Azka Otel

I have been traveling back and forth to Turkey for 17yrs.I normally stay in Antalya at the Shereton,I normally like to stick to what i like and know...but on this occasion I decided to go to Bodrum with my 72year old mother and my sister,I did lots of research but decided to give the AZKA hotel a try...well i have to say we werent dissapointed...from start to finish we had a wonderful time there...I am a bit of a clean freak and believe me I was very happy here...it was spotless..all the staff were Fantastic..I am already planning to return for Easter...Trust me i am not easily pleased but i definately was with the whole package this Hotel had to offer..

If I'd have been staying for 2 weeks I would have expected red cross parcels to be delivered, hotel security searched any bags which may have contained food or drink purchased from outside the hotel and confiscated it until you left the hotel. Breakfast was ok with something for everyone but not varied at all and certainly not up to 5* status in my opinion. The only staff that were friendly was the hall porter and the beach attendant, reception couldn't have been more rude or unhelpful.

3 readers found this review helpful

I booked this hotel on a B&B basis for one week having been to Turkey 4 times previously and never had cause for complaint during my stay in this country but the Azka was to change this opinion very quickly!!!!
Firstly, this hotel is not 5 star but nearer a 3 star with mediocre facilities on offer!!
Secondly, the hotel security staff are ruthless checking your bags and person every time you enter the hotel for food and drink and taking such until your time to check out!!!- hardly the service you would expect from a 5 star hotel!! Clearly a way to coin it in for hotel staff as the prices charged for water etc are enough to cause a fatal!!
Thirdly and most annoying of all- when checking out I was advised by the reception that "we had had 2 bottles of water and a carton of orange"- I make it a policy never to take from the mini-bar due to the high prices, consequently I had to argue with the reception staff that I had taken nothing but this fell on deaf ears whereupon I was then threatened with the hotel security to pay up or else!!! I had a flight to catch and had booked a taxi and would have argued my point and called for the police if time had been on my side but it wasnt and consequently paid for something I never had!!!I have never been called a thief before and this really upset me when it happened and has put me off Turkey and especially the Azka Otel for good!!!

3 readers found this review helpful

***PLEASE*** - DO NOT listen to some of the muppet reviews below that the hotel and customer service is poor. The photo's on the website defiantly live up to the expecations and the staff are very friendly who are more than willing to help.
This is DEFINATLY 5 star quality. The hotel is located in a fabulous resort with it's own private beach literally a stone throw away from the swimming pool, so if you get too messy and uncomfortable by the beach, you can head straight back.
Room has air conditioning, which is at no extra charge like other accommodation i.e. Apartments and even hotels!
Me & my girlfriend only went BB...no good if you fancy a full english, its all meats, fruit & cereal really, but if you are into this I'm sure it will be very tasty.
I would of given it a 10...but the only genuine complaint I can issue is about the water, it stunk our bathroom slightly, but all water is the same in this part of the world!
Bodrum centre is a decent 15 minute walk to the main shops, bars & restaurants...passing the local military on the way...so you should feel safe!
So if you are looking for a relaxing week in lovely hot sunshine, the Azka is highly Recommended by Dan & Leighanne!
Cheers.

1 reader found this review helpful

Excellent or Good, I don’t know, But the hotel is located uphill
Very nicely located, not far from the center, about 1,5 Km and ten minutes on foot. This hotel is very accessible by many means of transport, at the entrance; you have taxis, which cost around 10 to 12 liras. You have the small boat at the hotel’s beach, which goes to the center every 15 minutes for around 6 liras, a very nice way to go shopping! As far as the Dolmus is concerned, those small buses are around the top of the hill; you have to walk 75 to 150 Meter uphill everyday! And it’ll cost you around 2 or 3 liras (YTL).
What I like is, this hotel has a magnificent architecture, which goes well with the scenery. If you like those modern glass buildings, you’d better choose another one! The hotel is interesting in many aspects, it communicates with other hotels around the beach, which gives the opportunity to profit from other animations, bars, nightclubs, swimming pools, if you’re not satisfied with the ones of the hotel. But I think, the food, the atmosphere, the scenery, everything is nice in Azka without going into details.

