| Holiday-Truth Readers Reports |
David from London travelled to Topkapi Palace Hotel with
Thomas Cook
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 10 2008 |
rated the Topkapi Palace Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness |  | | Location |  | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: I don't know how much of a difference it makes going to this hotel out of season but I would definitely recommend this hotel to anyone.
All the poor reviews I have read previously about this hotel seem to stem from the fact that it's not mostly English guests!! Yes there are Russians, Israeli’s, French and others but we didn't have any real problems.
Also, the hotel rooms are not English 5 star!! This has been said in about every review, yet I get the impression people still expect flat screen TV’s and marble floors! It definitely needs updating, but it’s clean and the staff are excellent and friendly.
The food is great! The place had 6 restaurants which you can eat in, we ate in the Turkish, seafood, the main restaurant and the main restaurant in the next door hotel (you can use all the facilities of both hotels) and there is great choice and something for everyone. They have people cooking pasta, omelettes, Turkish wraps, pancakes and fresh bread every day and plenty of it.
We didn't really take in much of the entertainment, but it was typically what you'd expect on holiday.
What they've tried to create is there own little village that you don't need to leave. It has its own bars, restaurants, beach, 5 pools, shops, wifi access, market tradesmen and a doctor on site. We were only there for a week but we didn't feel the need to leave.
If you have booked up to Topkapi you will have a good time as long as you're prepared to relax and not have too high expectations.
Click here for more information on this hotel, resort and region
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Natalie from London travelled to Topkapi Palace Hotel with
booked myself
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2008 |
rated the Topkapi Palace Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness |  | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Had a brilliant time.
Hotel isn't 5 star in english terms, but still a great place to stay. Big pool, quiet pool around the back if u want to get away from the noise. Can also use the Kremlin's facilities next door.
I see people moaning about not many english people. Are people serious? Are we that really anti-social and can only feel at home with english people around!! These people shouldn't take holidays abroad!! Never had any problems with any of the guests.
Staff are friendly, and try hard to make it enjoyable for kids.
Food is great if u book into the restaurants, otherwise the buffet style food gets boring after the second day.
Loved lazing on the big pillows by the beach drinking wine!!
Would definitely go there again.
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jeanette from coventry travelled to Topkapi Palace Hotel with
thomas cook
on a family holiday.
There were more than 6 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2008 |
rated the Topkapi Palace Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness |  | | Location |  | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: i would not recommend this hotel to any english guests as you are in the minority and get pushed out of everything.
the hotel cleanliness was so so a bit hit and miss depending on where you were looking. the toilets in the reception area were covered in dust.and most of the communial ones around the pool areas always smelt of stale urine. on returning to our room 1 night bearing in mind the coveres are changed every day i was met with a large brown stain on my bed sheet.(it wasn't me).
this hotel has only been open for around 9 years but bear in mind it is open 365 days a year so there has hardly been any maintanance around the place so it's starting to look really shabby. tiles missing in the pool. large cracks everywhere in the marble walkways. chairs in piano lounge have no sponge left in them so basically sitting on hard wood. etc....
FOOD oh my god where do i start.my step mum came down with tilly trotters and lived on bread and water for most of her holiday. i wouldn't even feed my dog what we got. you got last nights dinner in your breakfast. for instance (spicy sausage done in tomato sauce with peas and carrots or for a change gurkin and sweetcorn). chicken every day chicken soup for breakfast (cold) chicken done in sauce for lunch and grilled chicken for dinner. but you did have chips. my dad lived on chip butties for 14 days. this is not what i expect from a 5* hotel. this hotel food is more catered for the russians who are the majority. 4000 in hotel only 250 english.
the hotel is in the middle of nowhere which we knew which didnt bother us as we have been to Lykia World in Olu Deniz (fantastic place)which is the same. but because in lara beach all the hotels are all inclusive and 5* there are no restaurants so you have to eat in your hotel.(chicken chicken and more chicken).
some of the staff were ok to the english but most didn't want to know. cleaning guy was ok. guest relations found it difficult to understand you.
some of the activities closed while we were there which we wern't informed about at the welcome meeting. quite mad as we were going to do something special on my sons birthday, but couldn't do.
entertainment was ok some good acts butsome cronic ones as well. we were there for 2 weeks and there was supposed to be 14 different shows but 2 of the shows were repeated the second week so we just walked out.
i would definately not go back to this hotel. not on your life. would not reccommend it to anyone. unless you dont mind the crap food, arrogance of other nationalities and don't mind being in the middle of nowhere.
back to lykia world for me can't get any better than there.
