Hotel Morina

1 reader found this review helpful

Upon arrival we were situated in the old building, our room was filthy, there was blood on the floor from where people had squashed insects, the bathroom floor was wet and dirty, with no shower facility just some taps and a shower head stuck on the wall, there was no where to hang the shower head as it didn’t fit in the holster, there was a large gap in the door and in the frame work, the door frame was coming away from the wall, the bed sheets were filthy and covered in stains, the bathroom tiles were loose so when you stood on them they squelched and all the old shower water and germs would come over them and back into the bath room from the people before us, the room had not been cleaned , you literally had 2 feet from the shower taps to the toilet to wash with no cubicle, the shower water would hit the toilet then the water would run back towards you to go down a small drain, we had to move the toilet paper from the bathroom because it was that small that if you showered you would soak your toilet paper, the fixtures in the bathroom where not held in properly and were botched cemented on, the corner of the toilet mirror was smashed and just left as an open jagged edge, there was bits of building work cemented and just botched on, on the wardrobe and dressing table there was something splattered up the sides of them and the bathroom was filthy. We were told it was right next to the beach, it really isn't there is at least a 20 minute walk on the hill. We rang the hotel direct from the UK before our stay as we had read horrible reviews about the old part of the hotel and asked to be put in the new part, we asked with the people we booked with and also emailed the hotel and asked but on arrival we were in the old part. We ended up being trasfered on our second day to stay down the road at the Karbel Sun Hotel which was also a 3 star like we were told the Morina was. The Morina was not a patch on the Karbel Sun Hotel, which was clean tidy, new furnishings and fittings and a 5 min walk to the beach we really enjoyed our stay at the Karbel Sun but the Morina HA! what a dump i am no snob but that place was a joke the rooms were so small, once you had your suitcases out there was no room to move around, if once of you was at the side of the bed then the other had to move! Pay and extra £50 and stay at the Karbel because the Morina is a DUMPPPPPP!!

3 readers found this review helpful

Just returned from Olu Deniz having been there three times last year and this being my second visit this year. I never bother writing reviews but having read the ones for this hotel before I went I was a bit worried and especially since it was so cheap. On my return I felt I HAD to review this hotel, I almost dont want to tell you how good it was because I liked the fact it was nice and quiet and dont want it to get all booked up. We checked in early hours of the morning and the security man although he didnt speak much English was lovely and showed us to our room and carried our luggage, the room was basic but clean and we were in the newer part, we saw the older building but never looked inside. The gardens and swimming pool areas were spotlessly clean and its the most time I have ever spent by the pool whilst in Turkey, it was lovely and peaceful. The views are tremendous of Olu Deniz and you can also see the sea from the pool deck. They play lovely music through the day by the poolside with a two hour break mid afternoon so people can sleep :) We had lots of fun around the pool and the staff are happy to let you get on with it, the one day they put a net across the pool for people to play volley. The staff were lovely and friendly and talked to you at the pool bar/reception but never bothered you by the poolside which was nice. We ate at the pool bar most lunchtimes and the food was always lovely. The walk up is a little far however we got use to it even though we tended to wait until cooler parts of the day to go down the hill, walking up in the sun is not recommended. We also ate one evening at the Flamingo Hotel next door and that was also lovely as were their security whom you have to pass to get to Morina.
Will be booking there again having previously stayed at Asena Beach and Majestic Hotel, this one is definately value for money!

