Side Corolla

Just returned from Hotel Corolla July 2008, was slightly concerned as i read reviews after booking. However, I need not have worried.
Apart from usual Thomas Cook nonsense ie: 2 kg over check in allowance of 15 kg and told pay £6.00 per Kg or no travel, this was on top of having to pay £12.00 to ensure I sat with my partner, I will try to change airlines next time !
Transfer by air conditioned coach took approx 1 hour, cases taken in by same young man who checked us in very polite and helpful. Room was clean and comfortable, with air con on 24 hrs and sheets , towels changed daily. Couple of channels in english.
First thing that you notice is most of guests are German, I was comfortable with this as Side is mainly German. The food was excellent, different every day, plenty of choice and well cooked, all buffet style, this applies to breakfast , lunch and evening meals.
The most striking part of the Hotel were the staff, fantastic greetings from them any time of the day, helpful, friendly and go out of their way to make your stay wonderful.
Private beach is a stroll down the road with free loungers but you have to pay if you require a mattress. Lunch again buffet served in under cover area at 12.30, again part of all inclusive. We found it too hot to sit by pool during day, so ventured to beach with a slight wind. Only complaint is Gym, poorly equipped and no air con, attempted to exercise but in 100 degrees became impossible. One last good point, check out is at 12.00 but All Inclusive still lasts until 6.00pm, so you can snack and drink until then.
Will return

I have been to this hotel 7 times; I am now part of the furniture. Get to know the staff and they are very friendly.
They all don’t know much English but give them a chance they have to learn. Speak with them go with an open mind every one is different. The food is good it is clean and tidy it’s not 5 star then you will not be paying 5 star money.
The entertainment is not so good but I think this is the same in all the hotels. Anyway enjoy.

After reading previous reviews on the Corolla Hotel, I went with a very open mind. However, I was pleasantly surprised! The hotel itself was very clean and tidy, the rooms were cleaned daily, the pool was absolutely fantastic and sun beds for everyone. The food was very varied and plenty of it, although not really hot enough and maybe a few more English labels may have helped! However there was a massive choice of salads and meat dishes. The drinks were really good, we were half expecting cheap nasty wine and lager but again were more than happy with both, also had plenty of Vodka (don’t think they know what a small vodka means!)
It is true to say that the hotel is mainly Germans but this did not bother us at all, besides in my opinion you don’t go abroad to be with hundreds of "Brits" We did however find several British couples which we spent several evenings with and had really good laugh, especially at the German Entertainment ! After midnight (when you’re all inclusive ends) we went to a Cocktail bar directly opposite where the Turkish Staff were a really good laugh and looked after us well.
The staff in the hotel were friendly, some more than others, their English was a little "broken" but then our Turkish was appalling! We did however learn to say please and thank you in Turkish before we went and this really humoured the Turkish people and they loved us for trying!
The beaches were fantastic, was a little more like a 45min walk to town centre rather than 20 minutes but the walk along the beach was beautiful and plenty of places to stop for a cheap beer.
I would also recommend taking euros rather than Turkish lira, everywhere takes euros and you seem to get a much better deal. Side town itself was beautiful.
Would also recommend that you book your excursions in town rather than through your holiday rep, works out about quarter of the price!
Overall I would rate this hotel as a 3* but would not give it a poor review at all, if you want a British holiday stay at home or go to Benidorm.

After reading previous reviews on the Corolla Hotel, i went with a very open mind. However, I was pleasantly surprised! The hotel itself was very clean and tidy, the rooms were cleaned daily, the pool was absolutely fantastic and sun beds for everyone.
The food was very varied and plenty of it, although not really hot enough and maybe a few more English labels may have helped! However there was a massive choice of salads and meat dishes. The drinks were really good, we were half expecting cheap nasty wine and lager but again were more than happy with both, also had plenty of Vodka (don’t think they know what a small vodka means!)
It is true to say that the hotel is mainly Germans but this did not bother us at all, besides in my opinion you don’t go abroad to be with hundreds of "Brits" We did however find several British couples which we spent several evenings with and had really good laugh, especially at the German Entertainment! After midnight (when your all inclusive ends) we went to a Cocktail bar directly opposite where the Turkish Staff were a really good laugh and looked after us well.
The staff in the hotel were friendly, some more than others, their English was a little "broken" but then our Turkish was appalling! We did however learn to say please and thank you in Turkish before we went and this really humoured the Turkish people and they loved us for trying!
The beaches were fantastic, was a little more like a 45min walk to town centre rather than 20 minutes but the walk along the beach was beautiful and plenty of places to stop for a cheap beer.
I would also recommend taking euros rather than Turkish lira, everywhere takes euros and you seem to get a much better deal. Side town itself was beautiful.
Would also recommend that you book your excursions in town rather than through your holiday rep, works out about quarter of the price!
Overall I would rate this hotel as a 3* but would not give it a poor review at all, if you want a British holiday stay at home or go to Benidorm

This was somewhat a disappointing holiday in as much down to the tour operators. No one tells you that this was a predominately German hotel with German entertainment. Thus English people cannot enjoy the animation. In general the staff are friendly, but if you do have a problem they are less than helpful as they speak little or no English.
Make sure you ask for a pool view for the room as the front of the hotel looks over the main street and wasteland. The beach is more like 600metres away than 300. The food in general is good but the sweets are very bland and repetitive. I question the 4* rating.
The hotel pool and reception area maybe but definitely not the rooms. These are now looking sorry for themselves and in need of decorating. The air conditioning is a must especially at night and it is either somewhat unreliable or they turn it off to save money. The resort of Side is beautiful and the best restaurant by far was Chillis overlooking the harbour.
The food was excellent and Ahmet or Arfur as he is known got our custom by showing us the kitchen. It was that clean I would be happy to have surgery in it. It was our first time in Turkey and will probably return but to a different hotel.

