Holiday Reviews > Med Beach Resorts > Turkey > Side > Side Hotels > Sunrise Queen Hotel > Read Reviews
Sunrise Queen Hotel ReviewsPage 1 2
| Board Basis: |
Half Board |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Jul 2008 |
| Tour
Operator: |
Thomas Cook |
| Submitted
By: |
Mrs M Catelinet |
| Overall
Rating: |
7/10 |
| Comments: |
My husband, teenage son and I have just returned from a week at the Sunrise Queen. This hotel and resort were recommended to us, so we were extremely disappointed on arrival to have been allocated a smelly, dirty room which overlooked the parking area at the front of the hotel. Our intial reactions were to get out asap, especially as the first person we approached at reception was less than helpful when we asked for a room with a sea view.
However, we didn't give up and the second person we spoke with at reception couldn't do enough for us. Within 15-20mins our cases were transferred by a "whirlwind" to a larger, cleaner room with a big bathroom and the most beautiful seaview.
From then on we were able to relax and enjoy our holiday. This hotel is huge and you do need time to get your bearings. The majority of staff were friendly and extremely helpful, they worked hard to keep the gardens and beach areas as clean as possible, it's a shame that some of the guests didn't follow their lead! We enjoyed the variety of food on offer and have to agree with previous reviews that the drinks were very pricey and would recommend that guests buy bottled water at the local shops.
There are so many activities in the hotel itself that you need not leave if all you want to do is just chill out and enjoy the beautifully hot weather, we didn't think much of the evening entertainment, but then again that's not our sort of thing. There was no pressure to join in with the daytime activities that the animation team organised.
Overall, this was a great holiday. At the moment the Sunrise Queen is really a 3-4 star hotel, purely because the accommodation is tired and a little shabby in places, (e.g. the carpets need to go). The Sunrise Queen could do with a good "makeover" -apparently due to start later this year. Once this is done we would certainly recommend this hotel and would visit again and again.
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| Board Basis: |
All Inclusive |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Jun 2008 |
| Tour
Operator: |
Thomas Cook |
| Submitted
By: |
Ms S Thomson |
| Overall
Rating: |
8/10 |
| Comments: |
I have just returned from a 7-day stay at the Sunrise Queen Hotel and I have to say that the reviews I read before going were all quite accurate!!
The Hotel is HUGE and it took me a day or two to get my bearings and find my room without going up and down in the outside lift a dozen times!!!
Without a doubt it pays to go All-Inclusive (I upgraded on my first full day there and it was WELL worth it).
The gardens that the Hotel sit in are absolutely gorgeous and extemely well tended and the Hotel looks quite magnificent from the beach - which is where I spent almost every day!!
Don't be fooled by the write-up of 6 swimming pools - they are more like 'plunge pools' and there is VERY limited seating around these - rather a disappointment to be honest. Hence the reason I headed down onto the beach every day where there are plenty of sun-loungers and parasols. The only down-side to that is that the sand gets too hot to walk on - so footwear is a must!!
I found the staff to be, in the main, quite friendly - no real bad experiences there!! The food I could not fault - plenty of choice and always fresh.
The room I stayed in was a bit tired to say the least and it could do with a bit of a refresh - I was told that this is happening later this year. But having said that it was plenty big enough and comfortable, with a very good size bathroom. It was always kept VERY clean though - all credit to the cleaners!!
It is also true that the Hotel is mainly occupied by Germans - there were very few English guests in comparison, but I found most of them to be very friendly and I made friends with one German couple in particular who made my stay extremely enjoyable.
I was also told that the majority of guests during the Summer months are Germans and Russians, but far more English in the Winter.
The Russians????? Well that is another story - arrogant, downright rude, impatient, incapable of talking to each other - they are permanently shouting - have not grasped the concept of queuing, greedy and totally obnoxious!!!! But having said that the Hotel staff did pull them up firstly for letting their kids run riot in the Reception area and also they were told to put shirts on if they wanted to be served at the Bars!!!
All in all a really good holiday and I would definitely consider returning to the Sunrise Queen.
