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Holiday Reviews > Med Beach Resorts > Turkey > Side > Side Hotels > Kamelya Holiday Village - Kamelya World > Read Reviews
Kamelya Holiday Village - Kamelya World ReviewsPage 1 2
| Board Basis: |
All Inclusive |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Jul 2008 |
| Tour
Operator: |
Thomas Cook |
| Submitted
By: |
Mr Chris Conway |
| Overall
Rating: |
10/10 |
| Comments: |
ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC HOLIDAY!!!!!
I wasn't quite sure what to expect after some of the negative reviews on various sites.
However, I was delighted by the village and all of its facilities. The food was superb with a fantastic array of choices. You have to try the turkish pancakes cooked in the little hut beside the amusement arcade YUM YUM !!!!!!!!!!!
I would recommend anyone visiting this complex to book the chinese restraunt as it is out of this world.
There were 11 of us (5 adults + 6 children (ages 14, 13, 11, 9, 9 & 1)). All of the kids found loads to do and we were all devastated to leave.
My only disappointment was on arriving home there seems to be no vacancies for 2009. I heard that this could be due to demolition of the older part of the holiday village.
Staff were all very nice apart from grumpy bar man who served in the kamelya bar in the afternoons.
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| Board Basis: |
All Inclusive |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Jun 2008 |
| Tour
Operator: |
Thomas Cook |
| Submitted
By: |
Mrs A Round |
| Overall
Rating: |
9/10 |
| Comments: |
This is our 2nd visit to this complex. We stayed in the Hotel Fulya this time as it has just been refurbished and is in a central location. (Our Kamelya World stay was about 5 years ago)
Since our last visit, much of the complex has been extended and improved. The Kamelya World accomodation has not yet been updated - we were told it was not very good and found it needing refurbishment when were stayed in them 5 years ago.
However, the facilities in the complex would make up for this. The food, pools, facilities and activities are all excellent. The Kamelya rooms, resturant and pool are lively and tend to have more children staying there. The hotel Fulya has a cooler restaurant, with better quality furnishings and a more civilised atmosphere.
You can use all bars, snack bars and facilites throuought the complex, but have to stick to your own restaurant for lunch and dinner. You really have to see the complex to believe how good it is - if you look up the hotels own website it will give you a better picture - however, some photos are old. There were filming new video and taking photos while we were there - so this may appear soon.
Highlights include: Pools & waterslides, indoor pools, foam beach party, flat screen TVs in rooms and bars, quiet pool, Selin terrace cocktail bar, dragon beach bar. Dance shows - trained dancers mean if you like this sort of thing, the shows are generally better than the average ones you'll come across abroad. Also, a la carte restaurants - be quick to book these as soon as you can to avoid disappointment.
I would recommend anyone to go to this hotel as the value for money is outstanding - you really can eat and drink virtually all day and all night. All staff in the hotel are very friendly and really appreciate the British manners and happy disposition.
However, there are a few things you may like to consider - which if they are important to you, may affect your choices:
1. Kamelya world rooms not yet refurbished
2. There isn't anywhere near the hotel to "go for a walk". Shops in Colakli (5 min walk)are not glamorous. Shops in Kumquay are better (10 mins by dolmus) Side is about 30 mins away on the Dolmus and is excellent for Roman ruins, museum and shopping.
3. British people are very much in the minority in this hotel. It's mainly Russian guests, then German. Other nationalities, including British being the smallest contingents. English is sometimes used in day and night entertainment but not all staff speak English.
Having said the above - we met British people who were impressed with the complex, most of who had been before, or would visit again.
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| Board Basis: |
All Inclusive |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Jul 2007 |
| Tour
Operator: |
JMC Holidays |
| Submitted
By: |
Miss S Lish |
| Overall
Rating: |
6/10 |
| Comments: |
Firstly if you are flying with Sunair then decline the meal (both there and back), try and have something to eat before you go. I went on holiday with my 11 year old daughter (I’m a lone parent), and my friend who is also a lone parent and her 9 year old son.
I feel that if I had went here with just my daughter and I then it would have been a very lonely week as the staff spoke very little English, ordering drinks became a bit of a mime show and as for asking to use the phone at reception to phone my parents was a headache...almost all of the reception staff spoke very broken English and they would stand and look at each other for help every time we asked for anything. They did try to help the best they could however.
On the bright side, the resort was very clean, the apartment we stayed in was cleaned each day and the mini bar was filled, but the air con did break down the first night we stayed there and it took a few phone calls for it to be sorted but it did get sorted the same day.
