The Tower Hotel

Just returned from a two week stay at the Tower Hotel with my boyfriend. It was our first time in Turkey and although the country and resort exceeded all of our expectations the hotel was the worst I've ever stayed in. Rooms were to say the least basic and ours was filthy. Dead insects all over, blood stains on the wall, filthy shower curtains used as window curtains, dirty mattresses and bedlinen only changed every 4/5 days which even then was dirty or torn. We found the breakfast inedible (see everyone else's description but add flies crawling all over it) and the staff unfriendly and hostile. The owner and her daughter sulked around the place constantly, whilst the boy at the pool bar demanded to know why we wouldn't buy overpriced cream cakes in the 40C+ degree heat and attempted to sell us bootleg cd's while we were sunbathing. The hotel shop is 2/3 x more expensive than the one directly next door and the owner seemed to make the prices up as she went along. Other guests also claimed that their bar bills were grossly inflated but ours was ok. Needless to say we were so dissapointed we have complained to our tour operator. On the plus side, Olu Deniz is a lovely resort with fantastic beaches and the Turkish people are so friendly and welcoming. Definately visit the resort but avoid the Tower Hotel at all costs.

We have stayed in some lovely hotels in olu deniz, we have been coming here for many years and love the place, but this hotel we didn't like at all. The staff we ok, the surroundings we lovely, but as for the cleaniless it was bad. The rooms we cleaned there best everyday, but the room was full of dead and alive flies, ants crawling up the walls inside our room, it was disgusting. we have never stayed in such a bad hotel in olu deniz. next year we are planning to come back, and we have our eye on another lovely hotel, much better than the tower. p.s the pool was also dirty.

We stayed at the Tower Hotel in June, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Oludeniz is a lovely resort with lots of activities. The Tower Hotel is a good clean hotel, good food, the staff were fantastically helpfull and friendly. The hotel rooms were basic and it was hit or miss whether you got a hot shower, as it's run on solar heat, so the water heats up when the sun has been out a while, but for the price it can't be knocked as everything was great.

Wasn't expecting a plush hotel - was booked as a cheapie holiday! Hotel itself was in an ideal location for the beach/lagoon, shops, bars & restaurants. Beautiful views of mountains all around. Transfer from airport was lengthy as dropped off along the way. Rooms were v. basic - twin beds with small dresser & wardrobe. Bathroom is fully tiled and only has a shower (no cubicle though just curtain). Top tip to take a small mat/towel to avoid slipping as the tiled floor gets waterlogged! A/con avail for £3 per day, safe £1 per day. Pool area was fine, didn't have to get up at crack of dawn to reserve a sunbed!! Breakfast was quite plain, bread, salami, boiled eggs, tomatoes, cheese etc - typical turkish brekkie. Enough to keep you going til lunch. Lunch menu is excellent at hotel (never ate in the eve though as so many lovely restaurants in resort) Definately recommend 'Harleys - flying dutchman' bar & restaurant on the shopping street. Excellent steaks and spare ribs, great atmosphere and staff very pleasant. Music brilliant here aswell. Also recommend Captain Hooks restaurant (also on shopping street) seafood and casseroles very good here. Was disappointed with the 'pictuesque' lagoon... didn't look as beautiful as all the pictures portray.

