Barcelo Ora Holiday Village Hotel

when we booked this hotel we were told it was a 4star hotel and paid alot of money for it. when we arrived in the middle of the night we were took to the reception which is outside which is not a good thing already.. we were taking to are room which was 5 mins away we had 3 cases and my daughter in a buggy and could not see a thing as there was no lights the pathways were very narrow and most of the pavment slabs were broken. when we arrived to are room it just looked like a war bunk with 2 single beds pushed together and a sofa bed which was just a peice of concrete on with a very thin mattress this is what they exspected my daughter to sleep on. so basically it was jus a room with bed and toilet with shower we had insects crawling up the sink and shower and i mean alot that night i had to wake up and keep killing them. but they would just keep coming back again.. we only had two sockets in the room 1 by the bed and 1 in the bathroom both hanging off the wall. the bathroom stunk like it hadnt been cleaned for along time. the lights above the bed were hanging off..the advertising for this hotel said every room had private balcony and view of gardens NO BALCONY and the there was no view when you opend the curtains it was just bushes, the next morning i called to reception and noone could speak english so couldnt understand me so i called the rep and she said she would tell them to send a cleaner for the insects.... we went to have breakfast the food was ok not great and the restaurant was nice clean but the staff were not friendly we went to the pool was clean and nice but all toilets were very dirty and holes everywher in the walls the pool bar was also very dirty with lots of ants. when we returned to are room at 5 oclock noone had been in to clean and we found hundreds of ants running over the sofa bed that my daughter ws supposed to sleep on all they wanted to do after about 3 hours of complaning was change us room but would not be able to do so until next day so i called back to the rep and after 2 days of complaining we were finally moved to the 4 star hotel next door called onura which was very nice very clean staff very friendly no ants!! be carefull when booking as you might not alwyas get what you paid for i was told i was staying in a 4 star and was actually a 2 star.. DO NOT GO TO ORA HOLIDAY VILLAGE!!!

First time we had gone to turkey, thought it was the high chaparral when we got there, due to its appearance. Arrived in the dead of night, greeted by two non English speaking Turks, who took our bags and led us down a dark alleyway, we thought we were going to be mugged! How wrong could I be? Lovely people, rubbish television!
Food and drink to greet us, lovely bedroom with marble Ensuite, lovely friendly people who work very hard, please tip (if nothing else, it ensures you get served first at the bar!), food, different, but edible (please remember your not in Britain!) you won’t starve here!
They genuinely love children and made a fuss of all that were there and I must recommend the dream girls show and the hotel belly dancer for entertainment, as they were fantastic!
Yes I would go back, but next time, I’ll leave the husband home!

Having read all the bad reviews before going on my holiday I was slightly worried. Now having been home for 6 days all I can say is "when can I go back". This truly was the best holiday we have been on and cant wait to go back.
The rooms are basic, true but who pays to go all inclusive on a holiday to just sit in their room all week. The grounds in which the hotel is set are the most breathtaking and the sea is as clear as. The hotel provided good entertainment and we went the last week of the season.
The staff were the friendliest people I have ever met.
The place was also spotless and peaceful, I felt as though I was in paradise . And imagine having a massage in a hut on a private beach with the sound of wind chimes and the waves.
And to all of you who have given the Ora a bad rating you only had a bad holiday because you were looking for faults. If you aimed to have a good time then you would have.

We recently went to the Ora Holiday Village for our honeymoon, and were amazed at the quality of food, friendliness of all of the staff, and general surroundings.
It is a beautiful complex, has it’s own private beach, and is maintained to a high degree, not once did we see any litter, the staff work incredibly hard, sometimes up to 14 hours a day, and still they smile when you meet them.
We tried to learn the Turkish language while we were there, and the staff were very helpful in explaining the pronunciation of the words, also very patient with us when we stumbled. The surroundings are idyllic, beautiful olive trees, lush green shrubs, beautiful tropical flowers.
The lady who tended to our room each day was lovely, she laid our bedding and towels out, and dressed them with beautiful flowers from the gardens of the complex, I’m sure this wasn’t in her job description, it was a lovely personal touch.
We are vegetarian, and usually have to search around to find adequate menus, but not here, we had many choices at each meal time, freshly prepared fruit, vegetables and hot meals.
Our holiday rep (Andy) couldn’t have been more attentive & helpful, he made sure that we knew where everything was and arranged some wonderful trips out to the Turkish baths, mud baths, riverboat rides, we also spotted some giant turtles along the way.
At the time we went, we were the only English couple, and I cannot praise the staff enough for making us feel very welcome.
We will definitely be going back, and would highly recommend the complex to families, couples, and single people alike.
There is lots to do on site, activities galore, also watersports, disco’s, theme nights etc.
Well done to all of the staff at the ORA Holiday Village*****