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| Board Basis: |
Half Board |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Apr 2008 |
| Tour
Operator: |
Thomas Cook |
| Submitted
By: |
Miss A Skillicorn |
| Overall
Rating: |
8/10 |
| Comments: |
Well we (me, my partner and our 3 yr old daughter) have just arrived back home from a 2 wk break in side, turkey
The Sunrise Queen hotel is lovely, very clean, friendly staff, huge and right on the beach with lots to do activity wise - archery, darts, bocca (bowls), 10 pin bowling, aerobics, swimming, relaxing i could go on
The food is very nice with a good selection each day and plenty to choose from, we were half board so had our breakfast and evening meal provided, for our day time meal we sometimes ate at the hotel snack bar and sometimes ventured out.
You will find that the food and drinks are alot cheaper outside the hotel, you will pay double the price for a glass of coke in the Sunrise Queen compared to the cafes outside.
Id advise you not to use the mini bar either as that is totally over priced, do what we did, go out and buy water, pop etc and store it in their fridge, we even had the cheek to drink a bottle of their coke and the replaced it the following day so we wernt charged the over the top price haha
Be prepared to be pestered a lot when you venture out too, every cafe, bar, shop you pass they will be trying to get you in, we went to Side town (10 mins on little bus 1 euro per person) one day and it was really bad, went to a place called Madavgat(sp) (15-20 mins on little bus) another day and they dont pester you at all there plus there are a lot more shops.
Lots of people told me it was cheap in Turkey but we didnt find it that cheap tbh, the cigarettes and alcohol are much cheaper at the airport and although your limit is 200 per person for cigarettes we brought more then back and wernt questioned at all.
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| Board Basis: |
Half Board |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Apr 2008 |
| Tour
Operator: |
Thomas Cook |
| Submitted
By: |
Mrs H Wensley |
| Overall
Rating: |
7/10 |
| Comments: |
We had a lovely break in Turkey and were pleased with our choice of hotel. As I am six months pregnant we booked this as a 'Babymoon' before our little one arrives; a package holiday with the sole intention of relaxing in some sunshine and doing as little as possible (very unusual for us!). For this purpose the hotel was lovely. The staff at the hotel were very friendly and helpful and the entertainment team, although very friendly, were not pushy when we said we weren't interested in the various organised activities (not really our thing).
We did have a giggle at the evening entertainment on the one evening we went as it didn't seem of the highest standard but we couldn't really compare it to much as we would usually be off exploring on holiday and don't usually stick around our accomodation too much. I think if you are the sort of person who enjoys hotel type entertainment then whether or not the music and entertainment is all in English, you can get into the spirit of it (as other English guests obviously were).
The over all standard of the hotel was good. The room was fine, although the bed was very hard and we didn't sleep very well, we asked for extra pillows and blankets and these were provided - which did help a little. I don't think you can really moan about this though as I don't know how a hotel can possibly please everyone with this aspect of accomodation - after all, we spent a long time out mattress shopping to make sure we chose a mattress that suited us. We realise that in order to have ALL the comforts of home - you would literally have to stay at home!
The food was great. Lots of choice at breakfast with everything from cereal, porridge, meets, cheeses and a wide choice of bread to pancakes and omlette. In the evening there was also plenty of choice. How the food 'catered mainly for the Germans' as some reviews I have read say, I don't know - everything from grilled chicken to pasta was available and the pool bar did burger and chips etc for those who don't like to experience anything new!
The hotel grounds were lovely, clean and spacious, with green areas away from the pool and the beach in front of the hotel was obviously well looked after. The only niggle I did have was that the staff spent a large part of the day hosing down the tiles/steps around the hotel which made them quite precarious (and being pregnant I especially wanted to avoid slipping!). Not quite sure why as when it rained (which it did a couple of times) they spent the time mopping up the water!!? There were plenty of lifts though so you could avoid this to a great extent.
Over all a very enjoyable and relaxing stay.