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JEANETTE from COVENTRY travelled to Topkapi Palace Hotel with
THOMAS COOK
on a family holiday.
There were more than 6 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2008 |
rated the Topkapi Palace Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness |  | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: *Admin edit. This review has been removed as it has been posted from Turkey. To ensure our reviews remain unbiased we do not allow posts from the country where the accommodation is situtated.
If you are posting whilst on holiday please resubmit on your return*
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Matt from Sheffield travelled to Topkapi Palace Hotel with
Thomas Cook
on a family holiday.
There were 4 adults and 3 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2008 |
rated the Topkapi Palace Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We have just returned from a week at the Topkapi Palace (4 adults & 3 kids) and to be honest I was a little worried before going after reading some of the reviews on the net. Well, we need’nt have worried – we had a great time.
I think the main issue to why the reviews are poor is that people are expecting a 5 Star Hotel. It is not a Five star Hotel but I think the rating comes from the actual Hotel Resort.
We arrived in the early hours and to be fair the check in was not the best and we were more or less pointed in the direction of our rooms and expected to find them in the dark with no help with the cases. Tired after traveling with small children the rooms looked well below the five star standard and quite dingey. However after a good nights sleep and a bit of sunshine the rooms were fine and easily adequate as after all we only get ready and sleep in them. They were a little tired, but spacious, even with an extra bed and our lovely maid kept them spotless.
The complex is great, especially the pool areas. There are plenty of sun beds for all although the best positions are snapped up early. Having 3 children with us (5, 2 and 2) we camped next to the children’s pool, which is great with little slides. The only issue was the surface round the edge was a little slippy for excited kids.
The main pool is nice and large, and warm. The entertainment staff put on various games in the pool but after you have to get out and do the club dance ……. the tune, which is addictive after a week of hearing it !!! There is also a separate area with 4 large slides and the lazy river, which you can float round on rubber rings, which is a great way to relax.
A short walk of a couple of minutes from the pool is the beach, complete with shaded areas and lots of sun beds. Also there is a large jetty with big cushions on to laze about on as well as a bar for the obligatory afternoon beer. On the edge of the beach is a shaded playground, which our kids loved, and also an area with hammocks.
Other areas round the complex we used during the day was the snack bar near the beach which was basic but ideal, and the Turkish tent serving pure lemonade which was lovely and wraps made in front of you.
One early evening my Brother in Law and I even ventured to the football court to show off our talents. At 5pm the sun was still hot and we ended up being given the run around by some Russians and Israeli’s !!!! It was a good laugh though … but very hot, and I don't think we covered English football in glory. Everyone who played were friendly even if we struggled to communicate.
At the end of the day by the pool and if you can find it there is a lovely place serving ice creams and cakes which is a great place to chill for a bit.
Now for the fun bit ……. The restaurant!! An experience to behold. Do you fancy being buffeted by other guests getting food as though it is their last meal and getting platefuls as if there were 10 sat at the table?? If so welcome to the Topkapi Palace Buffet Restaurant. The food was generally good if a little the same though. There are 3 other restaurants that you need to book for via the phone at 9am but we never managed to get in and I think this system needs to be reviewed.
At nighttime there are a few bar areas and the village square is lovely. Also there is some form of entertainment every night whish was OK mostly.
We only ventured out of the complex once to visit Antalya – we got the Dolmus outside the door. I generally like to go for a wander but didn’t feel the need due to the size of Topkapi Palace and the neighbouring Kremlin next door which can be utilized.
