Surmeli Efes Hotel - Kusadasi - Turkey

I went to Surmeli Efes in Kusadasi with my partner in June 2009. On arrival the staff were very friendly & immediately took our luggage, we were given a cocktail drink too! So, very pleasing first impressions.

The hotel & resort is great! There are 3 big pools, plenty of sun loungers & excellent entertainment throughout the day. To add the weather was out of this world, average of 35 degrees with no clouds in the sky! Considering what I paid for this holiday, I was very chuffed with the room. It had a mini bar with alcohol & water all included within AI deal & water replaced everyday! There was a small balcony but ideal with a lovely sea view. There was air conditioning in the room, however this could have been more effective, I found this had more effect late evening instead of in the day!

Food & drink - this was the first time I had gone All-Inclusive but must say I was impressed. Numerous bars including lobby & pool bar where you help yourself to drinks, alcoholic or not, all day long. The beer is local but very tasty & there is a good selection of other alcoholic drinks. The staff were very friendly & even though some of the drinks were in small glasses you could order as many as you like & keep going back for more, there was never any issues at ordering more than one drink per person.

The food was a big buffet style morning afternoon & evening. The food was nice but nothing more. If you are a fussy eater you may have a few issues with the food as the menu did seem quite repetitive & I would have liked more taste, it seemed quite bland & I didn’t really like any of the desserts as they were tasteless! On the other hand there are 3 a-la-carte resturants which you need to book.

My partner & I didn’t get round to doing this until the day before our last & had an Italian on our last night there. It was a 6 course meal & the food was fantastic! So my regret is not booking these earlier on as I think this would be much more enjoyable than the main buffet restaurant! To add, there is a barbeque type section outside, however if you’re there at busy times you may have to queue a while!

Overall this was my first time in Turkey & this hotel & resort made my holiday a fantastic experience! It is very family orientated however it also suited couples too! I would definitely recommend this hotel to other people & the only reason I haven’t scored it a 10 was the food could have been better. Apart from that abosolutely loved it!