P.S. Oh my goodness - we went abroad and guess what? There were foreigners there! For all those people who feel the need to comment on the Nationality of other guests at the hotel, the lack of British TV and the food - perhaps they should stay in Britain and go to Butlins!
Oh, and there is a parrot in the reception area (which is huge) and it didn't come anywhere near us so don't be put off if you're scared of birds!
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| Board Basis: |
Half Board |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Jan 2008 |
| Tour
Operator: |
MyTravel |
| Submitted
By: |
Miss L M |
| Overall
Rating: |
7/10 |
| Comments: |
We (me, my partner and 11 month old son) went here on the 8th Jan for a week, upon arrival we felt welcome, was told to leave the suitcases in the reception and was shown to our room- about 5-10 mins later our cases were brought to us. You get a swipe card with a key which lets you into your room and activates the room electrics. You get another card that you use as a credit card in the hotel bar and restaurant etc you can pay this off anytime. Be warned bird haters like me, there is a parrot that lives in the reception but i will say he doesn't really bother you.
The room was big enough, we had 2 single beds a double pull out bed and a cot. There was a large plasma t.v, bathroom with jacuzzi bath, jet shower, toilet and sink with large mirror and a hair dryer. The view wasn't bad- half entrance/road view half sea view- room 1236. Right here goes (my personal opinion)
GOOD POINTS- The hotel itself is fab it's large enough to get lost, there are so many lifts that all the floor numbers you use are usually different to get to room etc. There are loads of pools that look lovely, large and a couple have pool bars, there's even a helicopter landing pad! It's bang on the beach, when we went it was really sunny but really cold! So we just use the indoor swimming pool. The food was good and was a large variety buffet style. The hotel and surroundings was extremely clean and we always saw people cleaning and sweeping weather this was because it was ridiculously quiet when we went i don't know. There was only about 200 people staying at the hotel when we went, if that! and most of them were German!
The staff are friendly and couldn't help you enough, they were all really good with our baby. The security staff at the gates loved our baby and always came over to talk to him when we passed even though they could hardly speak a word of English lol!
THE BAD POINTS- The hotel really catered for Germans like way much more than any other people. It was frustrating at times to get your point accross as hardly any staff spoke GOOD English so if you can speak Turkish or German you will be well away as they speak German fluently. It did makes us feel quite isolated at times as again i am saying there were too many Germans, some cared to say Hallo others blatently made us feel unwelcome, i didn't like that. Almost all of the t.v channels are German too.
We didn't venture far from the hotel as we had our baby to consider, the hotel is waaay too expensive, for eg. A tiny small bottle of coke in England is about 80p-£1 there it was about £3!!! Also the mini bar can rack up your hotel credit card if you're not A.I. Maybe it is worth going A.I. We used to go across the road, there are 2 restaurant/bars bang across the road we used to go to the one on the right hand side and there was the one Turk that could speak really good English compared to the rest and was really good with our baby and couldn't do enough for us! and the prices were more reasonable. Along the road are some shops, make sure you barter with them or they will have you pay top prices, we managed to bag some good bargains with this method! Be warned you do get hassled alot but i suppose you do anywhere abroad.
Overall the holiday wasn't bad although i would not return to Turkey (my 1st and last time in Turkey). Also the hotel is NOT a 5*, i wouldn't say anyway, more like a 3-4*. And at night i only went out once as i felt really uneasy in the dark. Anywho there's my view, ENJOY! :-)
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| Board Basis: |
All Inclusive |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Aug 2007 |
| Tour
Operator: |
Thomas Cook |
| Submitted
By: |
Mr DS O''Hare |
| Overall
Rating: |
10/10 |
| Comments: |
We (my wife, 2yr old daughter & myself) visited in early August, and loved every minute of it. Excellent standard of hotel in comparison to the 5* Caribbean Hotels. All rooms had 42in Plasma TV's & sat (although majority of channels in German), and its difficult not to get a room with an excellent view. Mini bar included in AI package, as well as 24/7 drinks and food with a few exotic spirits excluded.