Overall we really enjoyed our week and the place was fantastic for kids, and if you have young families would recommend. We got a good deal which made it that much better as well. The place is spacious and clean and the weather was brilliant. On the down side it is not a 5 star but don’t let this put you off and if you can get over the Russians and their poor manners and restaurant habits then you will have a good time, and remember don't be put off by the negativity cause it worried me but need not have.
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Rose from manchester travelled to Topkapi Palace Hotel with
Thomas Cook
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2008 |
rated the Topkapi Palace Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: On first impressions the hotel looked great. After check in (early hours of the morning)we were pointed in the direction of our room...took us 20 mins to find it, no help from staff. The room was disapointing, tired furnishings and cracked & stained bathroom tiles. Bed linen old and covers needed changing.
The hotel was very noisey with guests arriving late and doors banging..plus Russians ignoring all hotel rules by jumping into the pool drunk and with glasses at 3am.. The dinning was a fight for survival, I felt so sorry for the young Turkish waiters who had a difficult time with the antics of the Russians..food everywhere uneaten.
The food was good, just sorry to see so much wasted by others..
At the hotel shop i purchased a hair spray 20Euros!! I waited for my change but did not get any, suddenly they did not understand. Warning... nothing is priced in the shop.
The hotel complex is great for children and on the whole excellent for families. But if your looking for a quiet holiday this is not the place. We booked lots of excursions and were happy to get away from the hotel....along with many others..Definalty not 5 star..!!
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carla from essex travelled to Topkapi Palace Hotel with
Thomas Cook
on a family holiday.
There were 5 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2007 |
rated the Topkapi Palace Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We went to Topkapi Palace on the 16th Sept for two weeks. On arrival to the hotel the staff were really friendly with check in and taking our suitcases to our rooms. The room were ok and the shower was fantastic, at the end of the day the room was mainly used for sleeping so did us all just fine. The food was a little repetitive, but very nice. The animation team were not very approachable and feel that in previous hotels I have been to animation are more friendly and there to help you enjoy your holiday. Maybe the team were just tired as it was near the end of season, but feel that these and the mini club were well below my previous experiences/expectations of this. There is a great child's pool for children with lifeguards watching to ensure safety, there are also water shoots and the lazy river for adults, be warned though pool is very cold lol. The only main problem I had were with guests that did not know how to shut doors and were slamming very loudly, surprised the doors did not come of the hinges, I complained to guest relations about this as the neighbours were slamming doors at very early hours of the morning frigtening the life out of me as I was sleeping. They were brilliant and dealt with the matter immediately. If you are a light sleeper I recommend earplugs to block out the noise of slamming doors and disrespectable neighbours. The nightclub was good especially for young adults that like club music, disco lights and more alcohol, I went a couple of nights and was not going to bed until about 4am lol. Also it is nice to sit on the pier and look and feed the fish with bread, at night the water is all lit up very beautiful and relaxing. I recommend a day trip to Antalya to do some shopping its about an hour by bus but only costs about 1 or 2 euro's to get there, very cheap rather than spending 40 euro's for a taxi and you only get 3 hours. Recommend going to the habour in antalya as there are some nice bars and restaurants there and also very cheap. Also near the habour are cheaper shops to buy presents and gifts for yourself.
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Lesley from Surrey travelled to Topkapi Palace Hotel with
DIY booking
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2006 |
rated the Topkapi Palace Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: I spent a week at the Topkapi from August 15th staying in a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom family duplex room with my husband and two sons aged 11 and 8. It was our first visit to the Topkapi Palace but our fifth to Turkey and we have previously stayed twice at Lykia World and at the Hotel Kaya Side as well as a hotel in Tekirova.
I had read reviews before we left concerning the need for an upgrade to the rooms and so my expectations were low. However, whilst not of a 5 star standard, our duplex room was clean and absolutely fine. The water pressure in the overhead shower in the main bathroom was phenominal and full size bath sheets were provided which, in my experience (and we are lucky enough to holiday abroad three or more times a year), is pretty unusual. My only criticism was that the air conditioning was not cool enough, particularly in the upstairs bedroom. However the weather was ferociously hot whilst we were there.