The food was great with a good selection to keep both children happy, I can not find one complaint about the food or the service, dishes were removed from the table as soon as you finished and always with a smile from the staff. However, the Germans......where do I begin....you may have to get up early each day to bag sun beds, we got up at 6am to lay the towels down and that was early enough, be prepared to be shoved a lot and have the Germans jump the line at the food, the German children were just as bad, do stand your ground!!!
The pools were fabulous but the pool by the bar I found was the best as it had a large portion of the pool in the shade which was a godsend in the heat. The water slides were great with lifeguards at the top and bottom.
The beach was a very short walk away and was really lovely. I do agree with some of the other comments when they say to find your own entertainment as it was hardly in English, but the children did enjoy it.
The only advice I would offer is to take euros and to haggle, if you are a lone parent who is thinking of going here alone then possible re-think as we only saw or heard 3 other English groups, try to learn some of the lingo or you could also end up doing mime shows when you need to ask for anything.
I would go back to Turkey but not back to this resort, which is a shame as it is a nice place.
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| Board Basis: |
All Inclusive |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Jul 2007 |
| Tour
Operator: |
JMC Holidays |
| Submitted
By: |
Mr D Kinsey |
| Overall
Rating: |
10/10 |
| Comments: |
Fantastic holiday. Rooms excellent. Service helpful and friendly (being taken to room by electronic buggy was nice).
Food was very good and on any evening you could choose from a huge salad bar, soup, about five ready prepared meals, freshly cooked pizza, freshly grilled meat, freshly roasted chicken and another grilled meat dish.
You can also book into specialist restaurants like Chinese, Turkish, Fish etc. It wasn't like some All Inclusive options where they limit your drinking and monitor you filling up your water bottles etc.
There is food somewhere in the huge resort almost 24 hours a day and you can choose from many pools. The water park is good as well.
There were shows on every night which were mainly centred around dance - some were very good.
English are in the minority and there are a lot of German, Dutch and Eastern Europeans which was difficult as the concept of queues is a new one to them!!! I would go again.
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| Board Basis: |
All Inclusive |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Jul 2007 |
| Tour
Operator: |
JMC Holidays |
| Submitted
By: |
Mrs I Twiggy |
| Overall
Rating: |
4/10 |
| Comments: |
On arrival at the resort we were subjected to a long delay in booking in while the reception staff dealt with people who arrived after us.
We were then taken to what i can only describe as a low class Blackpool style room, with stained and broken furniture. This is most definetley not a four star room. The rooms were cleaned on a daily basis an the standard was pretty good. The resort itself is really nice but if your going from anywhere in Britain beware this is most definitely a German resort. They take priority in everything, the food i found to be mostly German and not all that tasty. The staff mainly speak German and Turkish and there are very few who speak any English at all. All the entertainment is in German. The children's activities are in German much to my horror considering i had paid for a place with plenty of children's entertainment for my 10 year old. Apart from the pools and slides there is nothing for them to do, even the plasma screen outside showing children's programmes is in German. When i asked for either subtitles or an English speaking cartoon was told NO. They are not interested in keeping you happy or supplying good service unless you are German. There will be very little for you or your children to do unless you go outside the resort, which defeats the purpose of all inclusive.
The food is all German and caters to their tastes. Now i don't mind trying different food, and consider myself quite easy to please but when you get lamb or chicken stew and rice, salad and the likes as part of your breakfast because the only other proper breakfast stuff was eggs, and you need to be there early to get them before the Germans have eaten them all. After a few days i found the food to be cold, boring and really quite tasteless. To get served anywhere you have to push in and be as rude as the German people are either that or learn some basic German before you go because you get ignored otherwise. It's all true about the sunbeds, they run through the children's pool to get to them you haven't a hope in hell of getting one, and their towels are on them from 7 am and most of the time they don't turn up until 2 or 3 in the afternoon.
Side as a village is nice and quite east to get to but you get harassed by shopkeepers from the minute you arrive till the minute you leave. It makes it all quite stressful and you end up not getting anything because you cant be bothered with the constant hassle. If you were left to shop in peace they would get more business. Overall the weather made our holiday not the resort or the other guests, take away the weather and it was not that great, upon return I told Thomas Cook that as far as I was concerned they had mis-sold the holiday. Had they explained the above I certainly wouldn't have booked or paid almost £2000 to be treated like a second class person.