AI is a must as drinks & mini bar prices on HB are ridiculous, and will cost you way in excess of the difference even drinking water for the entirety of your stay. Our air-con broke, which did take a couple of days to fix. Good service generally throughout the hotel, especially the 24hour lobby bar who would knock you up any cocktail, any time. Although during peak times in the day, bar staff could have been increased but only added a minute or two to your wait. Nothing compared to English pubs on Fri/Sat night.
Plenty of Russians & Germans although as already mentioned this wasn't a problem, with plenty of facilities, lounges, space, pools & pool areas, service.... you didn't have to compete for anything. One small downside were the shows/entertainment - rubbish from an English/Russian perspective although the Germans loved it, as it was aimed at them around 90% of the time. We however simply didn't get the jokes (even though they were translated), or the humour...
Children facilities probably wouldn't entertain children over 6yrs, but was more than adequate for our daughter and the 5+ pools are great for children any age, except no life guards are present. Tennis courts are available free, whilst water sports (wind & mechanical) are available at a relatively expensive price in comparison to Caribbean/other Med Holidays we've been on.
Beach was fantastic again, plenty of space and chairs and the sea water warm. In comparison to other hotels on the beach front, Sunrise Queen is easily the best and the only one we would consider.
Well placed geographically with local amenities I.e Side (2miles) and local market town (4 miles) both less than £1 on a bus. The strip outside the hotel had everything you needed, from shops (with competitive prices even to the market) to bars & discos. Other hotel standards locally seemed very low and some hotel private beaches were disgusting. That aside Sunrise Queen was/is the exception and well worth a stay. The cherry on the cake is the top pool, with its pool bar and panoramic view.
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| Board Basis: |
Half Board |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Jul 2007 |
| Tour
Operator: |
Thomas Cook |
| Submitted
By: |
Mrs I Kaur |
| Overall
Rating: |
10/10 |
| Comments: |
I can't say that I would give a 10/10 rating to the tour operators but the hotel itself and the staff member were faultless. This is a fantastic hotel with lots to offer. My sister and I travelled in July, obviously at peak time, but not once did we feel over crowded.
The food was fantastic, a different theme every night which gives you the opportunity to try different things that you probably normally wouldn't.
The beach is located a stone throw away *if that* and it was lovely, sandy and clean. The sporting facilities offered on the beach were fantastic, catered for all the family.
Comments about there being a lot of Germans and Russians are pointless really, they are not rude or 'standoffish' in any way. Besides comments can be made about how many English swamp countries like Greece or Spain!
I would highly recommend this hotel, it has very high standards, it is clean and that is extremely important. Its definitely 10 out of 10 for a reason, you'll just have to visit and see why.
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| Board Basis: |
Half Board |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Jul 2007 |
| Tour
Operator: |
Thomas Cook |
| Submitted
By: |
Miss D Harrison |
| Overall
Rating: |
10/10 |
| Comments: |
When I booked the holiday I was a little unsure on what to expect as I have never been to Turkey before. When we arrived I couldn't believe my eyes. The hotel was amazing. I could not believe how lovely it was. We couldn't fault it at all and would highly recommend it.
The staff mostly spoke in good English, and we heard a few English people walking round so it wasn't mostly Germans or Russians.
The hotel was so beautiful, the only fault I had was the price of drinks. It was about £8 for a cocktail. So I advise to go all inclusive because you will definitely get your monies worth!
The resort was wonderful, I really was very impressed with my holiday as you can tell! I'm only 22 and believe it caters for all ages. The Turkish people are very lovely and helpful. They do try their best to sell you thing, but understand if you don't want to buy.
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| Board Basis: |
Half Board |
| Date of
Holiday: |
May 2007 |
| Tour
Operator: |
Thomas Cook |
| Submitted
By: |
Mrs J Gates |
| Overall
Rating: |
9/10 |
| Comments: |
Third time in side and still so much to see and do. The locals are friendly and keen for business - same as anywhere really, but a super family friendly growing resort.
The Sunrise Queen is a first class hotel. Rooms could be updated but they were starting this during our stay. As repeat guests we were upgraded to a superior room and a cocktail party which was nice.