I chose this hotel purely on the basis of the waterslide facilities for the children which include a wave pool, a lazy river, three slides for younger children and five further slides for adults and older kids including one for which inflatable rings are supplied. Additionally there is a very large pool which never seemed over crowded and a 'quiet' pool. As other reviewers have said these facilities are excellent and are more extensive than those available at the Kremlin Palace next door. Although we (well, my husband!) chose to get up early to 'reserve' our sunbeds, there were still a fair number available when we came down for breakfast at around 9am.
The main buffet restaurant does get very busy during peak times and fighting your way through the crowds for a plate or queueing for a chance to wield the bread knife does get a little tedious. The queues for freshly cooked food (like an omelet or pancake at breakfast or grilled chicken or fish at lunchtime) were painfully long at times and personally I couldn't be bothered. However, there was always plently of salad and pasta options and other hot food available without too much of a queue. Also at all meal times there was delicious freshly baked pitta style bread, with a range of fillings or toppings, cooked in a bread oven in the restaurant. Whilst the All Inclusive meal and drink arrangements offer flexibility and certainly suit us as a family, it is criminal to see the wasted food left at the tables. I was astounded at the greed of other guests to be honest - even my children commented on other kids piling 6 or 7 pancakes on a plate whilst they had one or two. However, that is the problem with AI hotels everywhere so I'll get off my soapbox as I am guilty by 'association'.
There were far more English guests here than I was expecting based on other reviews, but the Russians, Israelis, Turks, French and Germans were definitely predominant. The majority of staff spoke English and we were quite happy amidst all other nationalities.
One other final comment concerns both the Games Room and main bar area in the reception lobby. Whilst both facilities were air-conditioned the smell of cigarette smoke was overwhelming. The games room is an excellent facility with seven or eight snooker/billiard tables, air hockey, card/backgammon tables, internet access and playstations as well as a range of other payable slot machine type games and a bar area. I anticipated sharing a drink here with my husband whilst the kids played but the smell of smoke was sickening.
Overall we had a lovely week at the Topkapi and would be happy to recommend it for families.
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Sue Crozier from Lytham travelled to Topkapi Palace Hotel with
Thomas Cook
on a singles holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2006 |
rated the Topkapi Palace Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Think this hotel needs a refurbishment as the rooms are looking a bit tired, we looked at three rooms before we accepted one!
The hotel is meticulously cleaned by the staff and cannot be faulted on its cleanliness.
The hygiene in the restaurant was exceptionally thorough, all meals were checked by 'food technicians' with thermometers and samples taken daily. The waiters /bar staff work exceptionally hard but are run ragged by the main nationality - if you go you'll know what I mean. Nothing is too much trouble for the staff.
Entertainment was a bit disappointing with the comedy show a bit lewd if you have kids don't take them to this as it went a bit far - liberal as I am??!! A heard from a person who revisited that a lot of facilities from last year have been downscaled due to cost - champagne and some luxuries
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Carol from Staffordshire travelled to Topkapi Palace Hotel with
Thomas Cook
on a friends holiday.
There were more than 6 adults and 3 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 10 2005 |
rated the Topkapi Palace Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We travelled as a large group of friends and found that check-in was a fast and pleasant experience, ie. receptionist quickly processed the key and information giving, whilst our party sat and enjoyed a drink from the lobby bar served by one of the many attentive waiters.
Bags were taken to the rooms via bellboy.
The hotel is architecturally a very impressive building, as is the adjacent Kremlin Palace.
All areas of the hotel are kept spotlessly clean, as were the bedrooms.
An enormous array of food at mealtimes often meant that you were spoilt for choice - the kebabs, grilled meats and fish are excellent.
Unfortunately we had difficulty obtaining reservations for the a la carte restaurants and only managed the fish restaurant - food was superb with a lovely atmosphere and live music. Only downside being the weather, as this is an outside restaurant, it was very cold in the evenings and we were glad to retreat to one of the many inside bars.
