Garden of Sun Hotel

First of all i would like to say that the hotel seems to be run by the turkish mafia. We went in may with family looking for a fantastic holiday, but what we got was competely the opposite. We were told when we first arrived at 5.00am that our room had problems so we were shown the suite near the top of the hotel and was told that our children had to sleep on sofas. We were then given a room opposite the building site, where on awaking up the builders promptly waved at me. We then went back to reception who were rude and told us there was no more rooms available. After getting our rep involved we had another look at the suite which in fact had pull out beds not sofas. The suite which was one of the most expensive rooms on the 6 floor had windows which didn't lock, ceilings falling down and phones which didn't work.
My husband and father in law went to get the necessary water from the shop opposite but when they came back into the hotel had it taken off them because no outside goods were allowed to be eaten or drunk on the hotel grounds, unless bought from the hotel shop itself. Which was considerbly more exspensive. The security staff were rude unfriendly and made you feel like criminals every time you walked in.
My son and his friend were playing on the seesaw when it broke. My husband spoke to one of the managment team who couldn't be bothered about sorting it out. I went to reception who after a while got the problem sorted. Health and hygiene takes a back seat in this hotel. They seem to be more concerned about making money rather than the safety of their guests.
When you go on holiday in a group you don't expect to be told that you can only get 2 drinks at a time from the bar. We were having to go up at least 3 times per visit which was annoying when by the time you were served your last drinks the first people had finished theirs and were wanting another.
The entertainment wasn't the best but they did try. We in the end went out on a night because we were treated with more respect from bars in the centre.
The food was the same every day, which got very boring. My children had to wait until the 2nd week before they were allowed the free ice cream. Which was awful!! The pool weren't too bad except my mother in law couldn't go in as she has exema, and there were signs saying if you had skin infections the management did not want you in.
If you go to this hotel you have been warned.
Watch out for the mafia in the pointed shoes!!!!!

1 reader found this review helpful

Going on holiday to the Garden of Sun was the best holiday i have ever had.Before i went i read up on the reviews and was very weary but when i arrived the staff where very pleasent and we got checked in very quickly.There was enough sun longers which ive never seen before. The hotel was very clean. All the staff where poliet and went out there way to help you. The food was ok they provide various foods all the people that complained obviously didn't reliase when you go to a different country you get different food!!!if you want burger and chips everyday then go to blackpool.
Me and my 2 friends enjoyed ourselves that much we are going back in October i would recomend this hotel to anyone!!!

we have just arived back from the garden of sun hotel we spend 2 weeks 18/08 to 2/09 n to be honest we would never go again!! it was TERRIBLE!!!
we arived at 5.30 morning n at that time people were coming downstairs to put towels on beds! we got took 2 our room which was clean n tidy but very small and my daughter had a sofa bed which was not very nice whn u have sun burn on your back!! but we all coped with it!!
the pool was clean but there werer bugs in it!! Sunbeds had 2 get up really early to get them i thought people come on holiday for a rest!!! the food woz nice if u loved chips n chicken but the chef was very frendly to the hold family the waiters in the resterant couldn't reasist to take ur plates away and cups!! the food n cakes were edible but very bland is u like salad thn u will like it there!! the drinks were watered down the vodka was watered aswell and you had to have them in a plastic cup n if u wanted to get pissed you had to drink alot of the stuff. The bar men were very nice!! The 2 drinks per person was a pain in the head for the whole family coz we had 2 queue for a long time the staff worked very hard and were on were long shiffs!! we had a view on the pool and there were lots of weddings there the music was nice in english but in turkish till 12_1morning it woz not that nice!! the club on the end of the hotel woz nice but the music stayed on till 3.00 all be could woz bump bump bump all nite!! checkout was not nice tell in u had to cheak out at 12 mid day and if you wanted to stay in your room then you had to pay 20 per person!! the shower in our room was once hot then frezzin cold and it felt like bulits hiting you and with sunburn it hurts alot!!the shop in the hotel was very very expensive!! i didnt think that this was inclusive for what you got and wot we paid for it i wouldn' go again!!