The hotel and grounds were spotless and clean and the refurbished spa was first class, can recommend the facial.
Food was a bit "samey", buffet style, but with a choice of dishes from around the world you were still spoilt for choice.
My two year old had a fab time and the kid’s club staff invited us to join their activities - he was too young to join alone - for no cost.
Overall a fab two weeks.
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| Board Basis: |
Half Board |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Jan 2007 |
| Tour
Operator: |
Thomas Cook |
| Submitted
By: |
Mr C Mason |
| Overall
Rating: |
10/10 |
| Comments: |
We flew out from Manchester on the 2nd of Jan expecting the weather to be around 16c. Pleasantly surprised when it was + 20c.
We had stayed at this hotel in March 2005 and really enjoyed it, we found most of the staff were the same and the hotel was the same high standard and excellent if you just want a holiday at this time of year for crashing out, the Thomas Cook rep couldn't do enough for us.
The first week we stayed, there were only 90 guests all Germans except for 11 British people, the second week was even quieter with only 50 guests but the quality and quantity of food still remained excellent.
The heated indoor pool, sauna and gym were all available free. The beach at the resort is very clean and we had several pleasant walks into Side and back where most of the shops are open.
One big improvement we found was that shopkeepers are no longer allowed to pester like they used to, apparently the local council takes there trading licence off them if they do; now when you pass you just get a polite hello.
I highly recommend the Sunrise Queen; we enjoyed it so much that when we got back home we booked again for 2 weeks from January 8th 2008.
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| Board Basis: |
Half Board |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Jan 2007 |
| Tour
Operator: |
Thomas Cook |
| Submitted
By: |
Mr C Mason |
| Overall
Rating: |
10/10 |
| Comments: |
We flew out from Manchester on the 2nd of Jan expecting the weather to be around 16c. Pleasantly surprised when it was + 20c.
We had stayed at this hotel in March 2005 and really enjoyed it, we found most of the staff were the same and the hotel was the same high standard and excellent, if you just want a holiday at this time of year for crashing out.
The Thomas Cook rep couldn't do enough for us the first week we stayed, there were only 90 guests all Germans except for 11 British people, the second week was even quieter with only 50 guests but the quality and quantity of food still remained excellent.
The heated indoor pool, sauna, and gym were all available free. The beach at the resort is very clean and we had several pleasant walks into Side and back where most of the shops are open.
One big improvement we found was that shopkeepers are no longer allowed to pester like they used to, apparently the local council takes there trading licence off them if they do; now when you pass you just get a polite hello.
I highly recommend the Sunrise Queen; we enjoyed it so much that when we got back home we booked again for 2 weeks in January 2008.
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| Board Basis: |
Half Board |
| Date of
Holiday: |
May 2006 |
| Tour
Operator: |
Thomas Cook |
| Submitted
By: |
Mrs J Gremshi |
| Overall
Rating: |
10/10 |
| Comments: |
I have just spent a blissful one week at the Sunrise Queen Hotel. Food was absolutely fantastic, different theme every night with lots to choose from - you made need to take elasticized clothing!
Overall I could not fault the hotel. Most of the time me and my husband had the swimming pools and Turkish bath to ourselves. Read previous reviews about drinks being expensive but found them reasonably priced for a 5 star hotel, I just made sure I paid for drinks/food the next morning to keep on track of my spending.
Only negative comment was that the evening entertainment was only on for one hour and was very amateurish, however I only did watch one show. Live music during and after dinner. I wish I was back there!
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| Board Basis: |
Half Board |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Apr 2006 |
| Tour
Operator: |
Thomas Cook |
| Submitted
By: |
Mrs SJ Smith |
| Overall
Rating: |
10/10 |
| Comments: |
I was at the Sunrise Queen Hotel fro 3rd April to 4th May 2006. I have been to this Hotel 7 or 8 times. Once U have been to this Hotel it is difficult to settle for the standard of other Hotels elsewhere. It is an extremely good Hotel. It is the way it is laid out (built/designed) that makes it so attractive both to look at & to B in. It allows one to B alone if one wishes or with others. Lots of private areas.