4 readers found this review helpful

We have just got back from a weeks stay at the Morina Hotel, Olu Deniz. I was dubious about booking here given it's very mixed reviews but now want to give you my very real view of our stay there.
The Room - This is probably the most important part - make sure when you book that you are staying in the NEW building!!! Jewel in the Crown holiday reps only book you into the old building and it's just that 'Old'. All the rooms in the hotel in both buildings are very basic, beds, cupboard, mirror and desk table, small balcony and shower, toilet and sink. However in the old building there are no shower cubicles, and you could pretty much shower whilst sat on the toilet. In the new building everything is slightly newer and you do have a cubicle. I believe that all the rooms in the new building are twin beds but we just pushed them together, and they were left that way throughout our stay. Rooms are cleaned daily and towels replenished.
The grounds of the hotel: All the grounds are clean, maintained, well presented and lovely. The pool is lovely and clean, the breakfast area and bar are also nice.
The location - the BEST thing about the location was that we were quite well away from all the tourists and for the most part it was quiet, apart from the odd night when the adjacent hotel hosted loud activities, but they rarely went on past midnight. It was at the top of a hill though so the walk on a very hot day was pretty strenuous. If you have trouble walking far, this may not be the hotel for you. It's not a steep hill but still about 15/20 minutes from the beach. At night when you get towards the hotel, the roads aren't that well lit, but we never had any trouble. The mosque next door never really bothered us, I only ever heard it in the day and once when i was already awake pretty early. It only lasts a few minutes each time.
The Staff - For the most part all the main staff are really friendly and helpful. The cleaning and kitchen staff don't speak English much at all so there won't be much interaction there.
Meals - Breakfast is very basic turkish breakfast, boiled eggs (not everyday) cheese, cucumber, tomato, olives, bread and honey and if you are picky about your coffee, they only have instant nescafe. There is a separate menu you can order from with other stuff on it, but we never did. We only ate lunch there once, again basic and never had dinner there.
On the whole i'd really recommend Hotel Morina if you want to be away from the main tourist strip, and aren't going to spend the whole of your holiday in your room or by the pool. Our room was only £18 per night and our view was INCREDIBLE, it looked right over the valley down to the sea and upwards towards the huge mountains and pine forests.
On the whole, great for a cheap basic stay with amazing views over the valley.
Thanks to everyone who made our stay lovely.
(please note: Not sure whether the peaceful quiet will keep up in kids holiday season!!)
Notes about Olu Deniz, Turkey:
Don't drink the tap water! Take high factor sunscreen as well as your normal as it's dry heat and you can burn easily. Prickly heat is quite common because of the heat. Always shop around, as it's a tourist trap there, the prices change from shop to shop and restaurant to restaurant! We were quoted 35 Lira for a bottle of sunscreen in one place, and bought it for 15 a few shops down. Do not flush toilet paper down the toilets, use the bins provided. Take antihistamine!!! You do get the odd bea and wasp! The sea is amazingly colorful, quite chilly but you get used to it fast! Buy the beach shoes they sell so you don't hurt your feel on the pebbles! Prices for sunbeds etc go up in July. You MUST visit Fetiyhe. It makes you feel like you are in real Turkey, great bars, restaurants on the harbour and some really great shopping. By dolmus from Olu Deniz it's only 3.50 lira both ways.
Buzz bar is great for the view and for partying, but it's a little costly food wise in comparison! We used Guide Tours for our activities booking, i'd recommend doing their 6 Island boat cruise as it's a much smaller boat and much more friendly.

1 reader found this review helpful

Be aware of Morina Hotel as it has two parts to it not indicated anywhere on website or brochure that there is the new part and the ancient old part not the pretty rooms as shown on their web site!!! Ours smelt of cat urine had no en-suite shower just a hand held unit opposite the toilet no curtain or cubicle!! and dare you asked to be moved i have never met such rude aggressive and insolent men in my life, but, then i didnt have a burly man hanging off my arm and was with my 70year old mum and my daughter recovering from meningitis, this had no impact on the manager and his oppos. They reduced my mother to tears and the three of them full on shouting in our faces, why, because we didnt want the disgusting rooms they had put us in we wanted what they show on their website, we were eventually transferred into a new room giving up our second room to achieve this with a child bed, on asking for a proper bed mattress you would of thought i was asking for his years takings it all was so ridiculous and outrageous. Morina lovely people whilst taking your money off you absolute opposite if you have a problem!!! Fortunately we never met any other turkish people quite like them thank goodness totally the opposite, especially the staff and management at the neighbouring FLAMINGO they know how to treat people were absolutley fantastic with us would highly recommend them to anyone. Morina think twice especially lone women and the mosque on the doorstep wakes you at 5am every morning be warned, breakfast disgusting, staff eat off your lunch plate on delivery, maids clean ur rooms with dirty rags left drying outside your rooms, chickens running around the grounds, BUT the gardener an absolute gentleman. Jewel in the crown in england have been fantastic and compensated us for the distress for our so called holiday september 2008, NEVER AGAIN.

1 reader found this review helpful

just got back two days ago was a bit in two minds before we went never been to turkey before not knowing what to expect the hotel was peaceful apart from the mosque right next door the first night we heard it wow what was that but soon forgot about it.staff very friendly nothing was to much trouble manly full of english guests made some good friends there hope to keep in touch. the scenery was brill overlooking the sea in the distance i loved the chickens that were roaming around freely in the grounds.never found any ants in the rooms or any thing else all in all i think that we both would go back lovely and relaxing

1 reader found this review helpful

Booked this holiday through Lastminute.com which then put me through to Jewel in the Crown. I had never heard of this company. Would also recommend them. I arrived back on the 23rd June and rebooked to go to the Morina for September,with the same company on the 24th June. I have always said I will never go to the same country again let alone the same hotel. The staff, Hakki, Korhan, Tomi, and Sef were all brilliant. Would have given a 10/10 only for the hard slog up the hill/mountain and the mosque, which some people complained about. I may have heard it just a couple of times in the early morning. The eveing meals there were as good and as cheap as anywhere else. Didn't have any problems with the maid service, the room was cleaned and changed every day. Olu Deniz is a brilliant place to stay loads of bars etc near by. Place called The Seahorse is well recommended for taking trips out. they treated me well. Plenty of activities can be booked through them and all insured. Well worth a trip to Hisaranou and Fethiye. on the local bus.

1 reader found this review helpful

I have been to Morina Hotel 3 times now and am going back again this year, summer 2008! Myself and my husband go there with our 3 boys and also quite a large crowd of family/friends. We always have a brilliant time, it is very relaxing and just far enough from the centre of Olu Deniz. It takes just over 5 mins to walk down the hill, past the lovely flowers and scenery of the mountainside, to get to the main street where you find a great many shops and restaurants that are friendly and welcoming. The food is very reasonable and lovely too. Among our favourite restaurants are Josephs and the Help Bar and the Antique Restaurant have a great menu too. We love it in Olu Deniz because it is very family friendly and also very safe for young teens that want a bit more freedom on holiday! The Morina suits us because it is small and caters for our group in any way we need. Last year Hakki put on an evening pool party for us and the year before he organised a turkish belly dancer and bbq for someone in our party who had a birthday. I have recommended the Morina to a few people now and anyone that I know that have been there are not disappointed!