4 readers found this review helpful

I swore that the minute we landed back in the UK that I would immediately warn others about the pitfalls of the Azka hotel.
Firstly, and perhaps most importantly if you are looking for the service and facilities of a 5 star standard you will be extremely disappointed. Our main complaint that has resulted in us never returning to the Azka is the attitude of the staff and the basic fact that their command of English is non existent so it is impossible to get basic needs met. More specific complaints include;
1) Food and drink are 3 star standard and extremely overpriced, you get the feeling that the manager is upstairs counting his sacks of lira as the tills ring in the bar area. They really do take the p**s.
2) The above complaint is in conjunction with the fact that you are not allowed to take any thing in to the hotel of a food and drink nature. Fair enough you might think - however the manner in which the staff search your bags and treat you like a naughty child is disgusting and not what is expected from a 5 star hotel. They are patronising and make no apology for their clear greed for making as much money from you as possible. A specific example of the extreme nature of this rule is that we had already checked out and were due to be collected from the hotel at 9pm. We returned to collect our bags from the luggage room at approx 8.15pm and had bought a bag of crisps for the airport. This was promptly confiscated after the security guard made several calls to the reception desk. We sat in reception with our suitcases while the reception staff sat with our crisps as we were not trusted to sit with them without eating them - even though we were clearly leaving the hotel and the country!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
3) The bathroom facities in the room are NOT acceptable - there were ants and no plugs for the sinks or bath.
4) Staff refused to make a call for us to order a car - we were forced to ring from or room so that they could charge us - again not what you would expect from a 5 star.
5) Pool area is smaller that pictures depict and the beach is unkept. There is no active bar service around the pool and the staff could not be less attentive - throwing a plastic cup at me and letting me make three trips with drinks back to the sunbed without offering to help or provide a tray.
In sum - The Azka is what we would call a fine or okay hotel - it is not 5 star - more 3 star thinking it's 5 star. The managament is clearly appauling as the staff attitude is total off. You will not have a terrible time here but are likely to be disappointed. Our advice is stay in a smaller friendlier 3 star in Gumbet.

stayed with my husband and my 2 year old boy. The hotel was very clean, staff were really helpful,however the staff didnt speak much english. Breakfast was nothing special, toast and boiled egg. no beans sausage or bacon. Lovely location, had a sea view room and the views were fantastic. If you buy water outside of hotel hide it well, they do search you if they think you have bottled water. Also if you buy any snacks while you are out hide them in your suitcase, otherwise the cleaners will take them away. We really did enjoy our stay here and would recommend it. The boat taxi to and from bodrum was great, our little boy enjoyed it too.

2 readers found this review helpful

Just got back from two weeks at this hotel. It is situated in an ideal location in a quiet bay just 15 minutes walk either way to Gumbet or Bodrum, or there was a water taxi every 10 minutes across to the marina in Bodrum, which ran till about 11pm.
The hotel was very clean with friendly staff and the rooms were cleaned daily along with the towels changed.
Our room overlooked the pool, beach, and mountains with spectacular views. We stayed half board and the only fault I would say is the cost of drinks and lunch wasn't cheap at the hotel, paying about 3.5TL for a bottle of water, which only cost 1TL from the shop, and 4.5TL for a small beer, which cost 3TL for a pint in the bars.
I would therefore recommend the little shop at the top of the hill outside the hotel for any supplies, but be sure to hide them in your room as the cleaners would confiscate them if found and only return them at the end of your stay.
If your into diving we would also recommend Pluto's Diving School, which has a boat at the end of the jetty, friendly experienced team, well equipped and great value, say hello to PLUTO the dog for us.