My boyfriend and I booked this hotel (package holiday through Cosmos) just three weeks before we went. We were extremely disappointed that our flight was delayed for over 6 hours, especailly as it was supposed to be a 11am flight and we did not arrive at our hotel until 1.30am!! On arrival at the airport I was dying for a drink only to be ripped off by a girl at the airport shop by charging me 10 Turkish Lira (£4) for a litre of water!! It wouldn't have been so bad but she charged the next lady who asked for the same 9 Turkish Lira?!! I was just too tired to argue... Anyway, on arrival at the hotel we were glad to see that the bar was still open because after the terrible journey we had we were in need of a drink! We were checked into our room pretty quickly but were disappointed to find we were allocated a room on the ground floor, therefore no balcony. We were also right downstairs from the main bar so it could get quite noisy at night. The room was pretty small but that's to be expected in Turkey/Greece however it was clean. We did have a bit of trouble with the room being cleaned and had to complain twice before we were told that we had to leave our room key at reception in order for the room to be cleaned. Why we weren't told this by the rep or on our arrival I don't know!? The hotel overall was very good value for money. The breakfast was pretty basic (bread, boiled eggs, cheap spam type meat (yuk!), feta cheese, tomatoes & cucumber, tea/coffee, fruit squash) but not bad. The hotel served quite nice food during the day - pizzas, real chips, burgers, hot dogs etc. The draft beer (Efes) was v.good and always ice cold - good job as the temperature reached 42c! The hotel bar was more expensive than others near by, but you're paying for the convenience. We didn't book any excursions with the hotel as they were much cheaper to book down on the beachfront (£6 for a 5 island boat trip with lunch!). The only thing about this hotel is that it is at the top of a steep hill so would be better to go at a cooler time in the year. The waiter at the pool bar was really nice and friendly but the young waiter at the top bar was a bit boring - just interested in chatting up the young girls. The hotel owner was quite rude - didn't even speak to anybody, he just sat in the top bar drinking. His son was even worse! - he didn't speak to us all week, except when trying to hassle us into buying a ticket the hotel Turkish night. Then he had the cheek to come over to our table at the Turkish night and try to get my boyfriend to oggle the belly dancer and had the ignorance to point at me and say 'rubbish!' in comparison to the belly dancer!! Olu Deniz itself is a beautiful place and I would definately like to go back, but would probably choose a hotel nearer the sea front/lagoon. The resort itself was a bit cheesy - nearly everything was advertised in £'s rather than Turkish Lira. There was far too much English fry ups, steak & chips, fish & chips etc. on offer - why go aboard if you're just going to eat the same old boring food!? (Hisaronu was worse - cheese on a stick!!) We did the jeep safari and 1 boat trip which were both v.good value for money. We also did the paragliding which made the holiday something special to remember (recommend Sky Sports) as the views are out of this world. Our favorite bar was Cloud 9 as the food and drinks were very good, the music was good (most of the time), it was right on the beachfront and there was a really funny Turkish barman who kept on trying to speak 'Cockney' to us!? Overall I had a really good holiday in Olu Deniz and would recommend the Hotel Tower for it's price at that time of year, just be weary of the things I've warned you about above!!

Just returned from the Tower Hotel and had a great time. Situated just a few minutes from the beach and shops. Beautiful garden setting. Rooms reasonable size, first time we've had a TV in the room as well. Pool good size with plenty of sunbeds for everyone. Great view of the paragliding as they come down to the beach. The food is really good, especially the meal for residents - great value. All the staff worked really hard with long hours. Nothing was too much trouble, especially on reception who helped us out with excursions. The only thing was about the manager who didn't seem very approachable, the staff dealt with everything. He wasn't at all rude to us and did acknowledge us if we spoke to him but never actually spoke to us. Don't understand previous comments about the staff as we never felt uncomfortable with them at all and we did have two daughters with us. We appreciate this is a muslim country and wouldn't dream of dressing inappropriately. Either round the pool or in shops and restaurants. Had visited Olu Deniz before when staying in Hisaronu and it hasn't changed much. The only thing we didn't like very much is so much is priced in £'s and it seemed harder to find a choice of Turkish food. It's much more fun bartering and it's easy to have a rough guide in your head for conversion. We get enough of english breakfasts etc at home and were surprised when some restaurants didn't even serve Turkish tea! Why go all that way for tesco sausage egg and chips and Sky TV. Much more fun going native! Trips to recommend are definitely the jeep safari and paragliding. Some jeeps now are like huge trucks - we used the small ones much easier to get about in, especially when you end up in the middle of the river! Boat trips are good - found the ones round Fethiye a smoother "ride" than round Olu Deniz bay for some reason. Prices have gone up though - certainly not as cheap as a couple of years ago. Some of the clothes can be bought cheaper here I think with the way our prices are. Watch the prices for sunbed charges though - they do vary depending which bit of the beach you sit on. The prices of the drinks are dearer than in the bars but they seemed to have almost a competition going with what they were offering to get anyone to go in there. I would recommend this hotel to anyone and would love to go back there.