All of the staff, waiters & reception, are there to do as much for you as they can to make the holiday a happy one. They could not have been more helpful. If one is a returning guest well then one receives a bottle of wine a bowl of fruit a special meal & presents & use of a lovely fluffy white toweling gown for the beach or Turkish bath. That was wonderful. The variety of food & high standard of presentation was excellent. It has always been so. Everywhere is clean.
The walk along the beach to Side town just the right comfortable distance. I love Side town. I think it is unique. Where else could one sit in a restaurant or visit a shop & be actually inside the ruins of ancient times. Some may think this is not the way to preserve ancient culture but I think it is wonderful to have a living working city still within the old ruins. Fascinating.
I did not mind the sometimes pushy sellers in Side. They are trying hard to make a living in what seems to be a diminishing holiday tourists area. I have the time to spare on a holiday & I enjoy the invitation to mint tea & a chat. The locals are welcoming & so pleased to know someone who will stop & talk even if not buying. They will often be happy to give you a present even if you do not buy anything.
An above letter mentions a stony beach!? I have only just come back & the beach was entirely sand. There were a lot of Germans there too but in my experience I did not find anything a miss. In fact, as I was alone there, the only other person I shared some of the holiday with was German. All the other people in the hotel who were English were too busy with their own arrangements to think to invite me to join them. Consequently in spite of the lovely hotel I did have a very lonely time. No-ones fault.
The staff & animators joined me & gave me more chat & company at meal times than any of the other guests.
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| Board Basis: |
All Inclusive |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Oct 2005 |
| Tour
Operator: |
JMC Holidays |
| Submitted
By: |
Mrs L McLean |
| Overall
Rating: |
8/10 |
| Comments: |
Excellent hotel with lots of things to do, but must stress that the Germans and Russians have taken over!! If you can over come your own politeness then you will do just fine. A side form that that hotel offers everything you can imagine, the beach although it is quite stony is fab, I went with my sister and between us took 5 children and they had bags of fun, with 8 pools to choice from and numerous activities they were never board. Because of the hotels great layout it would just be as good for couples with no children as there are quite pools too.
The food was a buffet service which there was plenty to choice from, although I would say that the children did struggle slightly to have a choice, but they didn’t come home starving.
The accommodation was first class, maid service every day, which included bottle water for you fridge and clean towels. Another thing which was great was that they supplied you with your own beach towels, which you could refresh twice a day.
We went with JMC who provided there own kids club at a price, the club itself was fab, the only disappointing issue we had was that our children were 8,7,4,2 & 2, and the clubs ran at different times for the different ages, which meant we could not get the children all in at the one time, which really was no use, as you would be running back and forth all day dropping the next lot off, and not getting that quality kids free time that you deserved.
All in all we had a fab time and would highly recommend this holiday.
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| Board Basis: |
Half Board |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Aug 2005 |
| Tour
Operator: |
Thomas Cook |
| Submitted
By: |
Mr J Baldwin |
| Overall
Rating: |
7/10 |
| Comments: |
The Hotel is clean and well presented with an interesting design that manages to ensure the hotel is not overcrowded when fully booked.
But as previous people have commented, the German holiday makers have ruined the locals good nature and are constantly rude and unable to even queue (do I sound too British, no I just expect manners).
The prices for drinks were too expensive with a 1.5ltr bottle of water costing 4 Turk Lira (new Lira) roughly 2Gbp.
The food was buffet style for breakfast and dinner both meals had a good variety and the food was well prepared and fresh.
Lastly the carrier from Stansted to Analtalya (Sun Express) was awful the cabin crew were rude and obnoxious the food although, costing extra was poor on the outbound flight consisting of burnt macaroni and on the return 2 bread rolls and cheese. Having paid extra for the meals I was not impressed and then they gave everyone on the flight a meal even those that had not paid for a meal and told the cabin crew. The cabin crew did not care and were more interested in flogging duty free.
Although some minor mishaps the holiday was great with excellent weather and some very nice Turks, if they realise you are not German !!
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