1 reader found this review helpful

Room:
We booked a room with a sea view but upon arrival we had been allocated a room on the ground-floor which would have been ok, except our balcony was inches from sunbathers around the pool.
We asked to be moved and the staff weren’t helpful. However, our rep asked the next day and we were moved after a couple of days. Our new room was fantastic - top floor with breathtaking views.
Rooms were cleaned and beds were made every day. TV only had one English-speaking channel.
Service:
All staff were miserable and unhelpful. No real attempts to speak English as most of the guests were German.
Beaches/Pool:
Went to the hotel beach twice - very crowded but water was beautifully clear and great for snorkelling. Was child-friendly and you didn't have to pay for the sunloungers. There were two pools in the hotel: one main pool and one right outside our complex, which was hardly ever used and felt like our private pool!
Food/Drink:
We went B&B, which is what we'd recommend. Breakfast was ok, albeit a little samey. It catered more for the continental taste, with lots of meats and cheeses. But there was fruit and breads available, and every other day there was a chef cooking omelettes/pancakes. Hot breakfast was served outside, but no real variety - don't expect a decent full English!
We ate lunch at the beach bar - basic but nice reasonably priced food like pizzas, sandwiches, salads, ice creams, etc. We got annoyed though by how loud the music was.
We ate dinner once at the hotel - it was AWFUL. The food was so bad, all we could manage was bread and butter. For the rest of our holiday we ate out in Bodrum, where there are lots of nice little places to eat.
Food/water - very expensive in the hotel. Hotel ‘rules’ state that food/drink bought off premises cannot be brought in but we got round this by buying bottled water/snacks at shops outside and hiding them in a rucksack.
Location:
The Azka is in the next bay along from Bodrum, every night we took the water taxi from the jetty at the end of the beach – works out at about 50p each way per person. Takes about 10mins. Last water taxi back from Bodrum was at midnight.
Nightlife:
Most bars/clubs in Bodrum looked tacky. We went to the bar at the end of our beach (next to the water taxis) most nights. Great entertainment, run by lovely people and easy to get back to the hotel. Drinks were reasonable and will stay open for as long as you can manage to drink!
IMPORTANT:
You pay for food/drink in the hotel on a tab system, which you pay when checking out. We heard other people say they had been overcharged so keep all receipts.
Overall we would recommend Azka – clean, quiet, stunning views and easy access to Bodrum and Gumbet (The Blackpool of Turkey if you like that sort of thing!).

1 reader found this review helpful

We stayed at the Azka hotel during the October school holiday. We found the hotel clean and very nicely presented, staff were all friendly, helpful and polite. Originally our room was booked facing inland but we upgraded easily upon arrival to a sea view triple room. The room lacked tea-making facilities usual in the UK but had a proper bed for our daughter to sleep on. There was air con, TV with a few watchable channels and a safe. Ensuite bathroom was kept clean and had a hairdryer. There was a small balcony with a spectacular view across the bay. There were a few ants about but they weren't a problem.
We were half-board and enjoyed the buffet breakfast and evening meals. Although you could eat outside overlooking the pool we found that the only no-smoking area was inside. The pool bar served a variety of drinks and snacks, prices all reasonable. Hotel was quiet with not many children, other guests were mainly Turkish and German.
There was no entertainment on that week, apart for a meal with a band to celebrate the end on Ramadan. The hotel did have table tennis, tennis, billiards and squash which we used without charge. The pools were relatively cold and we tended to swim in the sea as it was warmer.
Bodrum and Gumbet were in walking distance (20mins) and there was a boat ferry frequently from the hotel beach to Bodrum. Last one back to hotel was about 6:30pm but taxis were easy to find.
We did a boat tour day trip round the beaches. Fabulous day. Also did a trip across to Kos. Thought Kos was noisy and dirty, important note is that you are only allowed to bring 2 litre of booze back to Turkey. Gumbet has more things for kids, crazy golf, climbing wall, lots of pools, beach with silly boat rides.
We would go back again to the Azka, probably not with kids though.