Celay Hotel

We have just returned from our first ever trip to Turkey and stayed at the Celay.As it was a last minute booking, and really inexpensive,we werent sure what we would find;we were delighted;the hotel is lovely, only 3 storeys, and the rooms all face the pool, have balconies or terraces; are clean and well kept, with maid service daily. You couldnt fault the staff, who were so friendly and helpful, with nothing being too much trouble for them. You only had to speak to the other guests there to see how good it was, as about 70% of them appeared to be return visitors, having enjoyed it so much the first time; I can only say that we will be joining them by going back again; the only quibble we would have would be over the hot water, which wasnt normally available til after 6pm; however as we were checking out at 3pm on our day of departure, we asked if it could be turned on for us to have a final shower - having spent the day in and around the pool and again they were happy to accomodate us (the room being kept for us until checkout - not having to pack up and move out & camp by your bags). So yes, we would recommend this hotel, particularly if you just want a nice relaxing holiday - and thanks again to the staff for a lovely holiday

Just had another fabulous holiday at the Celay Hotel. The staff as ever were very friendly and inviting. I celebrated my birthday there with over 20 friends and Celal and Ayten made the most fabulous birthday party for me. I can never fault the care and attention given to their customers. However can I make a suggestion if you are going. Book this hotel independently and this can be done cheaply. There were problems with one of the travel companies (i think they were called Vision Holidays) who do not pay for rooms so you may be turned away by the owners as they obviously do not give out rooms for free. But as I said if you do go there you will be treated excellently.

I came as a female solo traveller in September 06 for some peace, sunshine and a chance to read those books that I'd been "getting around to" for months. I booked very much last minute and based my choice of hotel (and holiday!) on the reviews of other travellers on this site. I'm so glad I did - everything that people write about this hotel is true. It's a small, family hotel, nestling off the beaten track in the shadow of a beautiful mountain, world renowned for its paragliding. If you're after SKY PremPlus, fried breakfasts, and comparing sunburn over 15 pints of lager, this is not the place for you. If, however, you want personal service (Aytan is so kind and helpful - she rang the ever-late excusion buses when they failed to materialise to collect me and berated them in Turkish - and even drove me into town, with my luggage, to enable me to make my airport transfer), a beautiful uncrowded location and fabulous food (the hotel kitchen will cook you whatever you fancy, you only have to ask for it!). Half an hour in Hisonaru was more than enough for me. Instead, hail a local dolmus into Fethiye (approx 10 minutes by car) and wander round the market, shops, ancient rock tombs, and along the harbour front where the old men gather to drink Turkish tea and play backgammon. There are so many restaurants and cafes to choose from (and none "hassle" a lone traveller unlike in places such as Bodrum) - but especially good are the Muhallabici (Patisserie) cafes with their mouthwatering cakes and puddings. Not more than 5 minutes stroll further along the harbour front is the ultra-chic Gece Marina in Fethiye. It's worth the walk as you can wander amidst the yachts of the super rich, watch the sun set with a coffee in your hand at the cafe in the Marina complex, and you might even catch a glimpse of the local Loggerhead Turtles (caretta caretta) who live in the natural harbour that is Fethiye bay. For the more adventurous, I'd definitely recommend you try Scuba Diving and Paragliding during your stay in the area. For the former, try Aquapro Divers based in the Marina - their safety standards and equipment is much better than other companies I've dived with across the world - and the staff are fun, friendly and speak fluent English! Whilst the Mediterranean fish are not as exotic as in the Red Sea, naturally, the rock formations and corals are just as pretty. The blue lagoon at Oludeniz is exquisite - it's not one of the most photographed locations in Turkey for nothing... All in all, I would recommend Celal Hotel as a pefect holiday base to forget the cares of the "real world" and have paradise on your doorstep. Everyone I met in this hotel was a return traveller and for me, that speaks volumes. Will I go back? Definitely!

I will keep this short and sweet but i must say that i have never been to a hotel which treated me so well - The owners and staff were amazing, so kind, friendly and thoughtful. The hotel was lovely, clean and wonderfully situated. I was really sad to leave!

