Hello everyone! I recently took my husband and our little girl to Turkey for a vacation. We chose Beldibi as our resort, but if I'm being honest, I would've picked Kemer if I knew better. But that's not what this review is about.
When I was choosing our hotel, I kept coming back to this one. The reviews were all over the place - some people loved it, while others said the old rooms were a letdown. But for the price, it seemed like it would work for us.
We arrived at the hotel a bit closer to dinner time, so I don't have any thoughts on the early check-in.
The hotel itself was a five-story building with a decent-sized room count. From the outside, it looked okay. We got a room on the second floor, close to the pool, and we quickly realized we hadn't gotten the best deal for the first night. The hotel is situated in the middle of the village, but there's not much to see in the village, so we basically had a resort life. We took a few excursions to Kemer on our own.
At the reception, we were greeted by a man in his early 40s who spoke Russian. He checked us in and handed us the room key. We decided to carry our luggage ourselves, especially since there's an elevator.
Right next to the reception is a big lobby with plenty of couches. Most of the people sitting there are trying to catch the Wi-Fi. Naive bunch, aren't they?
Our hotel had a bar area in the lobby, but I'm not sure about the drinks. We mostly stuck to coffee and water. The coffee machine did a decent job.On the other hand, I wouldn't recommend the juice - my daughter took a few sips and ended up with a stomachache. We had to give her a tablet to calm it down.
When we got to the floor, the corridor looked pretty gloomy to me. It was almost spooky.
ROOM
The room was pretty average. It had a big closet, a table, a mirror, and a fridge. There were even two beds - one more than we needed. The balcony had a couple of chairs and a small table.
The bathroom was a bit of a letdown. The shower cubicle was broken, the door was hanging off, and the plumbing wasn't exactly top-notch, but it was still usable. What did surprise me, though, was that the hotel had recently been renovated.
THE TERRITORY
The hotel's territory is average in size - it takes about two minutes to walk from one end to the other. Inside the hotel, there's a pool with water slides, a bar, and a stage.
I've heard some people complaining that it's too small, but I think it's fine. If I need some fresh air, I can just step outside.
Beach
The beach is located on the second line. My partner and I with a kid can reach it within five to seven minutes, and that's not a problem for us. I've heard some women say that the beach is far for them. Maybe this option won't suit people with mobility issues.
As for the beach, I'm not impressed. The beach area that belongs to the hotel is small, and the sun loungers are placed close together. To get a sun lounger, you need to wake up early, have breakfast by 7 am, and then rush to the beach. If you sleep in a bit, you'll be left lying on the rocks in the open sun.
I've got to give a shoutout to the beach attendant - he's a lifesaver! He took care of our little one, played with her, and even gave her a granate as a gift. When we were leaving, he surprised us with ice cream and a whoopee cushion - our kid just loved him.
The access to the sea is via a bridge, but I have to warn you - the bottom is rocky, so it's a good idea to bring some water shoes. On the other hand, the water is crystal clear because there's no sand. We visited in September, and it was like swimming in milk.
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FOOD
Now, let's talk about the food - it's a mixed bag for me. I'll start with the good stuff.
I was really impressed with the breakfast options. There was plenty of variety, and I loved the local cheeses, olives, and sesame seeds - they were amazing. The breakfast buffet had a great selection of veggies, fruits, and dry cereals, as well as a hot station that made omelets, pancakes, and waffles. However, I rarely took advantage of it because the queue was usually long, and I'd have to wait at least 10-15 minutes for my omelet. As you can imagine, it's not ideal when you're on the beach and need to find a spot.
I mostly had coffee from the machine, but I also enjoyed the brewed tea. The only downside was that you had to queue for it as well. As a parent, I was a bit concerned about the porridge options - there was only one type available every day, and my kid ended up eating rice porridge for all 10 days.
What else I loved? These pastries were perfect for lunch and dinner. They were simply divine, a true masterpiece from the pastry chef. The pastries weren't one-dimensional. There were mousse ones with coconut, ones with different nuts, baklava, nests, and sponge cakes with various creams. To be honest, as a sweet-tooth, it was heaven.
When it came to hot meals, everything was pretty much the same and heavy on grease. Mainly just chicken and not in huge quantities. Fish was always there too. The sides were mostly rice, bulgur, overcooked pasta, and potatoes. But I never left hungry.
Another thing I liked was that there were plenty of fruits and they weren't cut into portions, but always laid out whole. There were bananas, apples, and grapes – a nice surprise in the morning!