Just returned from GOS and I can honestly say never again!!
The Hotel Accomadation itself is fantastic it is clean and the family room was spacious enough for us.
The grounds are beautiful.
The restaurant served pretty much the same food every day which did get a bit boring.
The all inclusive i feel from previous experiance was a joke.
limits to 2 drinks per person, beer was weak. The children could
not reach their own drinks and there was never any cups which meant queing in long ques.
The staff come over as very rude and arrogant. But we had a couple of nights out with them and they are terrified of management they have cameras on them all day.
We put in a complaint regarding cats in the restaurant area the general manager refused to talk to us. One of the cats scratched my daughter as well as 6 other children and now is on a course of anti rabies injections, the GOS still have not done anything about this up until we left yesterday.
They seemed to be selling timeshares for winter which meant people were being shown around all the time and served at the tables whilst we waited in queues.
PLEASE Keep kids away from the cats, the turkish hospital is not a good experiance for kids
With a lot of improvement this hotel could be fantastic

We really enjoyed our stay at the Garden of Sun hotel, due to the weather reaching up to 49 degrees, we hardly left the hotel.
The pool area can be very slippery and dangerous, my daughter fell and knocked a front tooth out. The medical staff were not at all helpful, the nurse had a look, called someone else, then sat and watched tv. She paid no attention to myself or my daughter who was clearly distressed having lost 'an adult tooth'. The next day a boy did the same thing.
The food was rather repetitive, I think if we'd have stayed for two weeks we would have been eating out!
The entertainment team provided a fair level of entertainment, but the poolside songs in the day were too repetitive (I think they only had 1 cd!) The kids club put on a nice show with the children, which the children rehearsed for over 2 days.
We had no problems with sunbeds and the guys organising them were very helpful. Many of the staff were friendly and nice to children.
Overall, our holiday was great, however this is probably not the best hotel for people wanting to explore the surrouning area!

As above there is good and bad and I will write our review as we found it
It's not a 5* and some of the current staff will never give 5* service (I am aware of the lower expectation of 5* Turkey) and it's more like a 3*.
The reception staff were pleasant and we shared a few jokes with them as were the dining room bar staff.
Pool bar staff make you feel as welcome as a f**t in spacesuit!
Reception
Arrived at 05.00am and was promptly booked in then shown to room.
Reception is very clean with a nice seating area.
Room
Ok,TV with a couple of English news channels,nice bathroom,small balcony,try to get a pool view as the back of the hotel is a dump and a building site,also there is a small bar/cafe that blasts out music very loud.
I also saw builders working on a couple of projects to the rear.
Maids service was a bit hit n miss as ours dissapeared for 2 days with no clean towels or loo rolls.
Dining room/food
Large room with plenty of seating,waiters sometimes a bit too keen to remove your plates/drinks
The food is the usual Turkish fayre and only so much can be done with Chicken,pork,rice,pasta etc and we got very bored by day 4,the sauce they use for each seperate dish is in most cases the same one and we ended up dining out as we couldn't stomach the evening meals any more.
I also suspect what wasn't eaten at lunch made it's way into evening meals.
Salads are really nice though as are the desserts,however the place is infested with flies!
One morning there was still chips and cake all over the floor from the previous night.
The bar in here is the better one as you get drinks in a glass.
To one side of the room there is a stunning view of a skip!
You can also eat from the pool side snack bar, although we never did so can't comment
Pool area
Beutiful garden area and a huge sun terrace with plenty of sun loungers,still had to be up early thought to get the best spots,never saw them run out of loungers.
Most of the parasolls are broken and the only way to make them stay up is to find the pool man,he has the "parasoll rusty nails" in his pocket which you use to keep it up! (they have started bringing in a newer design though but still leaving the broken ones)
The pool is huge but a little cold at first, we also saw what looked like lice swimming about a foot down all around the pool edge.
Just look down whilst your relaxing on the edge and you'll see the little blighters
Never went in after that!
Perhaps they came from the stray dog that was swimming in the pool.
Dogs just nip over the wall at the back and one day were fighting quite violently with each other,it was quite alarming to see.
Drinks
Now I cannot agree with anyone who says these were watered down.
Beer was ok and the shorts were huge shots,especially from the dining room bar,never had any problem getting tipsy.
There is a stupid rule though on only 2 drinks per person,the AI does finish at 11.00pm but it states this in the brochures/web sites so don't book it if it's such an issue.
Since coming back I have heard the water dispenser by the bar was filled up direct from the tap!!
Maybe that is why I was ill for over 3 weeks after I returned with severe "stomach issues"
Entertainment
Daily entertainment team playing "crazy" pools games and "crazy" darts games with "crazy" people,they did not force anyone into joining in and everyone who did appeared to enjoy themselves.
There is evening entertainment but never watched any so can't comment.
Location/surrounding area
5 minute Dolmus into Altinkum,couple of bars within a few minutes walk.
3rd beach is also only 5 minutes away but we were definately not impressed.
Scruffy path down to it and the beach was absolutely jammed packed and also felt dirty,we stopped for 10 minutes and went back to the pool,not impressed by the so called golden sands!
Also the hotel is in an area which is scruffy and unsightly and if your after stunning unspoilt surroundings then I can gaurantee you will be dissapointed.
They are building the new marina and sand and dirt blows over everthing.
We have been to much nicer areas in Turkey but the hotel is very well constructed and very modern.
The hotel could do much better and we will definately not be returning.

