La Blanche Resort & Spa

13 readers found this review helpful

We arrived in the early hours, went to our lovely room. We had a sea view with 2 balconies of the main bedroom, and a small balcony of the childrens room. Very spacious and modern. Room was always cleaned well and mini bar topped up daily. In the restaurant you did have to que for some food, as it is buffet. The waiters cleared the tables very quickly, and we could always get a clean table. The choice was very good, especially the desserts. The waiters gave you wine and water with dinner, and even went to the bar to get you a drink. Nice view from the terrace over the sea with some beautiful sun sets. The other restaurants you had to book, the turkish was our best. The snack bar served a good choice of snacks and drinks, and then there was tea and cakes served pm. You can not go hungry here! You could always get a sun bed by the beach. Beds by the pool went quicker, but the sea was warmer than the pool. The towel cards are good as you can have a clean towel when ever you want. The kids enjoyed the waterslides and they had a guy at the top to make sure it was properly used. Entertainment was quiet as it was end of season, but the kids enjoyed it. Staff friendly, and very helpfull. We had a lovely time this was out 3rd visit to turkey, but our best all inclusive. We will definatley go back.

4 readers found this review helpful

The hotel is lovely and clean, food is excellent, you will not go hungry in this hotel, entertainment at night, not up to much although saying this, the entertainment staff put so much effort into the shows, mama mia worth seeing, a few younger kids in hotel but no
teenagers, except for my two.
some views better than others we were beside supermarket, lovely view of hills but very noisy, asked collette the rep to be moved but heard nothing, also she never informed us
aquapark closing for year second week of our stay, which my 14 year old son was looking forward to the most.
Lots of beds at pool and down on private beach, usual french and german taking two cushions for beds leaving other people without (towel guy would then go around and remove them) excellent, boat cruise and scuba diving excellent, the turkish people are so friendly, this hotel is well worth a visit.

2 readers found this review helpful

This hotel is very good overall, some called it Fantastic, I think this is relivent to what you have stayed in before, and what room you are allocated, I know of equally good hotels with more comfortable rooms and bigger balconies. Our first room was near the entrance to the hotel opposite the supermarket and near the road, not exactly a sea view ,which is what we asked for, it was also noisy for most of the night, we asked Jenny the Thomas Cook rep if we could be moved the next day, and although she got no help from reception,the guest relations girl sorted us out another room,in a quieter spot with a limited sea view.Jenny was brilliant to say the least and her main concern was that all her guests were happy,and I overheard her sorting new rooms for other unhappy guests. Some rooms were over the kitchen looking up the road and the balconies so small there was only room for 2 fold up chairs,if the hotel is full moving room would be impossible.
The food we thought was very good, the drinks measures on the stingey side in the bar, meaning you have to keep going back ,which means they have to serve you again,makes sense to fill you up to keep you from the bar longer!!!!!!!!!!!! The private beach is excellant ,with free sunbeds,pedaloes and canoes, the pool bar a good place to meet up after a day on the beach enjoying the wonderful scenery, the sunbeds round the pool are a bit cramped in together,but the pool is big with 2 bridges over. Beware!!! they hose down all round the pool in the evening and leave it wet through,making it very slippy,there is also a step after the bridge to block 7 and its not well lit and lots of people lost their footing and missed the step. If I did visit this hotel again I would have a concern over which room I was allocated,as there are quite a few bad ones.

1 reader found this review helpful

We had a brilliant holiday - we cannot fault the hotel, staff, entertainment or friendliness of the whole place. Would thoroughily recommend La Blanche. We are going back again this year! It was nice that there were lots of different nationalities.

2 readers found this review helpful

Everything was perfect, we were there for 3 weeks and we enjoyed our holidays in Turkey as never as before (7 times in Turkey). Yes we always can complain about some things, but we don't have a so good service at home..... People are very friendly, pool is gorgeous, service is good, room are not bad. It's impossible to be hungry or thirsty, you can drink 24 h a day and eat from 07 till 01 in the morning...We will come back.. it's sure.

