Iz Flower Side Beach

1 reader found this review helpful

We have never been all inclusive before and will definitely do it again with 2 small children.
We had a fabulous time here, and have booked again for next year.
The hotel facilities were fabulous although due to it being cooler at the end of the season the pools were a bit too cold to use for our 1 and 3 year old, instead we enjoyed the fantastic beach most days and the sea was warmer than the pool!
The staff were excellent with the children, our little 1 year old was especially taken with the waiters who would keep her entertained at meal times so we could finish our meal. They were very tolerant of the noise and the mess!
The food is plentiful but not very inspiring and caters especially for the predominantly German guests but our kids ate well so it can’t have been too bad.
The hotel run kids club is fantastic but our children were a little bit isolated as the other kids were all German so many of the activities were run in German although the staff tried to help them join in. It appears that the whole area is a big "German tourist area" as most of the visitors in the main town were German and so the shops and restaurant signs are all in German.
The rooms were clean and reasonably large, with fresh towels every day if necessary.
One of the best things about the hotel was the entertainment team who were fantastic and took into account the different nationalities and language barriers and the entertainment was hence very "visual" it was so good we stayed at the hotel every night.
Already booked to go again - you don't need to leave the hotel as everything is on your doorstep - excellent!

My sister and i have just returned from this wonderful hotel, restaurant excellent, hotel very clean and efficient. One thing that we were not pleased with was that at the reception desk only one person could speak good English. The other receptionist spoke basic English. The hotel were full of Germans and we felt isolated.
Beach is lovely just down from the lovely pool, if you can get around ie Germans getting up at 7.00 to put their towels on beds.

Just got back from Paloma in Side. Weather was ace, very hot. The beach the best we have seen in Turkey so far, but the bug bear is in this hotel and most in Side Germans rule in the town and shops. Germans rule.
It spoilt our holiday and they are so bloody arrogant ...the hotels cater for them and we asked if it’s always like this they said yes, and they got treated different too! Maybe their tips were bigger don’t know, but it is a German run town.
The locals spoke German, no English prices and menus all the same. The food at the Paloma is ok but the restaurant very small choice turkey, pasta or beef stew.
Not what you would expect from a 4 star hotel even Turkey standards. 2 hours a day snacks at the pool chips or a pancake every day small amounts.
The staff are miserable and fed up. We won’t be returning to the Paloma.

Very nice hotel and very good area with the most spectacular views of the mountains which are to die for.
The Turkish are very nice people who I and most of the group I went with, got on very well with them. There was 21 of us in total and I thought they catered for us very well.
We got on very well with the staff at hotel even went clubbing with them most nights!
There is quite a lot to do around, you can get to Antalya and Kemer very cheap we were charged each way on both trips.
There were only two things that I feel, well most of the group felt, is that the food wasn't that good. It was mainly the same every night rice and chips and the chips tasted stale and like they were cooked hours ago and warmed up.
Also the entertainment was the same every night and very repetitive.
All in all I’d love to go this hotel again if it had better entertainment.
This hotel would be a better hotel if I was not partnered by Thomas Cook. I would go to this hotel again and Turkey again.
If you just want a relaxing holiday with sights to see and just general lounging about, I recommend you come here.

An excellent holiday. Never been to Turkey before, never been all inclusive before.
Paloma Beach Hotel: It is about an hour’s beach walk away from Side itself but there is a local, cheap minibus service.
The room was fine, cleaned and towels changed daily.
Food was good (but a bit bland for my palate) and meals of some sort are available virtually all day. Someone please suggest to them: pizza, pita bread and cold milk to go in your cup of tea.
There is a danger of staying perpetually inebriated (as many guests did) on the all included beer & wine but we resisted.
All the staff were very friendly and helpful though a smattering of German comes in useful as Side is predominantly a German resort.
The pools were spotless (if a bit cold) and the beach a mere 30s walk away.
The evening entertainment was some sort of bizarre cabaret and we couldn't tell if the German's genuinely thought it was good or were just being sympathetic.
In Side (and other areas we visited) the local shop owners can be a bit pushy but nowhere near as bad as in Egypt.
There seemed to be little to choose between the cafes/ bars as they all charged about the same and were equally as good although we visited Chaplain's three times.
Do visit Perge and the Theatre.
Euros were accepted everywhere and usually in preference to the Turkish Lira. Stirling can also be used as it is a strong currency. Additionally, there are loads of cash dispensers from which you can get Euros or Lira (and US$ for some reason).
If getting currency from Thomas Cook make sure you count it before you move as they charged us for 300 Lira but only gave us 200.

On a cautionary note: we went in April and are told the area gets very full May to September.
In summary, this was a surprisingly enjoyable holiday and we would visit Turkey and this hotel again.

Me and my girlfriend came to Paloma Beach Hotel as our first trip together alone. We were both only 17 (nearly 18) and were excited of the prospect.
We arrived after a short journey and found that we had made the right choice. It was fantastic. Food and drink plentiful and of great quality.
The workers were extremely chatty and friendly towards us. The beach being a 30 second walk from the pool topped it off.
Having being mainly German holiday makers, we were surprised to find no struggle at any time of the day to find a sun lounger.
Very relaxing and no complaints. We have decided to return in the new year.