i have just returned from a two week holiday. The hotel is improving, but there are still a few points that i would like to make you aware off.
1. if you are situated on the right hand side of the hotel, then be warned a night club has opened just opened at the end of the hotel, this nightclub is situated within the grounds but does not belong to the hotel. The nightclub opens at 11.00pm and finishes at around 3.00am - this is not good when you have small children. When i complained that hotel staff said that there was nothing they could do, as it was not the hotel night club. When we asked if we could be moved, there was no room ( fully booked)
2.please be careful when walking around the pool area, the floor is made of marble and is very slippery, many, many, many children and adults had falls.
3. there are not enought outside toilets around the pool area, they often and no toilet roll or soap. again the fllor was made of marble and again very slippery.
4. kids club - or lack of kids club! many children played along in the kids club hut, using thier own toys, as there are no toys for them, also no club rep on hand at all to look after the children.
5. the foods is ok but can be a bit repetative and not goods for children unless they like chips.
6. weddings - be warned we had two weddings when i was there, the music goes on till late and the staff tend to leave you along as they have to work for the wedding party!
7. when i tried to book a late check out, i was told that they were fully booked and could not have a room, is this is the case in high summer, why advertise a late check ouT!
all in all this hotel is ok, the staff are very nice and the hotel is kept to a clean standard.
a holiday is what you make it and not everyone has the same standards, likes and dislikes.
i would return to the hotel, but not for a few years.

Just returned from a week's holiday with family. We arrived at 5.30am and were greeted and shown to our room, which over looked the pool and had a fabulous sea view. Room was clean and had a nice bathroom. The food was simple, but plenty of it. Chicken/chips/salad/spag bol were the favourite menus and suited us fine as we were only there for a week and planned on eating out a couple of times anyway, however if you were there for a fortnight I think it would get a bit boring. On the plus side, ample supply of cold drinks incl orange juice, coke, beer. Snack bar served burgers, chips, pizza each afternoon. Plenty of poolside sunbeds (but be warned that you have to be up early to claim sunbeds as people start claiming them at 5am!! We thought this a bit much and were determined not to join in, but found that if you didn't join them you ended up without and had to lay on towels on the grass, so on day 2 I was down at 7am setting up beds and sun shades!). Large pool which is 1.5m deep all over. Slides for the kids, but only open for 1 hour in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon. Also seperate shallow kids pool. Pool area is kept clean with staff regularly clearing away used cups and plates. The hotel initially feels that it is set quite a way out of the town, but is actually only a 15/20 min walk to the main stretch of bars and shops and the large main beach. The dolmus bus stops right outside the gate and will take you anywhere in altinkum for 1.25Lira. Have read a few negative reviews about the hotel, but personally think that some people just expect too much. We loved it here and had a fantastic holiday in Altinkum - would def return to Garden of Sun.