3 readers found this review helpful

just come back from the la blanche hotel great food great changa ga resturant brill but please some one sort the bed by the pool situation out you had to be up at 6 30 to get a bed but you are clearly told not to reserve the bed but nobody was taking any notice please sort this out for when i go back next year because everything else was spot on
and the rooms were spotless the staff very very polite and helpful
the spa was amazing thank la blanche for a wonderfull holiday

1 reader found this review helpful

Well what can I say?...!!! Yes it was a fantastic hotel but (and yes it is a BIG but) the staff and the general housekeeping are just a total shambles .The management is lacking in so many areas, and I and my wife feel that if this is not addressed very quickly the hotel will definitly loose its 5 star rating . A very modern hotel but run like a transport cafe ! In fact some of the transport cafes in England are FAR CLEANER and MUCH better run than this hotel. They need to sweep the staff out from bottom to top and start again .
The hotel lobby carpets were badly stained the staff manning the desk were totaly disorganised ,while waiting 40 minutes for our room to be ready I eventually managed to get a drink from the lobby bar,after being ignored by the bar staff which I found disturbing as the bar area was empty ,as i waited to be acknowledged I could not help noticing the filth that had accumulated under the glass surface of the bar, it is basic cleaning to just lift the glass panel out and clean underneath as well as on top !!!
It was in the same state when we booked out !!
The mini bar DONT WHAT EVER YOU DO USE THE ICE TRAY...I TRIED ! the water in it was BLACK !! when i took it down to the desk the staff didnt seem at all fazed buy it and just asked if we wanted another one .
The carpets all over the hotel need replacing as they are badly stained .On the second day we arrived back in our room at 11.30 pm (we ate out because the food in the main restraunt was just not up to 2 star quality, the same every day ) to find no toilet paper!! after ringing the front desk twice a roll eventually arrived a little after an hour later,
( very handy when your wife has holiday tum and been sitting on the loo waiting !!) THAT IS BASIC house keeping .
The mini bar works on the key card so it switches off when you leave in the morning and turns on when you return, WOW great system in 2008!! so dont bother looking forward to a nice cold drink with a bit of fruit or cheese and olives from the mini bar sitting on the balcony before you go to bed because its all nice and hot by the time you return and you will need more loo rolls if you do eat it !
The sunbeds around the pools are all out of bounds (taken or reseved with towels) by 6 am. The management tried to address this problem the last 2 days of our holiday , but were not too succesful mind you I dont know how you would feel about laying very close to a total stranger (and I do mean VERY close) as the beds were touching all in a line and couldnt be moved as there was nowhere to move them to, space it seems wasnt important .
If you find yourself sitting outside on the balcony of the lobby bar watching the sunseting over the water and you fancy a drink please just get it your self , BECAUSE if you DO find a waiter and you order a drink be prepared to be waiting till the sun rises and sets again before you get it , or before you see the waiter again .I MEAN THIS IS A 5 STAR HOTEL!!!
We thought maybe its the way they are in Turkey and if so we would never go back ,but leave the hotel and the people are just so friendly and helpfull.
Be prepared for breakfast ,eggs or fruit ..get your own tea or coffee,and dont expect a clean tablecloth if you arrive after 7.30am ! you dont have to tip the waiters ...cos you never see them !!
IF this hotel was our only taste of turkey we would never be be going back EVER again, in fact booking a holiday in Le Blanche resort must go down in the book of great ideas right next to entry ......NOVEMBER 22nd 1963 the morning JFK said " Come on Jackie lets take the roof down and cruise through Dallas "
This is just the tip of the iceberge and just touching a few of the points but DONT LET THIS PUT YOU OFF TURKEY!! its a fantastic country breathtaking views lovely people and a wonderful culture just dont book the Le Blance unless you want a holiday that resembles the Benedorm series on tv.Not 5 star management or staff.

