager in Turkey and Sam in customer service, Woking, were very professional in supporting us. Other families we met in the airport on the way back were not so lucky and they regaled further stories about the 2nd week of their holiday.
we hope Medhotels continue with their professional service and remove this "holiday resort" from their books.