I should have taken more notice of the poor reviews and taken note of the underlying messages before booking this holiday.
My recommendation is don’t bother going you have been warned!
I will purely list a few observations:
The hotel is more like a three star rather than five star hotel. Although it is quite new it is really showing signs of wear and tear and is managed on a shoestring with young staff.
The staff are very rude except the chamber maids who are nice and clean your room quite well.
If you want anything changed the standard response at reception is it will cost you £2 per person per day.
The bedrooms are small and the bathroom even smaller. I could almost touch every wall standing in the middle of the bathroom. The hot water had gone everyday by 7.30 pm.
Meal times are held in a large dinning room where it is a feeding frenzy fighting for poor quality cheap food. The whole experience would make the school canteen appear quite a sophisticated experience. In addition you have to eat when they say you eat. Dinner has to be completely finished by 9.00pm. At 8.50pm all food is removed and air conditioning turned off to get you out.
The food is very repetitive, poor quality and stodgy except for some salads but in many cases these are purely recycled food from the lunch or day before. If you are happy to have chips and processed meat most meals then you might like it! You also have to do everything yourself, if you ask a member of staff for anything your are an inconvenience!
Many of the sun beds are broken, the sun bed cushions are old, dirty and smelly. 90% of the umbrellas are broken. To top it off you have to get up at 7 am to try and secure a bed with a towel but that does not stop some inconsiderate person coming along and taking your bed and umbrella when you are at breakfast.
You are blasted with unpleasant music from 10am till 7pm so much so you can’t even speak to the person next to you when you are over 100 metres away.
In addition the lifts are terrible. The hotel has 7 floors and circa 1,000 people staying in it. During my stay there was one 6 person lift operational for 1,000 people. Even when the other is operational the hotel is hopelessly under provided for in lift terms. You can guess most people walked!
The hotel is predominantly frequented by English people sporting football shirts with a vast array of body art which become very apparent around the pool. David Beckham has a lot to answer for!
Good points:
The weather was great.
The air conditioning did work
MY VERDICT – NEVER AGAIN!
CREDIT CRUNCH VICTIM

The good points; the setting is beautiful; most of the staff were helpful. Rooms cleaned everyday and were adequate. The weather was scotching although the afternoons were very windy (tie your parasol to a tree).
Drinks are seriously watered down. Take spirits with you, you will need them! A bottle of vodka in Altinkum is 25 pounds. Beer is cold and drinkable.
Food is repetitive, I actually enjoyed most of the food but the wife and kids got fed up with chicken and chips. Go across the street for a bacon butty or a full English and cup of tea - Brilliant!
The ice cream for the kids is served at 3pm - 4:00 pm, the same time as the water slides open for the kids. You work out why!!!
Entertainment team work really hard for the kids and adults alike. But, the actual entertainment is not very good. There is no bar at the entertainment area (100 yards away from the bar), the shows stop at 11pm the same time as the bar closes. Daytime entertainment was good, my son and I played five-a-side football nearly everyday. The water slides (when open) and pools were very good.
There is no music at the bar, I don’t want blaring music, but some background music would have been nice. Funny enough, the music starts as soon as the All inclusive stops - now they want you at the bar, 5 lira for a beer and 12 lira for a branded vodka!
Careful when checking out - we checked out at lunchtime and did not fly till 2am. We were charged £20 per adult to keep our bands. If you do not pay, you have to leave the hotel and wander about till your bus picks you up. They will keep your bags for you though!
Do not buy any food or water from the store across the street, the hotel security will take them off you or you can return them to the store. You must buy from the hotels shop. (Inflated prices!)