Myself and my 2 sisters went to Paloma Beach for a weeks holiday - and had an absolutely fantastic time! I would recommend this hotel to anyone, the waiting staff were especially friendly and helpful. English is not widely spoken as most of the guests are German. However all the staff made every effort to communicate and understand us.
We tried the A La Carte restaurant on one of the nights but were disappointed with the quality of the food and service. The main hotel restaurant was of a much higher standard and so we decided to eat there for all our meals.
The hotel is situated right on the edge of the beach, and just a short walk takes you to Robinsons Bar which we spent a lot of time in. We attended an authentic Turkish evening in this bar, which turned out to be the highlight of our holiday.
We have already booked to go again in May 2007, and will no doubt be going every year!
5* holiday!

We have just got back from a wonderful holiday at the Paloma Beach Side. Our party consisted of 5 people, aged 58, 55, 42, 18, & 5yrs so quite a wide age group, but every one of us agreed that it was a perfect holiday. We have been to Turkey 5 times now, to different parts of the country, and have never been disappointed. The hotel staff were very helpful, we didn’t like the view from the rooms that we were given and asked to change. we were all moved within a couple of hours to adjoining rooms with a lovely view of the pools and the beach. It is mostly German guests that are there but apart from a few rude ones (you get them with every nationality) we got on very well with them all, The children all played well with our 5yr old, language didn’t seem to matter to them! We all had Turkish baths and massages, a lot of fun and very cheap, also it was nice to have our hair washed & blow dried most nights for only 8 euros!
It was a bit of hassle to get seats in the restaurant in the evening but they opened up extra space on the terrace most nights which had the added extra of the lovely sunset view. The animation team were the best we have ever had they included every one in all activities, by going round all day talking to everyone. They were from Tunisia, Germany, Russia and Bulgaria, but could all speak about 6 languages! so we never felt that everything was being geared just to the German people we enjoyed the shows that they put on, not the most professional we have seen but they worked hard to make it entertaining to everyone (not an easy job) It was my friends birthday while we were there and the staff arranged a special table for dinner covered with flowers, and they san "Happy Birthday" to her a we came into the restaurant, after the main course they brought a cake complete with candles and sparklers on it.
We did eat out a couple of nights in the restaurant outside the hotel called Etiket, this was also a real treat the staff were very attentive and the food excellent even better the bill was a 1/4 of the price we expected to pay, the manager promised us that it would be good and he was right.
The only thing we were disappointed with was the "Al A Carte" restaurants in the hotel we went to the Italian and the food was cold and just plonked in front of us, The Mexican was nice food and hot but also plonked in front of us and there was just no atmosphere, so we decided to give the Seafood one a miss, shame as in other hotels we have been to in Turkey these were always the best part, getting waited on and having a nice meal, that made a change from the buffet.
When we could drag ourselves away from the poolside, the beach was lovely, long stretch of sand for miles we did walk quite a long away few times and were going to walk to Side one day but time went by so fast we never did it.
All in all it was a lovely holiday and I would recommend it to anyone but if you just want
English food and English TV try elsewhere, if you want to feel that you have been "abroad" then this is the place for you!!!!

This was our second visit to this hotel in a group of 7 Adults and 6 Children. We returned as our first holiday here was so successful and we were not disappointed this year either. We found the other guests very friendly especially the Germans and although none of our group spoke Russian we found a way to communicate. All of the staff work hard to ensure your stay is a good one.
We particularly enjoyed this holiday as we found it relaxing, clean and friendly, with enough to do if you want to join in the activities around the pool and on the beach with the animation team during the day and watch the shows in the evening. The kids were happy to join in with the kids club, they mixed with other nationalities and learnt some German as well as Turkish!
They had a bit of independence around the hotel and its grounds as it is a safe haven for them, the new addition of the slides were great. All in all we will be back again.

WARNING: DO NOT TRUST THOMAS COOK REPRESENTATIVES - The holiday that never was - Thomas Cook advised my family travelling on South African passports that we did not need visas to enter Turkey. This was confirmed to us on numerous occasions.
This was not, however, the case as we found out at check-in at Gatwick Airport. Instead, we spent 3 hours pleading our case with Thomas Cook (all of which fell on deaf ears), and ended up returning home without even leaving the shores of the UK.
Our 14 day holiday never happened, and worst of all Thomas Cook refused to refund any of our £1,558.00 we spent on this holiday. They hid behind the Health and Visa requirement form that was put in front of us when signing up to the holiday a year ago.
I think this is a disgrace that Thomas Cook does not and will not recognise that more than one of their staff gave us incorrect information. We are taking this issue to BBC Watchdog and ABTA. Beware using Thomas Cook and do not ever trust what they say to you, as it may well not be the truth. Their mistake has cost us our annual holiday, and £1,558 waste of money!!! Shame on you Thomas Cook.