2 readers found this review helpful

We got back to the UK this morning after spending a week in the lovely resort of Olu Deniz. We stayed at the Hotel Morina which is graded 2 star, so we weren't expecting too much. The holiday was B+B and we only paid £203 each through Lastminute.com including all flight charges and tranfers. (You can also buy directly from Jewel in the Crown for a similar price).
We finally arrived at the hotel at about 3am - totally shattered and really looking forward to our bed. Initially, we were a bit disappointed about the basic appearance of our room and the welcome committee of about 60 ants on the bed didn't help. I think this was due to the cleaners leaving fresh flowers on the bedding which the ants seemed to be loving. A quick wipe down and they disappeared and we had no more problems for the rest of the week.
After a good sleep, we woke up refreshed and a lot more optimistic. Our room had a nice sized balcony with a table and two chairs - we were lucky enough to have a great view of the pool and it managed to stay in the shade for most of the day (Room 10). We had the advantage of being able to hop over our balcony to the pool - a nice little shortcut. Even though the room was basic, it satisfied our needs for the week. It was kept clean on a daily basis and the bathroom had everything you need.
*TIP* - the air conditioning is an extra £20 a week. Before you pay this, have a look for a concealed fuse box above eye level in your room. Flip the box open and, if you're lucky, the hotel won't have turned the a/c unit off with the remote control, meaning you should be able to control it from this box! We always made sure the switch was off every time we left in case the cleaners spotted it. A bit sneaky but worth a go! You will need to have a/c at this time of year whether you have to pay for it or not. This week the temperature hit 40 plus degrees every day.
The pool was lovely, perhaps smaller then some hotels but as we would only ever share it with a couple of other people, we had no complaints. I imagine things will get much busier though during school holidays.
We were only a 10 minute walk to the beach and all the bars and restaurants. Although it is on a hill, we didn't find the return walk in the evening too much trouble at all. In fact, most days we would walk into town twice a day and not think twice about it.
Food + Drink
Buzz Beach Bar - We had our first beer at the Buzz bar as we had been watching the live link on the internet the week before and were intrigued - it was quite nice, good views from the terrace of the beach and nice food.
Joseph's - really friendly venue in town and lovely food. Joseph and the other waiters were really nice and welcoming. Most of the other bars and restaurants are quite desperate in their techniques to get you in but these guys are more laid back and remember your name, which is a nice touch. On our first visit for lunch, we were given a free English paper and a plate of fresh fruit then when we returned the following evening we got a free small beer each while we waited for the bill - a nice touch. Joseph is a great character - he's the fella in the straw hat...
Antique Bar - these guys have a big banner hanging up outside saying "no hassle" - they get your attention then put their finger to their lips while pointing to the sign. The food was really good and it was nice not to have to hear the waiters pressuring potential guests into eating with them while you're trying to relax. Really good mezze here.
Master Ahmet's - (not sure if this is the correct name) this bar is on the beach opposite Buzz Bar and is recognised by all the coloured beanbags, chilled music, "hubble bubble" pipes and multi-coloured beach lighting. A really nice place to while away an hour or two at the end of your night. The pipes are priced at 20 YTL but we paid 15 YTL on one occasion - I think it depends what mood the guys are in. You can lie back on the bean bags/deckchairs or cushions and stare out to sea or check out the stars. We decided to have a cocktail "goldfish bowl" for 30 YTL on our last night - hard work but lovely stuff!
The Lemon Tree - again, once you're in, the guys are really friendly. We had a traditional meal - I wish I could remember the name of it but I can't. It was the only one on the menu for two people to share. The waiter brings it to the table in a terracotta pot on a flaming plate of salt and alcohol and then proceeds to smash the pot open with a stick. Fantastic! and you have a random tea light in an onion skin on your plate for the whole meal...!
We had a really lazy holiday and apart from the 12 island tour and a visit to Fethiye we spent most of our time either on the beach, at the blue lagoon or at our pool. It costs 15 YTL for two beach loungers and an umbrella at the beach but the guys at the bar would bring you beers to your lounger, which was great. Although the beach is pebbly, I wouldn't say you need to buy special beach sandals - just take your flip flops to the sea edge and flop in!
I did the Paragliding with Hector for 130 YTL (approx £51 - I was initially quoted £65 so worth a haggle) Amazing experience but if you're prone to travel sickness then you may feel a bit woozy like I did especially after I agreed to the "spiral" from my instructor.
The exchange rate was 2.55 YTL to the £ while we were there which was slightly better than the UK - the best rate I could find was 2.52 before we left. Wait until you get there and change at your hotel or in town.
I wish we were still there, I can't fault anything about our holiday. Until next time!
Kath + Simon (31,29)