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| Board Basis: |
All Inclusive |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Jun 2007 |
| Tour
Operator: |
JMC Holidays |
| Submitted
By: |
Ms B Mackenzie |
| Overall
Rating: |
10/10 |
| Comments: |
This was my second visit and would definitely go again! As said before, be under no illusions, English speaking people are in the minority but if you want company, you'll find it!
Resort is fab! Kids had a ball so we had an easy 2 wks! Combination of 7 slides into baby pool, plenty of "big" pools and 5 slides in waterpark! We would spend days camped out in waterpark area, next to baby pool where the kids (6, 4yrs + 18mths) played to their hearts content with regular trips into big pool and water park (manned by lifeguards who interacted with children + adults). So many pools I didn't get into them all but hubby and kids would go on a pool tour and jump in each one!
Food was great - we ate like kings the whole time and there was a fab choice. Would recommend booking speciality restaurants asap as availability will go quickly!
Admittedly not lots for kids to do at night, mini disco at 9pm for 30mis or so and then entertainment - we went to football pitch (full size) for a kick about then to Dragon Bar (wines + choice of beers inc Becks), kids able to play safely in view!
Beach also great - we went kayaking para-sailing, jet-skis and hubby was on "fly fish" - not for the faint hearted!
Yes, rooms could do with an overhaul, but you couldn't fault cleanliness! Friends joined us and although they struggled to adapt at first, they had a ball and are planning a return visit!
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| Board Basis: |
All Inclusive |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Aug 2006 |
| Tour
Operator: |
Thomson |
| Submitted
By: |
Miss V Roach |
| Overall
Rating: |
5/10 |
| Comments: |
This resort was beautiful. The service to your room was top class. Rooms were a bit basic considering the rest of the hotel was lovely. Food was out of this world and you really could eat all day long!!! The on site water park for the kids was probably the best feature for families and it is right on top of the beach which is exclusive. It is very German orientated so i suggest going in a large group and the evenings are boring as the entertainment is in German. There was no problem getting sun loungers as there was plenty available. I would go back again but with a larger group of English people.
Hotel, Food and facilities were 5 star but the only problem was it was all German.
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| Board Basis: |
All Inclusive |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Aug 2006 |
| Tour
Operator: |
First Choice |
| Submitted
By: |
Mrs K Locke |
| Overall
Rating: |
7/10 |
| Comments: |
We were a family of four two adults and two children (children 8 & 12). We were taken by a golf buggy to our room s which was very nice not having to search for our room and drag our suitcases first impressions of the room they needed refurbishing the bathroom had seen more silicon than B&Q had on their shelves. But the beds were clean and the rooms were cleaned daily and all we needed was somewhere to sleep.
Yes I would recommend this hotel but you will have to find your own entertainment in the nights as the resort is of all different nationalities and the entertainers tried to talk in English but you could never understand it so most British families were segregated by going to sit in the Naz bar which is outdoors and you all talked amongst yourselves.
The restraunt was nice they regularly checked the foods temperatures we are all fussy eaters and managed to eat there every day and night. (Be warned be prepared to hold onto your plates and to get pushed, we got as ignorant as the Germans in the end if you couldn’t beat them you had to join them). You don’t need long trousers for the men in the evenings but they are strict at lunchtimes, you have to wear shorts and a top.
Sun beds, they were a nightmare to get; something needs to be done about that, at 4.45 in the morning of our first week there was not a lounger left and they were nearly all gone at 3 in the morning in our second week. We were on holidays so didn’t bother trying to get them. We spent most of our time in the Aqua park which we loved as the gates didn’t open until 10 in the morning but be prepared because I wasn’t. I couldn’t stop laughing with what happened next when they open the gates everyone just runs even through the baby pool and launch towels on as many loungers as they could.
On my first day I didn’t get a lounger, after that we had the same ones every day but would get a few extra in case any other British families didn’t have some. Because that’s what the Germans would do. The aqua part had a lovely infants section and four slides, we used the gym there which is fully air cond.
The hotel was maintained beautifuly, and the markets were reasonable but you have to barter. We found the jet skis more expensive than other countries we have visited 30 euro's for 15 mins. Take all Euro with you as they give you better prices for it.
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| Board Basis: |
All Inclusive |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Aug 2006 |
| Tour
Operator: |
Thomas Cook |
| Submitted
By: |
Alpha Delta |
| Overall
Rating: |
6/10 |
| Comments: |
I did not intend to write a lengthy thesis on Kamelya World, but it has turned into one! Therefore in a fit of guilt, I have written my summary first!
This resort is fine for a short-break, but issues with bedroom quality, bland food and arrogant behaviour by other guests would prevent me from giving the resort a recommendation. The resort is German-language and € orientated.