Although English, French, Dutch, Russians as well as Germans stay at this hotel it only caters for the Germans, when trying to resolve situations reception staff could not speak English, when getting a drink at the bar you were ignored if English, all entertainment was in German, all flags flying outside the hotel except the Union Jack, being English made you feel a little uneasy.
All the entertainment was in German, even though entertainers could speak English, which was disappointing especially for the children, as they did not feel included. Some waiters and entertainers were friendly others very hostile.
Rooms were adequate, but uncomfortable in the mornings as air conditioning switched off at 8.30 am until 5.30pm, and sun direct on rooms, no mini bar, electric only worked when in room so fridge was a waste of time. On arriving at hotel at 3am was not offered a drink of any sort until breakfast, not even a bottle of water in fridge.
Rooms were cleaned everyday, and fresh towels were left, we enjoyed using the swimming pool but it got very crowded, getting a hotel sun bed at the pool or at the beach proved very difficult.
Food was pretty awful, the same things served everyday, it was left out for long periods of time which I’m sure proved unhygienic and allows bacteria to spread. The only fruit available was watermelon or grapes, fruit juice cost extra but the oranges to make the juice with looked like they has been sitting on side all summer.
3 out of 7 evenings we ate out of the hotel, as could not face the slop any longer, which defeated the point of being all inclusive. We purchased fruit juice from local supermarket. We tried to purchase English tea, shop keepers said they did not sell it as not many English stay in this hotel. You need to take own teabags.
Our holiday was ruined through illness, only 1 of us did not get ill, all she ate was their cold chips, 2 of us celebrated our birthdays while staying their, staff would not sing Happy Birthday. We spoke to 6 other British families staying their, all had also suffered with illness, upset stomachs and earaches.
Would not recommend this hotel to anyone, especially those travelling with children. Would give it a 2 to 3 star rating maximum.

The air condition worked only a few hours a day (not between 8:30 to 17:30)! The room was clean but the mini bar was empty and didn't work very well. The food was always the same and not quality at all. The cereals did not have taste, they didn't have toasters machines. They only had watermelons and grapes, I expected more fruits in a beach hotel (at least some bananas!). They didn't have natural juices (only orange, but you have to pay for it 1.5 euros a glass).
All the signs of what you were eating were in German. The tea time was terrible, they only put bread and cheese.
The entertainment was bored and always the same silly songs. The night shows did not exit and the "miniclub" for children didn't work. I used to travel to Caribbean all inclusive hotels (Punta Cana, Cuba, Santa Lucia, Tobago, Barbados) and never in my life saw something like this hotel.
So, avoid this hotel! There's a lot of good options in Side and Corolla hotel is not one of those.

Have just returned from a weeks stay at the corolla. After reading previous reviews before staying there, we were a bit apprehensive about what we might find when we arrived. The hotel itself is very clean and well maintained with a fantastic pool. The rooms were clean and maids came in every day to make beds and give us clean towels.
Although this hotel caters solely for the German market it did not deter us from having a very relaxing week.
The food was good but repetitive, especially at the pool bar with only chips, pizza, spag bol and salad served there every day. The staff on the whole were friendly although their English is very limited (their German is better). The entertainment let them down as it was all in German and although we tried to join in it became a bit confusing and the German guests did not seem to want to mix with us which was a shame.
On the whole I would not rate this hotel as four stars, more in line with two or three and maybe this is not the place to stay if you have young children as they would probably struggle with the food.

Had a fantastic holiday. Thanks to all the staff at the corolla. I can’t believe what English people say about this hotel, do they ever stop to think that maybe they are the ignorant ones?
I personally have taken the time to learn a bit of Turkish, especially, please (lutfen) and thank you (tesekkur ederim) its not that hard to be polite!!!!! I have absolutely no complaints about this hotel, in fact, I am going back on 18 April, with my 2 children.
We have been to many parts of turkey and stayed at all different board basis but the corolla was by far the best, the food was excellent, catered well for all nationalities, with 3 long rows of food from every salad you could imagine, to hot dishes such as chicken, lamb and fish, not forgetting the rice, pasta, potatoes, mixtures of vegetables, also the food that was being cooked outside, pizzas, stir fries, barbecued chicken and fish. There was also a delicious row of cakes, sweet desserts and fresh fruit.
My overall opinion of this hotel is excellent, very clean, delicious food, fantastic staff, who can speak English, whom I found to be very helpful.
Myself and my children would definitely recommend this hotel to anyone wishing to book holiday in side.

The corolla hotel is very nice, with lovely staff that will do anything for you.
The all inclusive meals are brilliant, there is something different on everyday, with a huge selection of food to suit everyone.
The hotel entertainment is also very good.
The hotel suits every age group and I would recommend this holiday to anyone and would ignore any other negative points made on this site because none of it seems to be true.
I am hoping to go back there very soon as I was so pleased with the service and the hotel in itself.