Evening entertainment takes place in an outside amphitheatre and although provided with fleece blankets by staff, it was too cold of an evening to sit out.
Daytime facilities are numerous.
Hotel is situated on the blue flag beach and the majority of watersports are free. Even though it was the end of October, and cold in the evenings, it was hot and sunny during the day and the sea was warm enough to swim in. There are numerous sunbeds and hammocks on the beach - all free.
One of the highlights of the holiday was the weekly beach party held on Friday evenings. Guests are given a balloon with a sparkler attached and all light and let go of the balloons at the same time, into the night sky - a sight I don't think I will ever forget.
Sunbeds were easily obtained around the pool with no need to get up early to reserve!
Pool towels are provided by the hotel.
Teenagers were well catered for as apart from the many activities available, there is a disco open every night until the early hours.
Try the 'hubble bubble' pipes whilst you are there and also indulge in a Turkish bath and massage. Bath is free, but the massage is approx 60Euros (worth it for the extra pampering!). Hair wash and cut is included at the hairdressers(including head massage). There is a large, heated indoor pool, sauna, gym, squash courts and Turkish bath all under one roof.
As mentioned by previous reviewers, the champagne tower is a must with its fine sparkling wines and panoramic views.
Hotel is located in the middle of nowhere. However there are taxis at the gate or organised tours available via reps or the hotel. We did an organised tour to a market to stock up on our fake designer gear!!
I'm sure there are facilities that we didn't happen across during our stay at the Topkapi Palace, but we'll find out when we return to this wonderful hotel, as I'm sure we will one day.
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Chris Talbot from Burton-on-Trent travelled to Topkapi Palace Hotel with
Kesit
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2005 |
rated the Topkapi Palace Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We visited the Topkapi Palace during August and with the Facilities promised it has it should have been a fantastic holiday for the whole family. The reality is that our 2 boys (14 & 12) enjoyed the holiday whilst my wife and I were left with a feeling of disappointment as it did not have a 5 star feel to the hotel.
ROOM
We had a family room, the concept of which is ideal. You enter the room where there is a bathroom and bedroom, in the hallway there is a staircase that leads up to a separate twin bedroom and shower room. The room is clean and bedlinen is changed regularly however the room is drab and feels very dated. Our room overlooked the adjacent Kremlin Palace hotel so our view was of one of their outdoor dining areas. We also had the pleasure of listening to the dustbin lorries coming and going throughout the early hours of the morning
POOLS & AQUA PARK
The pools are enormous and the slides are excellent. There is a small lazy river as well as a wave pool. The pools always seemed very clean though the wave pool was quite tatty. The sunbathing areas are reasonably well kept, but if you want a sunbed in a particular spot you need to be getting up at 6.30 a.m. with most beds gone by 9.
ENTERTAINMENT
The entertainment team were basically poor, they were not interested in their job unless you were 16 and had big boobs. There was a programme of daytime activities but these were not at all well promoted and the entertainment staff seemed happy if 2 or 3 people turned up. We went to one of the evening shows put on in the amphitheatre and left after 5 minutes it was truly appalling !
There was an animator to specifically organise activities for teenagers but he was about as much use as a chocolate fireguard. The highlight of the holiday for our teenage sons being a weekly football matches against the Kremlin Palace the adjacent hotel.
FOOD
For my wife and I this was the biggest disappointment of all.
Breakfast - was the usual assortment of fried eggs, pancakes or omelettes, which seem fairly standard fare in Turkish hotels. If you could be bothered to queue and wait there was also the opportunity to freshly squeeze your own orange juice.
Lunch – Here you could chose from the main restaurant buffet, the ‘Sultan Sofrasi’ or the ‘Snack Bar’. The main restaurant at lunchtime was basically a repeat of the evening buffet. The Sultan Sofrasi and the Snack Bar both had a limited menu so it was difficult to satisfy the whole family in just one location.
