The hotel.
After packing our stuff away we then had an hours sleep before going down for our first turkish breakfast.
Not really our cup of tea, but we don't eat breakfast at all in the uk, so not a problem.
The dilhan hotel (otel) was just what we expected it to be. Incredibly clean (rooms cleaned every day we were there), the rooms basic, but we had a bed, a shower, a balcony and a mountain view, so perfect for what we paid. A perfect sized pool area, and even with our reservations of the pool being so deep we still went in, with the aid of floaty long thingymabobs!!! Everyone in the hotel very friendly, and we soon made many friends.
Oz the barman/chef/entertainment..........what can i say, an absolute diamond. Such a lovely guy, very friendly, never in your face, will tell you jokes till your ears bleed or your sides split, which ever comes first. Very open to chatting about his religion too, which was a real eye opener for us, but we went to turkey, we wanted to live and breath it, so we wanted to know and he was more than willing to tell you anything, with no fear of offending him.
Oz = a legend Oz = a true friend.
Icmeler bars/restaurants.
Now while many may say its hassling, as you get to know people, and actually talk to them about their jobs, how much they earn, in our eyes it no longer becomes hassling, they need people in their places to survive, its as simple as that. So where as we saw many just totally ignore people on the front of house saying hello, we would always stop and say hi, and maybe next time. Manners cost nothing, and we did find ourselves apologising for some peoples rudeness, we did on several occasions feel embarassed to be british!!
The Waterfall, lovely food, great location and very nice staff, a few evening spent there till 3am!!
Champions. Again lovely food, a great guy at front of house in solomon, who sadly after a few days left, the place was a lot quieter after that.
Charly's. Again faultless food, great service, and his grandaughter very good at getting you inside, albeit only 7 years old!!
Cafe Ann (by the dilhan hotel, not the one near the beach). We only had breakfast here, 8tl each for a breakfast, quite expensive, but tasted fine.
Cafe Del Mar. The best we had with regards to food, service and location, its a must for anyone wanting a lovely meal, great bunch of guys serving you and a stunning setting.
Buffalo Restaurant/Bar. We spent many a night in here, and morning for breakfast.
I will start with the food. 7.00 - 8.30pm all main meals are half price, bargain. Efes 2.5tl a pint or bottle. All cocktails buy one get one free, all local drinks the same.
The food was lovely, salou the chef does an amazing job on his own as the only chef.
The staff were unsurpassable in the way they treated us, you start as a customer, end up as a friend.
On our last day as we said goodbye the staff all stood there clapping as we walked out, very emotional and quite amazing.
Amigos. Great food and good for people watching, great service too.
Out & About.
Again everywhere you go people are very friendly, we tried on several occasions to buy clothes, but the only downside is they won't tell you a price until you choose something to buy, where as if they just put a price on things, maybe even over priced atleast you would have an idea.
We finally found a shop and the guy told us the prices straight away and left us to look around, that was much better, and we bought a lot of clothes from him after a bit of bartering, a lesson to be learned for the other shop keepers i think.
We went to the market, didn't enjoy it, but i think that was just due to us being wet behind the ears.
We went a second time and got some bits after some hard bartering.
The Beach.
2.5tl for a bed and great service makes a great day. As i said on a recent post, we did pay 5tl per bed on one day, a lesson learned, our own fault as we agreed to pay it. Hey ho
Its much nicer on the beach as there is often a nice breeze which makes the August sun much more bearable. I was one of those that we have laughed about on the forum who got nipped by one of the fish and made a fool of myself by screaming like a girl!!! That wasn't a sun tan, that was me blushing.
Marmaris Walk.
A fabulous walk, but best done early morning, as it does get very hot and is a good hour and a half to two hour walk, but it is beautiful and fabulous scenery and greenery, a must do before you go home.
Marmaris it's self is very busy, the opposite to icmeler, less hassling to get you on the beach we found, but its just so vast. We walked all the way to the harbour on our second walk there, then we felt like we were in central london, cars and bikes everywhere, very very busy.
But a good place for the serious shopper in you.
Boat Trips.
We only did one boat trip, 7 bays from 10am till 5pm, very nice, relaxing, stunning scenery, lots of swimming stops, a lovely lunch included and all for 20tl each......bargain. Although the drinks were expensive on board, they have to make there money somehow. All in all a good day, and compared to the uk an absolute bargain.
Our Holiday Conclusion.
A stunning place, beautiful warm and friendly people, stunning weather............just stunning.
As everyone said, once you have been you will get the bug. They were right, we will be back next year.
Chris & Anita