One thing that really stood out to us was the variety of fresh fruit available. We had apples, pears, delicious plums, heavenly grapes, sour mandarins, and even had some pineapple a few times. To be honest, there was a lot of fruit. And the best part? The hotel wasn't super strict about taking food out of the premises. We could just grab a bunch of fruit and take it with us. That was really convenient. We ended up taking a lot with us. We'd grab some fruit for a quick snack, head to the beach, and our daughter would sometimes struggle to eat breakfast, so we'd give her a banana or an apple on the go. And when we were checking out, we only had breakfast and had to leave the hotel immediately. We didn't even need to stop at the store to grab anything, we just grabbed some cheese, olives, nuts, and fruit. It was amazing to have a quick snack at the airport and then again on the train after we landed.
There was also this guy who would set up a grill near the fireplace from around 11 am to 12 pm and again from 4 pm to 5 pm, and he'd be cooking up some delicious lahmajoun or pizza. We tried it a few times and really enjoyed it. And in the far bar, they'd give out ice cream around 4 pm. We tried it once, but it wasn't that great. I'm not sure if it was just an off day or what.
Now, let's talk about the downsides. One major issue was trying to get a seat for dinner. The tables were always booked up at least 30 minutes before dinner started, even though the dining area was pretty big. There were plenty of outdoor seats available, though.
By the end of our stay, we found ourselves waiting for food for about 40 minutes after dinner started. I guess we were lucky to get a seat at all, but at least we had a spot. A few times, we managed to squeeze in with other groups who were already seated.
One of the downsides was the chaos over food. There were way too many people, and they were all pretty aggressive when it came to getting served. It was like they hadn't seen food in years. As soon as 8 pm rolled around, it seemed like the whole crowd was going to stampede the staff member who opened the door. And then there were the long lines. They were grilling some sort of fish or meat on the barbecue, but we never made it that far because we didn't want to wait in line for 30 minutes before it even opened, and another 15 minutes after that.
Another thing that bothered me was the spiciness of the dishes. Almost everything was super spicy, and I love spicy food, but I have a kid with me who can't handle it. They'd serve pasta, for example, and then drizzle it with this super spicy sauce. It was a shame because my kid would have eaten the plain pasta, but not with the sauce. Same thing with the rice and potatoes. My kid was starving, and I had to complain to the reception staff, I'm not sure if it helped, but after a few days, at least the sides weren't as spicy.
As for the drinks, everything was pretty good. I stuck to beer, which was nice and refreshing, and I even caught a hint of hops. My husband had a gin cocktail, and he said it was pretty decent.
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ENTERTAINMENT
Let's talk about the animation - it was just okay. I'm being generous with the kids' animation, to be honest. There was this one scene where a woman was hanging out with some kids, and you could even get a t-shirt customized for $10 as a souvenir. But it all looked a bit meh. Before the main show, there was this mini disco where they'd show the kids some moves and they'd have to repeat them. To be honest, my daughter wasn't even slightly interested. The moves were all the same, so it was pretty boring.
I saw a pool table a few times, but it was mostly just sitting there.
We had aqua aerobics twice a day, and I went once. To be honest, it was a bit of a snooze-fest. I also saw some guys playing water polo. But I have to say, I loved the darts. I went a few times to play, and I knew it was always packed with people wanting to give it a try.
The evening animation was way better, with a program that ran for seven days. If you stayed longer, you'd just end up watching repeats. I really enjoyed the dances - they had modern, national, and African styles. The singers were just okay, but I loved the games, like battles. Guess the melody, dance battle - we always made sure to check those out.
We didn't exactly get lucky with our room number. The thing is, our view was right on stage, and the animation was super loud - think 12 hours a day, plus a disco party. With a three-year-old, it was a real pain. She couldn't sleep through the noise, and neither could we. If we were on a romantic getaway, maybe we wouldn't have noticed, but with a kid, you can't help but suffer the consequences.
One thing that really stood out to me was the lack of an iron in the entire hotel. When I asked at the front desk, they just shrugged and said they didn't have one. So, pack clothes that don't need ironing, or you'll be walking around looking wrinkled the whole trip. I had a dress that I couldn't wear without ironing, and it ended up staying in my suitcase the whole time. Want to look nice? No iron? Tough luck.
The Wi-Fi situation wasn't great either. The signal was super weak, and it only worked in the lobby - barely enough to send a text message. Trying to load any real information was basically impossible. If you need internet, you're better off paying for it. We figured we were there to enjoy nature and the beach, so we didn't bother buying any internet access.
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We found the hotel itself to be a mixed bag – some aspects were great, while others were not so good. The breakfast options were impressive, with plenty of variety and delicious local cheeses and pastries. However, the dinner experience was a different story. The tables were always booked up, and the food was often cold or overcooked. The animation was also a bit of a letdown, with some boring activities and a lack of variety. On the other hand, the beach was lovely, with crystal-clear water and a convenient location. The staff were friendly, but not always helpful. Overall, I would recommend this hotel to families with young children, but only if they're prepared for the potential downsides.