I have just returned from the Tower Hotel so would like to let others know what to expect. In summary incase you dont want to read the full review heres the good and bad points - Pros: nice food, decent pool, clean linen, air conditioning (note this isnt free its optional at £3 per day!) Cons: VERY expensive bar, lots of bugs (flies/ants), unfriendly staff, sleezy barstaff/waiters, accomodation is basic, solar powered hot water (this means unless you shower between 4-5pm its a cold shower im afraid!) Overall: Do is NOT to go here with high expectations or if you plan on spending alot of time in the hotel. If you just want somewhere to sleep and dont plan on spending alot of time in the hotel bar etc then it will suit your needs. Another thing which needs noted is that if you have a partner or daughter you may find the pursuits of sleezy barstaff/waiters annoying (females aged 12years+ seems to be "fair game" for some of the male staff) The Full Review We didnt really go here with high expectations so we werent too dissapointed with what we got. However there are a few things which need to be noted about this hotel. First and probably most important for alot of holiday makers is the extortionate prices of the drinks at the bar. Not only were they charging DOUBLE the prices of other bars (approx £2.80 a pint for local lager which is £1.40 down the road!) but the price for shorts was ridiculous. We spotted them on several occassions filling up the branded exported vodka/whisky bottles (smirnoff, southern comfort etc) with cheap local "copy" drinks which. This wouldnt have bothered us so much but 1. they tasted wrong 2. they actually state on the pricelist that the reason you pay over £5 for a southern comfort and lemonade (yes you read that right! over £5 for a single shot and mixer!!) is because its imported but then you sit and wathc them fill the branded bottles with cheap local "equivalents" is somewhat annoying! We saw them do this once and thought maybe it was a one off. The folling night we saw it again and decided we would no longer drink in the hotel bar out of principal. Another thing which surprised us was that the staff were not friendly at all, this was sold as a "family run hotel" which to be honest isnt really the case. Its a mixture of family management and then staff who work there. The management do not want anything to do with the tourists and we witnessed this when the owners answer to a problem with an older couples room was "its not my problem" he claimed he just managed the staff and didnt get involved with complaints (despite the staff saying it could be only dealt with by management). Also the management would never speak to the holiday makers not even smile or say hello (they made it very obvious that they didnt care much for the british) which was very surprising and not what we are used to. The only staff that bothered with the holiday makers were the 21-30 yr old sleezy barmen who literally would only bother to "talk" to the girls to tell them "how beautiful" they are etc. They wouldnt talk about anything general it was 100% chat up/sleeze or nothing at all. One barman in particular would only come and talk to the women who were topless. You would see him within minutes of a woman taking a top off rushing over to "make chit chat" and stare at the breasts which we found very ammusing watching him "scout" the sun loungers for the topless totty. On our last day despite our rep/noticeboard saying on our final day we checked out on departure (we got picked up at 2.30pm) the receptionist tried to con us out of £30 for missing the 12pm checkout time by 2hours and wanted us to pay for an extra day. He said he had been looking for us to tell us and had been to our room but couldnt find us (despite the fact we had been in the room packing all morning and he hadnt been!) It was only when i said we would take him to view the board in black & white that he said "ok" and that we didnt have to pay. He was blatently trying it on which was quite annoying and not what you expect. The rooms had LOTS of flies which didnt bother us so much and there are also lots of ants (again they dont really bother us) the only thing that bothered me was the 2 cockroaches we saw. We thought maybe this was because we were on the ground floor perhaps? Again if you get a ground floor room dont expect a balcony our door opened onto a wall and a bush (so we didnt open it) we quite liked it because it meant we got no sunlight into the room so could sleep in. Regarding the bugs one night we came in and thought the hotel was on fire there was smoke everywhere, it turned out it was pest control smoking them out but next day i saw more than ever before so maybe it smoked them in our direction?! I guess at the end of the day the tower hotel is a business. They are out to make as much money as they can from us tourists. Maybe all hotels are the same but they must just hide it alot better as ive never stayed in one as blatent as this. If i had to stay at this hotel again (which i wouldnt) then i wouldnt give them the slightest opportunity to fleece money out of us. I wouldnt eat or drink there and would only use it as somewhere to sleep. The staff arent nice to be around and its WAY too expensive to drink at the bar (hence the fact it was dead every night) most people wouldnt even stop for a quick one before going out. The food during the day is really nice i must say, the pizza's are good and pretty good value. The soft drinks arent cheap either, 2 large cokes cost £5+ so be warned!! I would (and will) be coming back to Olu very soon. The place is lovely i cant recommend it highly enough. The fact our hotel was a bit naff was probably a good thing as it meant we spent less time there and more in the bars/restuarants in olu. The people in olu are mega friendly and always remember you. Dont be scared of those who say hello or ask how you are or what youve been up to. Alot of them wont even try to sell you anything they usually are just being friendly. I dont see any point whatsoever in being rude or ignoring people so always say hello and dont blank them. If you tell people that youve already ate, your going somewhere special etc they are pleasent and usually wish you well. We found the best places to eat are Harley's steakhouse (the flying dutchman) the staff here are first class and without a doubt the best steaks ive had ever (even that in the UK) we loved the steak so much we came back 3times! They have live bands playing softly in the background (usually love songs, the beatles or phil collins etc) and when bands arent playing have a large screen with live music (nice stuff like robbie williams doing swing, and other pop music from live concerts) its all candlelit and really lovely. Another good place to eat is on the beachfront called the belcehan beach. It does thai,italian and indian is probably the "poshest" restaurant in turkey its lovely! Has amazing food and isnt as expensive as it looks. Its deffo a place to get your best clothes on and have a special night at. We also ate at the white dolphin which is nice, its a seafood restaurant up in the mountain and looks over the whole bay and is the most romantic place to eat. Best place to drink at is crusoes on the front and best time is go there and watch the sun go down. Its an upstairs open top bar and very nice. Stuff to do?! where do i start??! go see easyriders on the beach front and from there you can book every trip imaginable. They came recommended so we did a few with them and every single one was amazing and the staff were second to none! (especially the paragliding!!) Would i come back to olu? yep! in a flash. just got back and will be booking up very soon to go again! Best place in turkey by an absolute mile!