Dinner - The evening buffet was again pretty disappointing, whilst there was a large volume of food available there was certainly not the choice or indeed the quality we have experienced in other 5 star all-inclusive hotels in Turkey. On the whole you would never starve but we found the food to be bland and uninspiring. The wine served in the restaurant was truly awful. If you did not arrive in the restaurant by 7.45p.m. there was little chance of getting a table and it was hard work getting a free waiter to re-lay a table that had already been used.
Speciality restaurants – There are Italian, Turkish and Seafood restaurants that have to be booked via an automated telephone system at 9.00am on the day you wish to eat. Despite other reports we had no trouble booking any restaurant. We tried the Turkish, which was O.K. We had a wonderful evening at the Italian and indeed we booked for a second time, as the first had been so good. On the second visit the comparison could not have been any greater, it was as if Basil Fawlty had suddenly taken over running the restaurant.
GOOD POINTS
The Champagne tower is certainly worth a visit to sit and look out over the hotel and the surrounding countryside whilst enjoying a few glasses of sparkling wine.
Our teenagers enjoyed the games room (pool tables, table tennis, table football, electronic darts, internet room with around 10 PC’s, playstations)
STAFF
We found the staff to be friendly and helpful with most having at least a basic command of English.
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Jessica from Essex travelled to Topkapi Palace Hotel with
mother
on a family holiday.
There were 1 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2005 |
rated the Topkapi Palace Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: The top kapi palace was one of the best holidays i have ever been on.
The food was superb and very clean.
The weather was so hot and it was nice to get into the pool or the lazy river to cool down.
The staff were very friendly and willing to help out.
The animation team they was so great the made you laugh and always put a smile on your face especially Kadir and junior Gokhan!
I would definitely go back there just to relax and experience the warm welcome of the Turkish people. It's beautiful!
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Daniel Staples from Cramlington travelled to Topkapi Palace Hotel with
Thomas Cook
on a family holiday.
There were 3 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2005 |
rated the Topkapi Palace Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Very clean I would reccommend this hotel to any other person who is looking for a top quality hotel.
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Leza Treen from Essex travelled to Topkapi Palace Hotel with
Booked direct
on a family holiday.
There were more than 6 adults and more than 6 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2005 |
rated the Topkapi Palace Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: The hotel was very clean, and superior in its building details, accessable for pushchairs and wheelchairs although a slightly longer walk involved to reach buffet restaurant.
Entertainment was available nightly 9pm - 10.30pm show time, then it was very quiet unless you went onto nightclub on the site.
Most people just sit around talking at outside bars, or main reception area very comfortable seating.
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Exell from Reading travelled to Topkapi Palace Hotel with
Thomas Cook
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2005 |
rated the Topkapi Palace Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: The WOW Topkapi Palace is a fantastic place, great with children, fantastic slides which our son loved. Especially the kids club which is open from 10am till 9pm, they take the children to lunch and dinner and do many activities with them throughout the day. Even for younger ones. Our son is 5 and he enjoyed going there.
There was an incredibly huge choice on food and the food itself was fantastic. We tried all the different restaurants and in all of them the food was great and you were well looked after by the staff.
We will definitely go back to this hotel or its sister hotel next door.
We feel we can only recommend this hotel, we felt we didn't want to leave after our 2 week holiday and that doesn't happen very often.
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Morris from Bury St Edmunds travelled to Topkapi Palace Hotel with
Thomas Cook
on a friends holiday.
There were 4 adults and 4 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 03 2005 |
rated the Topkapi Palace Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: The Wow Topkapi Palace was a fantastic hotel it is like a mini village complex,there was so much to do and see I would recommend staying for 10 days - 2 weeks so you can get round it all.
The whole complex was clean and we had a family room which was very spacious and cleaned daily. The staff were very friendly and helpful(there was alot of staff for each bar,restaurant and the entertainment team there were many cleaners at all times ) all dressed in proper Turkish costume.
As we went slightly out of season there were a few bits on the complex that were not opened yet ie one of the outside bars and the fish restaurant but there was still plenty to keep us as adults and our children which were aged from 1-8 busy.