My husband and I didn’t read any of the bad reviews of this hotel until after we’d already booked a holiday for ourselves, our two teenage daughters and two of their friends so we were dreading what we would find when we arrived! How delighted we were to find that the catalogue of complaints we’d read seemed largely unfounded.
The Ora is a charming hotel. Our rooms were clean and adequate and I especially loved the solid marble shower. The food and drink was plentiful and tasty and served by very friendly and efficient staff. The open air bar is set amongst olive trees and flowers and overlooks a beautiful view of the sea and hills that surround the bay. The sea is clear and safe to swim in and there was the chance to try parascending, scuba diving and banana boat rides for an extra charge. The swimming pool was very clean and I saw no sign of broken tiles.
We went on several excursions including the Turkish bath, Turgutreis market, the Dream Girls show and the 'Village Party' which included a trip to a little village to visit the mosque, some colourful local residents (one, an energetic 80 year old man!), a carpet co-operative and a belly dancing evening.
That’s not to say that everything was all 100 percent rosy - of course there are always things that you would change, but they were generally speaking small matters that were quickly and cheerfully fixed by our lovely First Choice rep, Charlie. So, just to present a balanced review, here are the things we didn’t like:
- some members of the staff did seem to take a fancy to our 16 / 17 year old daughters. I’m sure it was pretty harmless but it was a bit disconcerting for them - as soon as we spoke to the management about this the staff members concerned apologised and there was no more trouble.
- no tea/coffee making facilities in the room
- only one English speaking channel on TV and that was the European News!
- Most of the shops inside the hotel closed and there was very little entertainment, but that was because we were there during the very last week of the season.
On the whole, you have to take some responsibility for making your holiday enjoyable and if you go there looking for things to complain about you’ll find them. We had a lovely time and would definitely go back again in the future.

Hotel and surroundings where nice, staff where rude and arrogant, they had no time for the English. Food was the same everyday, drinks where served in little plastic white cups, All inclusive stops at 12pm but Disco goes on until 2.30 but you have to pay for drinks even had to pay for a cup of water!!
Had money stolen out of my bag which was left in the room also FOUR SAFE’S had money taken out of them they where not broken into and you need your key and a master Key to get in to them, was obviously hotel staff we all reported this to the hotel manager who just shrugged his shoulders.
They are supposed to provide Water sports! well they had 1 canoe. Would not go back to this hotel if I were paid to.

Despite some of the bad reviews posted by other holiday-makers this was by far the best holiday I have ever been on and I will or endure remember it forever. The rooms were kept very clean everyday me and my friend gave them a difficult job (we are messy people).
The staff are very lovely and always eager to make conversation the only problem in that department were just a couple of the male staff members liked the teenage girls a bit too much but nothing major.
The pool was lovely and clean, no problems on that front. Water sports were very entertaining, I had a go myself on the banana boat and rubber rings both at reasonable prices and extremely fun.
The only reason I haven’t rated entertainment that highly is because when I visited it was at the end of the season so the last shows had already been finished.
The First Choice team were brilliant and very helpful, our rep was Charlie she was a very friendly woman and sorts out any problems promptly. Money extremely well spent.
I will certainly be returning to this hotel again more than once more.

This is the worst hotel we have ever stayed at!!! When we booked we were told it was a 4 rating but when we arrived the rep told us it was only 2+!!! First choice lied to us in order to get our money I feel.
We had ants constantly in our room, there were rats around the swimming pool and toilets during the day, and the food was awful giving is several stomach bugs. The pool was a death trap, holes all around it and a ledge in the pool with chipped tiles, which were like razor blades, 6 people cut themselves and needed stitches while we were there.
After one week first choice finally agreed to move us to another hotel but would only give us half board and we had to pay our own taxi to get there, we asked for a flight home but first choice wanted £300!!!
This is the worst hotel and First Choice should hang their heads in shame for taking their customers hard earned and money letting them stay at places like this. An utter disgrace.

Barcelo Ora holiday village is a clean, nice and friendly resort to stay in. But when it comes to the food hygiene and standards it would fail badly. Some of the food was not edible as the fruit was rotting inside, also they did not cater for British people.
Breakfast was left in large bowls uncovered for flies and ants to snack on. What you had for lunch you would usually be served for dinner, which they would reshape to disguise this matter. On returning home the party of people I went and I with became ill, this was due to a illness we picked up off of the holiday. I would not go back because I was ill for a week after I retuned. But I must say it is a friendly place to visit and shop till you drop!!!

Barcelo Ora Holiday Village Hotel provides a reasonable level of accommodation, clean but basic. Breakfast is continental (no fry ups) lunch and dinners were generally very good with a fair choice.
All the staff were friendly and efficient, although be aware if you are taking young teenage girls. Our daughter received a lot of unwanted attention from the waiters and bar staff, to a point where she could not be left alone even sunbathing by the pool with us in the water.
Water sports are OK. Organised activity (i.e. animation programme) was very limited.
Try Jimmy’s boat trip leaving from the Hotel Jetty every day the crew are very good company who will try to ensure you have an enjoyable day. U-m-ut (top bloke) he will keep the children entertained all day while you relax in the sun.
Access to Bodrum is a 20 minute mini bus ride, leaving and returning every half hour all day, 50p per person / each way.