Grand Viking Hotel

7 readers found this review helpful

My wife and I booked this as a late booking only a week before departure, and after reading the reviews here were fairly comfortable with our choice.
After delays getting there (Onur Air) who I must say are one of the worst carriers I have ever flown with we arrived.
We wre greeted at reception by an enthusiastic porter, and were shown to our room very promptly.
The room was a twin room with balcony facing the rear of the hotel, which was perfect as it offered solitude from the activities around the pool. The room and facilities although quite basic were clean and comfortable, although the air con could have been a little bit cooler.
We decided to spend the first day around the pool after breakfast. The selection at breakfast was rather limited, and there seemed to be an abundance of franfurter based concoctions.
The pool area was well stocked with sun loungers, and there was a comfortable bar area with large parasols. Drinks (alcoholic and soft) were available all dau from 10 - 23.00 at the pool bar, which had a rather sinister paper mache type sculpture on the roof.
Lunch time proved to be much more appealing. Ther were hot and cold selections and I could not complain at all.
There were several activities and facilities available. My main issue with the hotel is that they are very keen to sell Turkish bath treatments. Originally we were bombarded by amember of staff trying to get us to book one. We did book one on the day of arrival, just to get rid of him. We booked this for the wednesday two days before out departure, but after speaking to people that had had the treatment decided to cancel on the Tuesday. The member of staff that had been our 'best friend', asked us if we would like to re - book. When we saaid no, he was not our friend anymore (what a surprise)
Dinner was again very good with plenty of selection. Howver puddings etc were not particuarly good in my oppinion. This was noit a feeling shared universally, as most people raided the pudding are and took them to their tables before coosing a main course.Which meant that if you had your main course and went back for pudding, there was very little left.
Evening entertainment was ok, but i do not think Simon Cowell will be sending any talent scouts there.
The next four days we spent at the beach in Kemer, which I have to say was a most remarkable setting and very enjoyable. Lunch here was very expensive but two sunbeds and a parasol worked out at about 8 Lira (£4)in total.
My main issue with the room was the height of the toilet. This was very uncomfortable to use as it was at least 4-5 inches higher than it should be. Unless you have very long legs, your feet will not touch the floor.
All in all a very good time. As it was a late booking I believe that we enjoyed value for money. If I had paid brochure price i would certainly have expected more.

1 reader found this review helpful

An absolutely sensational hotel. The staff were amazing and very friendly. Some had difficulty speaking and understanding English but most staff such as the receptionists could speak fluent English which was great. Lots of German and Russian tourists which meant the staff could also speak these languages.
The neighbourhood surrounding the hotel was very friendly and safe. I wondered around freely at night feeling very safe and comforted by the local residents. The food was indeed tasty but was generally the same everyday with one or 2 differences. Every Thursday it is Turkish night at the hotel and there is a wide range of food and desserts which lit up my eyes.
The cleanliness is exquisite and couldnt be any better. There are lots of nice plants in and around the hotel giving a warm feeling to the building. Air conditioning was great in the hotel and rooms as the weather outside was very warm around 35 degrees celcius. The balcony with every room was great, very safe for children and had a spectacular view overlooking lovely greenery or the hotel swimming pool.
There was 2 great pools which were kept very clean although it contained a bit too much chlorine for my liking.
The bar staff were great and entertainment wasnt so bad either. Every night something would be happening at the hotel such as a belly dancer or a dancing group. Bingo was often held as well which was entertaining and engaging for many as people would win champagne bottles.
My stay at the Grand Viking Hotel was absolutely amazing and couldnt have been better. I have given it an overall rating of 9 only because the entertainment and food couldve been slightly better and more of a variety. Otherwise it wouldve definitely been a 10.

3 readers found this review helpful

grand viiking hotel was a real good holiday. the staff was very friendly, good food, very clean always cleaning up. I went with my husbnd and my 14 yrs old son. the negative wasentertainment not so good. if you just want a relaxing holiday this is a very good place to go. the beach was a 10 min walk but there was free bus every hour. I didnt go to beach but others did and the beach was abit peebly, the turkish markets are a must! lots of designer at cheap prices. there was lots of russian, turkish, dutch, german holiday makers, but they were all very friendly we made some very good friends.

2 readers found this review helpful

I'll start by saying... This was a lovely hotel- because it is clean, staff are kind and helpful! The only thing I would say is it is more like a 3* than a 4- but that isn't a bad thing! It has a great sized pool and waterslide...
The Grand Viking hotel is set slightly out of Kemer Town centre- but it is only a 10min walk away from the busy town centre- If you don't fancy a walk- the hotel has a shuttle service to the town beach at regular intervals throughout the day!
The food was served was good, the breakfasts were basic- However a big selection of salads etc and mostly Turkish styled food- which I was happy with- but might not suit all taste buds but on our All inclusive package even the most delicious Turkish cuisine became a bit repetitive.
But if you are thinking of going Turkey- to Kemer- this is a great friendly, clean, tidy, child/kid friendly hotel...
It has everything you'll need a hotel to have... Definitely worth the price I paid for it!

1 reader found this review helpful

This hotel is supposed to be 3* but I wouldn't agree with this. Upon our arrival we were placed in a TINY room which stank of faeces and which had not been cleaned properly. After much complaining and refusal to sleep here we were moved to another hotel on the condition we still ate and drank at the Viking. However, we did have to spend the first night in the god-forsaken room with the broken tiles, mould and urine stained toilet seat!
The new hotel (Infinity Hotel) was lovely though! I would certainly recommend it! The original room was situated in the "old" part of the Viking Hotel which we were informed is to be knocked down in October! It is not fit for humans! The new part of the hotel is a lot better, though.
The food seemed ok to begin with but after 5 days of eating the same thing at every meal I couldn't face it anymore! The thought of eating it one more time made me feel physically sick. We ended up eating out for the last three days of our holiday which we shouldn't have had to do.
All inclusive ended at 11pm which in my mind does not constitute "all inclusive". The only alcoholic drinks available in this package were beer, vodka, wine and gin (which were all house products). As well as this, food was only available at designated meal times so if you fancied a snack you had to go elsewhere. Ice cream had to be paid for at the end of your stay after a tab was run up. The prices were not displayed so theoretically you could be paying a fortune for a cornetto.
The most disgusting thing was the stench of faeces due to a recently burst sewer pipe! It wasn't just our room that stank but the whole pool area got a whiff every so often. It was disgusting! The pool itself was very nice but definitely let down by this stench..
Kemer is a lovely place with beautiful scenery. I was quite diappointed though as there was a lack of British tourists. The town itself was expensive compared to what we expected as it was mainly a Scandanavian and Russian resort. As you may know they tend to have more money to spend than Brits hence the price increases.
On the whole, I enjoyed Turkey and my holiday but we could have done without the hassles we encountered!
We saw no sign of a Goldtrail rep for the whole week and so had to book our outings through a tour company in the town centre. I would NOT recommend booking through this company!
One more thing... beware of the humidity! It is unbearable at about 90%!! During the day is bearable as you can cool down in the 45deg celcius heat in the pool but night time is truly unbearable!

1 reader found this review helpful

Great hotel. Very friendly staff. Terrific food and plenty of it. Although we were the only English family in the hotel during our stay we were treated very well. The hotel was spotless and we could not fault the food. The entertainment catered more for the other guests but there is plenty to do in the town.