Well, what can we say that has not already been said about this superb hotel in Ovacik. We have been to this hotel 7 times in the last two years and it never ceases to amaze us how everything looks so clean, tidy and beautiful. We found the hotel on teletext holidays.com and booked a one week half board stay in July 2004. We fell in love with the location and returned for a two week visit in September 2004. Since then, we have been back twice a year, to visit this hotel, the staff, and the owners, which we now call our friends. This place has got into our hearts, as have the owners and staff at the hotel. They have treated us impecably and nothing is too much for these people to do for us. We have loved it so much and the people so much, that we have now bought an apartment nearby, so we are now their neighbours. What more can we say than this, except that we still spend most of our evenings there because we would miss them if we did not!!!!! We would recommend people visit Olu Deniz and the Blue Lagoon including a visit to Gemc beach and Joseph's bar. Also Hisaronu by day and night is a must. A visit to Fethiye main town for its narrow streets, bars and restaurants and harbour by night. Try to visit Saklikent gorge, this can be organised through local travel companies in Hisaronu. Once again, Aytan, Celal, Orhan, Inci, and Berrak, will all make a visit to this hotel a memorable one. One that you will hopefully return to, like us, time and again.

I shed silent tears on the coach when we left as Celal and a few other members of staff waved us off. It's common to say "oh, I never want to leave" when on holiday but, for me, it was absolutely heartbreaking to do so. We had such a wonderful time! We suffered from a few mosquito bites but once we were introduced to "lemon cologne", we didn't have a problem. Buy a bottle or two as soon as you can! Celal, Ayten and especially Orhan (best barman in the world!) made our holiday what it was and we're thankful to them for making our stay so enjoyable. They treated us like family and we can't wait to go back next year to see everyone again.

Other reviews about this hotel are generally accurate enough in what they say, but these, of course, are based merely on personal perceptions and experiences which can vary enormously. The main redeeming feature of the Celay is the large size of its pool, but this is offset by other factors which might suggest that there is, for many, much better value for money locally available elsewhere. Yes, the Celay certainly is clean and tidy, with rooms being serviced every day, but for most guests the hotel had a virtual monopoly on where it is possible to eat and drink and it is well aware of this fact. Poolside bar and hotel restaurant prices were, we discovered, far higher than anywhere else in the area, albeit admittedly still slightly cheaper than in the UK. The evening menu was bland in comparison to that on offer in the literally hundreds of excellent restaurants in nearby Hisoranu and far more expensive, to boot. As breakfast was clearly advertised as 'Turkish', the self-service selection on offer was good, although, for our own children, it became boring and unappetising after a day or so. Wasps were also an early morning problem when eating at the open-air tables. Due to the elevation above sea-level, the relative coolness from mountain breezes, along with regular spraying of the locality by the authorities, mosquitoes were almost absent - even in the hottest month of August. Without one's own transport, it is at least a 1/2 mile dusty trek each way at night down largely unlit roads to even the very nearest restaurant, bar, or supermarket. In addition, there is no public transport available within reasonable walking distance and taxis have to be summoned by telephone from Ovacik village or Hisoranu. Those wanting nightlife would be advised to look at Hisoranu or Olu Deniz. The only entertainment on offer at the Celay was a once-weekly barbeque with belly-dancer and this (optional) meal was at an additional cost approximating to almost double what value one could get elsewhere. As others have already observed on various websites, one's own food is certainly not permitted on the premises and our family's supermarket carrier bags repeatedly appeared to be questioningly scrutinised by the owner's wife - who always appeared to be sat somewhere in the vicinity each and every time we returned at the end of a day out (in our own, locally-sourced, rental car). Maid-service was good (apart, that is, from repeatedly having to ask for toilet rolls at Reception when these failed to be re-stocked), but do make sure that management are made perfectly clear that you do NOT wish all your possessions to be tidied away each morning. At the beginning of our stay, my wife had all her jewellery and other personal items gathered up and thrown into a drawer. When we complained, our rooms were not cleaned the next day. Also be sure to LOCK AWAY all your valuables, particularly if you find you have a ground-floor room – as the maid invariably left the patio door unlocked. The nearest beach is over 4 miles away and the nearest town (Hisoranu) just over 2 miles. For those forced to make regular journeys in taxicabs, or even local 'dolmuses' (minibuses), the costs will soon start to escalate alarmingly. Most patrons, during our stay, appeared to be content to spend their days by the hotel pool, or possibly to partake in the occasional organised outing by the package holiday company. That, quite naturally, is their privilege, but we checked prices locally in Hisoranu for these very same excursions and were astonished to be quoted up to 1/3 of what 'Jewel in the Crown’, for example, were asking. Furthermore, when we were asked to settle our bill for the additional £3 per day per room air-conditioning (which automatically turned itself off each time we left our rooms), the exchange rate offered for sterling traveller’s cheques was extortionate. Although any issues that we had were usually attended to promptly enough by the management, our own perception of the couple who own the hotel was that they were generally quite surly and uncommunicative. Language difficulties appeared to be utilised as an excuse when problems arose, although we were pretty sure these two understood EVERY word we said! Upon our arrival, we had most of our luggage carried by staff to our rooms at the far end of the premises. Upon our departure, the same staff merely leant against the poolside bar and watched us as we each dragged a large suitcase back to Reception (even our struggling 9-year old daughter was totally ignored). On our final day, we had to be up at 6-00am in order to pack for a 7-30am departure. At 5-02 am, the power went off – only to come back on at 7-23am. We were forced to pack in total darkness. No-one at all came to our rooms to explain or to assist us and our phone calls to Reception were consistently ignored. As we walked out to our transit bus, the owner’s wife appeared to have been aware of our departure, as she was stood by the door. No apologies were offered to us, indeed, not a word was said by her – not even a “Farewell” or “Thank You”! For those of you on a budget and not deliberately seeking total isolation from civilisation (and most of us are in that category), far better value is available elsewhere nearby. Try, for example, the much smaller ‘Friendly Hotel’.