The Tower Hotel was excellent, I stayed there for two weeks and my family have stayed since. The surroundings are lovely, Olu Deniz is the best place in Turkey and I've been to most places. The rooms were kept very clean and the staff were helpful. Especially Freddy who was working behind the bar by the pool. The younger bartender wasnt as helpful and tried to rip us off. Overall our stay there was excellent and it wasnt expensive, would definitely stay there again.

I visted the tower hotel in august last year. I throughly enjoyed my self. I thought the staff were fantastic, the rooms clean and comfortable, a friend who i was on holiday with also broke her nose which caused her alot of discomfort but the staff at the tower were superb, they couldnt do much more to help us, they were great. I will be visiting the tower again this year as i enjoyed it so much. Olu Deniz was also fabulous,fun for everyone. Lovely food and a wide range,and the lagoon is glourious it is definately well worth a visit.

I have to say apart from the pool bartender who was a great guy the staff in this hotel were rude and totally unhelpful, enough to spoil anyones holiday. there were no drinks included with meals except breakfast. the evening meals are open to anyone and you get no choice. the deserts were the same every night. if you arrive after 8pm you will be lucky to get anything as they feed all the full time residents and staff and you will be told you have to pay!! the pool is open to anyone too. it also seems that when you arrive they will try to put you in the smallest room at the back of the complex with a view of a brickwall until you complain! Giuve this hotel a total miss!!