Unfortunatley we did not get really nice weather until the last 2 days but there was enough to keep us busy other than laying on the sun beds by the outside pools. The inside pool was lovely and warm, the jacuzzi was nice and hot.
I recommend the turkish massage especially the foam massage it was really nice and relaxing.The food was incrediable plenty of things to choose from and loads of it, even the fussiest of people would find something they liked.
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Chris Hall from Weymouth travelled to Topkapi Palace Hotel with
Thomas Cook
on a singles holiday.
There were 1 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 03 2005 |
rated the Topkapi Palace Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: The Topkapi Palace is an excellent hotel. The buildings are copies of buildings in the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, and considerable effort has gone into making them historically accurate. The gardens are particulary fine; a lot of work has gone into them.
There is a superb aqua park, with slides, a wave machine, and a range of inter-linking pools, as well as a quiet pool, away from the others.
The management and staff are very professional. Nothing is too much trouble for them. The whole hotel is astonishingly clean; I have been in dirtier German hospitals!
There is a very wide range of food, but I would liken it to the sort of food you get in Turkish truck stops. Nothing wrong with that, the food that you get in Turkish truck stops can be very good, but don't expect sophisitication.
For quantity and variety, though, it can't be faulted.
There are a range of cafes and bars dotted throughout the grounds, serving food and drink ranging from Turkish tea and biscuits to Turkish sparkling wine, in a wine bar at the top of a tower, with extensive views across to the Taurus mountains. One cafe even offers hubble-bubble pipes -all included in the price of your stay!
The sports facilities are excellent, and many people come here for that purpose. While I was there, the Albania football team were there for a training camp before playing Turkey in the World Cup eliminators.
The hotel is, however, stuck in the middle of nowhere, and the prices in the hotel shops are not cheap (€1 for a postcard). This becomes important if, for example, you smoke. That said, there is a dolmus at least every hour into Antalya for €2 each way.
There is plenty to do at the hotel, but I think you'd become stir crazy after about 10 days.
Most of the entertainment seems a little amateurish, is aimed at the lowest common denominator, and suffers from having to be presented in four languages. That said, there are several quiet, elegant bars where you can relax, as well as places where you can be loud if you want to be.
There were not many Brits while I was there (perhaps a dozen or so), but lots of Russians, Germans, Dutch, Swiss, Austrians and Israelis. There were also many Turks, including a conference of hardware shop owners! Not a problem; most people speak English, and I speak German.
If you want to go somewhere simply to relax, play sport, eat and drink well, then you should seriously consider this hotel. That said, describing it as '5 star' may be a little optimistic. The rooms are comfortable, rather than luxurious, the main retaurant is buffet-style and there is no room service. Not a major problem, but I'd expect waiter service in a 5-star hotel, and have stayed in many 4-star hotels where these services have been provided. Don't let that put you off, however; It's a great place, and, shoulder season at least, great value for money.
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amanda treagust from chorley travelled to Topkapi Palace Hotel with
thomas cook
on a singles holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 03 2005 |
rated the Topkapi Palace Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Lovely hotel, but away from everything and anything.
Food was very good, never got to try specialty restaurants as they were always full.
Exceptionally clean.
The staff were great, but spoke hardly any English.
Pools were plenty, but nowhere near enough sunbeds.
Not enough seating in the evening even though there were many bars.
The hotel mainly caters for the Germans and Israel’s. Out of about 2500 people there were only 50 English and half of them were children.
Queues for the restaurants were pretty bad as the hotel got busier towards the end of the week.
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V Turner from Upholland, Lancs travelled to Topkapi Palace Hotel with
Thos. Cook
on a family holiday.
There were 6 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 11 2004 |
rated the Topkapi Palace Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: The Topkapi Palace is a wonderful place, which because of the time of the year we didn’t see it at its best.
When we first arrived it was buzzing with a lovely atmosphere, it was the end of Ramadan and a lot of Turks were there celebrating, however after 3 days when the majority of visitors left it was very different.
A lot of things closed mostly because the weather was not too good and there just were not enough people to warrant keeping places open.