We have just returned after a week at the Celay and it really is the most wonderful "chill out" place. I don't think I've ever stayed in a hotel as clean as this - anywhere. The gardens and pool are beautiful and we saw wild tortoises roaming around there. The staff are fantastic, consequently service is first class. We had b and b, intending to eat out but after trying the food at the hotel we just didn't bother as it was so very good. On our first night we fancied trying a Turkish bath so we asked the owner where we should go. He made a call and before we could even finish the drinks that we then ordered, the masseur from the Green Anatolia hotel arrived to take us to the "Haman". That was quite an experience -well worth trying. We went on Explora's jeep safari and would thoroughly recommend it if you want to laugh a lot and don't mind getting dirty or wet! It was a brilliant day! When we left at the end of the week (reluctantly) Ayten and Pete (the chef) waved us off lwith the kind of personal touch that characterises this hotel. I would recommend it to anyone who prefers not to be in the centre of a resort, but likes the option of going somewhere busier (Fettiye or Hisaronu).

We booked our holiday through visionholiday who were very helpful indeed and catered for our needs. We wanted somewhere quiet, with a lovely pool, and that was clean and friendly, and that is exactly what we got at the Celay Hotel. When we arrived there were very few people staying at the hotel. The rooms were clean and adequate and the place itself was very pretty, with looked after gardens and beautiful flowers. The owners and staff could not have done more for us, in fact it was my birthday whilst we were there, and that evening the owners presented me gifts and with a beautiful cake. The nearby town of Hisaronu was ok, but if you went further in the opposite direction there was Fethiye and this was a real find. We were looking for the old type bazaar atmosphere, with lanes and alleys and lovely shops and restaurants and this place had it all, with much less hassle to go into shop than we got in Hisaronu. If you have booked the Celay Hotel for a relaxing and friendly holiday, I think you will be really impressed with this place.

We had a wonderful fortnight at the Celay hotel. The room was simple but clean and tastefully decorated. The restaurant was lovely, great food at a reasonable price and the staff were helpful. The hotel is a half hour walk from the centre of Hisaronu, or a short mini-bus ride. Unfortunately the room didn't have a fridge and there were no tea/coffee making facilities in the room, so we mostly bought our drinks from the bar which became quite expensive by the end of the 2 weeks! The other main problem that we had was the shortage of hot water in the hotel - there was only hot water between 4pm and 7pm, if you wanted a shower any other time it was cold! This was particularly a problem on the days when we had been on trips to a mud bath and returned at 8pm. However, on the whole we were very pleased with this hotel, especially as we had paid £350 each (inc flights) for 2 weeks in August (B&B) which we thought was a bargain! One tip - don't book trips on your first day through your tour rep, go into Hisaronu and book them through a local travel agent as they are much cheaper (unforunately we didn't realise until too late!)