This resort came highly recommended by a colleague who has high standards. She has visited Kamelya World twice. We therefore expected to be very satisfied with the resort - unfortunately, this was not to be.
We booked the holiday with Thomas Cook and flew with Thomas Cook Airlines from Stansted to Antalya. The flight times were extremely anti-social, but the flight attendants were friendly, the in-flight meals were reasonable and the leg-room was barely acceptable (Airbus A320) for the 3 1/2 hour flight until the passengers in front reclined their seats. Antalya Airport is clean, modern and efficient.
The transfer to the resort takes around one hour and the check-in was swift. We were able to occupy to our room at 05:00hrs, which was much appreciated by three weary travelers. We were transported to our standard room on golf cart and were introduced to the (limited) facilities by the friendly porter.
The room was extremely disappointing, being small and very basic. The bathroom was "tired" to say the least and would benefit with some modernisation. The wired-in hairdryer had to be replaced three times, suggesting fragile electrics! The air-con in the room was very effective. The balcony was very small, with just enough space for two plastic chairs and a small plastic table. Our views were supported by other visitors, many of whom had attempted unsuccessfully to upgrade their rooms.
The German-orientated facilities and entertainment were good for young families, although this is most definitely not a "cash-free" resort, as one must pay for certain activities and even ice-cream outside meal-times. The bar and restaurant staff were generally surly (perhaps not surprising as the predominantly German guests were incredibly uncouth and ungracious - more of that later!)
The restaurant was very clean and the meal times were flexible. We found the food to be bland. The choice for the average, fussy British kid was OK at lunchtime, but limited at dinner time.
Now, to the Germans! I am certainly not xenophobic, but the behaviour of the German guests, left a lot to be desired. As mentioned above, they were generally insolent to the resort staff; they jump to the head of orderly queues, and yes, there is an issue about towels and sun beds! I have heard all the jokes about Germans and sun-beds, but until I visited this resort, I had assumed that they were just jokes! I can confirm that they arise before 06:00hrs to reserve the prime spots and often do not actually take up their positions until late morning or even early afternoon! The result is that you have to participate in these ridiculous pre-dawn antics; or with British pride you go to one of the other pool areas in the complex in the vain hope of finding relaxation, or more likely, you walk to the beautiful beach, where there are always plenty of sun beds and parasols. I believe that the resort management should take action on this, by removing any unattended towels from sun beds before 9am.
The pools appeared to be clean and well-maintained. However, I must comment that our son contracted an ear infection. Our numerous (expensive) visits to the resort doctor proved that several other guests also had ear infections - could this be a pool hygiene/cleanliness issue?
Despite the above comments, I must praise the hotel for permitting us to retain our room until 00:30hrs, as our airport transfer collected us at 01:00hrs.
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| Board Basis: |
All Inclusive |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Jul 2006 |
| Tour
Operator: |
JMC Holidays |
| Submitted
By: |
Mrs G Mckellar |
| Overall
Rating: |
9/10 |
| Comments: |
We traveled in a group of 8 adults and 3 children 2 years and 3 year old. We found it a fantastic place. So much to do the aqua park on site was brill for the children only down full was so little sun bed in this area. Seem to have every thing for the whole family,
We tried the Turkish bath and Turkish shave but was not worth its money, the evening entertainment was worth a watch, the place is so big and many choice of bars as the complex spreads over 3 sister hotels.
We was surprised to find that everyday our fridge filled with bottle drinks and a free safe and key to use.
We found it was great that we didn’t have to walk far for the beach. The Turkish people seemed to love the children, they also offered a fantastic service.
The only down point of the complex was the rep and parts of the complex does need some maintenance but all in all we are finding it hard to find another holiday to beat this one.
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| Board Basis: |
All Inclusive |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Jul 2006 |
| Tour
Operator: |
JMC Holidays |
| Submitted
By: |
Mrs G Mckellar |
| Overall
Rating: |
9/10 |
| Comments: |
We travelled in a group of 8 adults and 3 children 2 years and 3 year old.
We found it a fantastic place. So much to do, the aqua park on site was brill for the children only down full was so little sun bed in this area. Seem to have everything for the whole family,
We tried the Turkish bath and Turkish shave but was not worth its money, the evening entertainment was worth a watch, the place is so big and many choice of bars as the complex spreads over 3 sister hotels.
We were surprised to find that everyday our fridge filled with bottle drinks and a free safe and key to use.