The rooms were spotless, with the fridge topped up each day, with a couple of beers, soft drinks and water. Needless to say the TV only had one or two English networks.
The food in the main restaurant was excellent, the choice of foods amazing. The plates were small, like salad plates but the beauty was you could try as many different things as you liked. Soup, salad, fish, pasta, and the main courses were mostly turkey, lamb, chicken, liver, meatballs etc. The sweet menu was unbelievable, with the exception of ice cream!!!
The breakfast was possibly the most disappointing from a British point of view, that is if you like the full English but you could get eggs in every form, and the omeletts and eggs fried in front of you were very good.
There are three small restaurants were you have to make a booking, we went to the Italian one which was lovely, we did try to go to the Fish one, but that had closed because of the weather,
It states that this is a 5 star plus, which means most things are included and in the summer this must be a plus for a family with children, as the wave pool, aqua park, and banana boats at the beach are all free.
One disappointment was the Turkish bath, the only free thing there was to sit in the water, if you wanted the exfoliation, the foam and the massage they each had to be paid for and it totalled approx. 60 euros.
The hotel staff were quite friendly on the whole; the entertainment was more geared to the Turks and Germans, which we found hard to follow
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mrs k artis from havant hants travelled to Topkapi Palace Hotel with
thomas cook
on a family holiday.
There were 3 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 10 2004 |
rated the Topkapi Palace Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We stayed at the Topkapi Palace Hotel in Antalya Turkey for the childrens autumn half term holiday and found it to be way beyond our expectations.
The rooms were very clean and furnished well. The mini fridge was stocked every day with soft drinks and beer.
The bathrooms and toilets were very clean.
We had heard that some people felt cut off as the resort is in a very remote area, but we never felt trapped at any time during the holiday.There was so much to do that the days went very quickly. Too quickly!
The food in all the restaurants was fantastic, there was an enormous choice and all well presented.
The children really enjoyed the all you could eat buffet restaurant as it ment they could try small amounts of new things with out to much waste.
The hotel staff were all friendly and helpful.The animation team were suberb, always on hand to brighten your day! Th eevening entertainment was varied and fun.
We would definately visit this resort again, but this time for two weeks.
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Mrs Mel Smithers from Barnehurst travelled to Topkapi Palace Hotel with
Thomas cook
on a family holiday.
There were 6 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2004 |
rated the Topkapi Palace Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We had a fabulous time and felt thoroughly spoilt.
The hotel being remote was not a problem as there was plenty to do, that said any more than 2 weeks might be boring for some (not for me I can lay on a sunbed forever). We travelled in a large group and so the lack of Brits was not a problem although my husband missed not being able to chat football to anyone who would listen.
From the children's perspective every waking minute was filled. I felt I had to book a time to see them!!
A lovely touch for me was being handed an ice cold flannel every afternoon to cool myself down. Fantastic!!!
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Mrs C Hyde from Dartford travelled to Topkapi Palace Hotel with
Thomascook
on a family holiday.
There were more than 6 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2004 |
rated the Topkapi Palace Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: The hotel was well staffed all of whom were extremely efficient, hard working and polite.
It was the first inclusive holiday for us and we were so happy with the ease of ordering drinks, ice creams, snacks etc without being made to feel awkward at the frequency.
The only downside to this hotel (apart from other nationalities not respecting the Brit’s compassion for the good old fashion queuing system!) was - as non smokers we did feel subjected to passive smoking. There was smoking in the non smoking area of the main restaurant, one man even smoked whilst in one of the many pools. There was complete disregard for the comfort of others even when the kindly staff brought it to their attention.
One important tip is always lay evidence on your dining table that it has been occupied otherwise whilst you are helping yourself to food, others will be helping themselves to your table. At busy times it may be hard to get another table either big enough for your party or in the smoking section!
Entertainment brilliant
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gary giffin from tipton travelled to Topkapi Palace Hotel with
personal
on a singles holiday.
There were 6 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2003 |
rated the Topkapi Palace Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: I could not have enjoyed my stay more
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