4 readers found this review helpful

Just got back from a week at La Blanche and I cannot recommend it highly enough.
HOTEL & FACILITIES - The hotel itself was brilliant, I think it really deserves it's 5 star rating. It was only built a couple of years ago so everything's still really new and modern. The rooms were big and spotless - the maid comes in every day and replaces your towels etc. You also get a fridge in your room which they stock with water and soft drinks. The pool is the best one I've ever seen - it's huge and really well designed with nice palm trees and plants and stuff. There were always loads of sunbeds free and they also have big beanbags and cushions for you to lounge on - nice touch. There's also an indoor pool which is really big and nice if you want to get out of the sun. We didn't have any spa treatments but if you wanted to there are loads of things to choose from and they're not a bad price. They have pool tables, air hockey and ping pong if you get bored as well as internet and games consoles which you pay by the hour for. The whole complex was always really clean, no litter or anything. The hotel is only a 5-10 minute walk along the beach from Turgutreis so if you get bored (which we didn't) you can get there easily. There's a really big market on a Saturday with all the usual fake t-shirts, games, watches etc. Also one point to make, in the brochure it says that the transfer form Bodrum airport is 2 hrs but it actually took less than an hour including dropping people off - worth knowing.
BEACH - Really nice little sandy beach, always clean. The hotel has built big walkways out into the sea, which also have sunloungers all the way along, which makes the beach a nice little bay. The hotel is directly on the beach so there's no roads or anything in the way.
STAFF - The staff were fantastic, from the minute we arrived they could not do enough for you. They were really friendly, always stopping to say hi and made sure you never went without anything. Service was always quick in the bars and at meal times you always got asked what you wanted to drink and plates were cleaned away really quickly.
FOOD & DRINK - The good bit! The food was really good, we were at the hotel a week and I could have eaten if for another week, I never got bored of the food. There was always a really good selection of meat dishes, fish, potatoes, veg, salad, and they do chips - probably just for the English people. The puddings were fab - chocolate brownies yum! Breakfast was good, the chefs made fresh eggs for you however you want (omelette, fried etc) and we never waited more than 2 minutes. They had a big selection of pastries, pancakes etc. and the food did vary day to day. The snack bar served pizza, chips, kebabs etc - be prepared to put some weight on! Drinks wise it was also fab - cocktails and local versions of brands like Tia Maria & Baileys were all included as well as all the usual stuff - for the price we paid I'd say this was the best value for money holiday we've ever had as you never had to pay out for anything.
I suppose the only thing I could fault the hotel for was the entertainment, there wasn't that much arranged in the evenings, just a little disco that was away from everything and didn't have its own bar but with the amount of free booze on offer you can make your own entertainment! Plenty of stuff to do in the day if you wanted like dance lessons, exercise classes, volleyball on the beach etc.
I would recommend this hotel to anyone who just wants to go away, relax, eat drink and be merry and forget about everything at home. We will definately be going back to this fab hotel.

2 readers found this review helpful

We had a wonderfull 2 wk. holiday at La Blanche and would recommend. Think teens/early twenties would be rather bored. Have done A/I in several Caribbean resorts and La Blanche beats them regards value. If you are an upmarket cruise holiday maker then you may find food on the boring side and not waiter service of course. But be adventurous - you are in Turkey!
Rooms, staff, drinks quality and service cannot be faulted however, like a lot of hotels these days entertainment staff seem to meet the needs of children and think that we all want an little 'show'. They do work hard and probably appeals to many. Rooms are spotless. A little tip to bar and room staff is greatly appreciated during your holiday - lets face it, price one pays (out of season) is very worthy of appreciation. A visit into the town at night is great too. Most cafes will transport you back to hotel they are so keen for you custom and to please.
Relatives were there too on our recommendation during summeer 2007 and had a great but HOT (weather) time too.
We have booked again and look forward to another 2wks. May 2008
Hope you enjoy.