We found it was great that we didn’t have to walk far for the beach. The Turkish people seemed to love the children; they also offered a fantastic service.
The only down point of the complex was the rep and parts of the complex does need some maintenance but all in all we are finding it hard to find another holiday to beat this one.
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| Board Basis: |
All Inclusive |
| Date of
Holiday: |
May 2006 |
| Tour
Operator: |
Thomas Cook |
| Submitted
By: |
Miss C Lilley |
| Overall
Rating: |
9/10 |
| Comments: |
Holiday in May was fab! First holiday aboard I was a bit scared of turkey. People where saying that they love women with blond hair, be careful. But it was great.
I work in a four star hotel so I have high standards we waited for 1 12 hour at airport for everyone to get on at 3am not too pleased check in at 4am in English was great porter took up to our room on little golf buggy room basic staff where all great but for there money.
I would really, really recommended this complex but not Thomas cook they don’t care as long as they get your money.
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| Board Basis: |
All Inclusive |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Aug 2005 |
| Tour
Operator: |
First Choice |
| Submitted
By: |
Mr J Hales |
| Overall
Rating: |
10/10 |
| Comments: |
Best holiday I’ve ever been on. I went with my girlfriend, sister and mum, and we all had an amazing time.
We stayed in the Fulya hotel and found it great. For the first few days we ate in the Fulya restaurant but due to a few small problems with other guests we were told that we could dine in the Kamelya restaurant. Both restaurants were fantastic with a wide range of foods suiting all tastes.
During the day they hotels would put out snacks in various areas mainly by the pools. We probably spent more time eating the anything else. The bar staff were very friendly although working long hours in intense heat.
Most of the guests in the resort are German so we were lucky to meet 2 other English families.
There was plenty to do during the day, I spent a lot of time acting like a child on the water slides and took a couple of visits to the football pitches as well as going to the gym. My girlfriend and mum had a massage and didn’t want to leave, apparently it was the most relaxing experience ever and they would recommend it to anybody.
At night we mainly stayed by the bars drinking until late. A few times we visited the nightclub in the Selin which is also part of the complex. It played a good range of music and was a good size.
Less than 5 mins walking distance down the road was a market and a few bars that all stayed open until late. It was fairly cheap with good bargains. A tip would be to haggle prices as the shopkeepers will raise the price because of the large number of wealthy German customers that visit the market. if you have teenage girls it would be a good idea to keep them close when outside the hotel at all times as the local men can be very touchy and a little over the top.
Its the only hotel that I will return to.
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| Board Basis: |
All Inclusive |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Aug 2005 |
| Tour
Operator: |
JMC Holidays |
| Submitted
By: |
Mrs P Moir |
| Overall
Rating: |
5/10 |
| Comments: |
On arrival the hotel reception looks very nice. The room was ok size for two adults and two children but basic. The kids complained about the sofa bed not being comfortable. The fridge was filled daily but three bottles of water per day for four people and two bottles of cola and three beers, which we never did drink. In such a hot country more water would have been better then fizzy pop and beer.
The resort was mainly geared for Germans and all of the entertainment was in German. There was a large selection of food but was not very nice. All of us were ill for most of the holiday and even after returning.
There may be 6 pools but good luck getting sun lounger unless you stay up and put your towels down at 04:30. All beds are gone by 06:00 even though you are not supposed to put towels down till 08:30.
The beach in contrast was lovely and there were always beds available.
Whatever you do, do not change your money to Lira as they only want the Euro or the pound. You must barter everywhere and at the shops in Side you will not be left alone.
We were two women in our 20's with two small children and the men were very forward even on the resort they would follow us around. I would not suggest going without a male.
Overall the holiday was okay, but I will not be returning to Turkey without my husband and will not be staying at Kamelya World ever.
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| Board Basis: |
All Inclusive |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Jul 2005 |
| Tour
Operator: |
JMC Holidays |
| Submitted
By: |
Mr P Coveney |
| Overall
Rating: |
9/10 |
| Comments: |
Two adults two children (boys) all inclusive at the Kamelya Holiday Village. The place was immaculate, the food excellent so much to choose from. The majority of drinks were branded which in itself was brilliant.
There was more than enough entertainment and different things to do too numerous to mention!
The only drawback being a German run resort were the German's (usual sunbed shuffle), but on the positive side that is why the place was so immaculate, they do not take any crap at all! (Unlike the British!).
We thought it was well worth it and the boys loved it so much they want to go again in 2006!
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Kamelya Holiday Village - Kamelya World ReviewsPage 1 2
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