Travelling
We flew with TC from Glasgow. The usual complaints about the leg room but, all in all, the flight was okay. 20 mins delay leaving GAP but we easily made it up and arrived on time. Very quick transfer to the Ekinci Palace and we were at the hotel for just after 12am.
Hotel
The hotel was everything we could have asked for, and much more besides. The room was immaculate, the food was beautiful and was enjoyed just about every time as well as being reasonably priced and the staff just couldn't do enough for us during our whole stay. Nothing was too much trouble for them and they took care of our 2 14yo boys like they had been best of friends for a long time. The pool is brilliant and cleaned regularly, there is plenty of sunbeds around so that our party of 4 always had a place to park our butts and enjoy the beautiful weather and our kids were never far away from the flume that is part of the spacious pool.
The cleaning staff were pleasant and thorough and the one time we did have a slight problem, they were in our room an hour later and sorting things out for us. We couldn't have asked any more from them and we were happy to pass on all of our belongings that wasn't being taken home to them, for which they were very grateful. A little more on the hotel staff to follow.....
Restaurants/Bars
We ate in quite a few places but ended up returning to the places we enjoyed, and felt we got good value from, the most. The Venice was our 1 big night out which we only tried because a group staying across the balcony and from the same areas as us in Scotland, invited us to. We had a fantastic night there, the entertainment was absolutely top-notch and the food was probably the best we had the whole holiday. The 4 of us ate and drank to our fill and the bill ended up way below what we had budgeted for, and still less than what we had expected when all was said and done. The free transport and personal waiter service given to our large group just made it all the more special. We loved this and it was a special night for all 4 of us, in different ways.
A special mention in the eating department must go to Harry Rams where, whenever we decided we wanted a good meal close to the hotel but not in it, then it was the first choice after our first visit. The food was very fresh, beautiful and very cheap. No fuss in this place, just an attentive family making sure you enjoyed a good meal and couple of (cheap) drinks.
When we were in the area, always only around lunch times, we always stopped off at the small Turkish cafe across the road from the Havana (dont know the name but it was across the road as if you were walking up towards the village from the Havana, on the left hand side, just a shop or 2 up from the junction). It was always just a quick bite to eat, but their Chicken Burgers were to die for
As was everything else we tried. Cheap as chips too.Also a couple of times we decided to just buy some fresh fruit and veg and a couple of roast chickens (10 Lira each) from Alins Grills and had a beautiful meal on the hotel balcony, and a couple of game of cards with the boys afterwards. It's these little things that we always seem to remember and made the holiday really special as we don't get much sit-down meal times with the boys at home
Finally, we must mention Tommy's. We visited here 3 or 4 times although, unfortunately, only around breakfast and lunchtimes. The staff again were amazing, the food great and the hospitality and friendliness we experienced was just superb. We all loved this place and if it was within easy walking distance to our hotel (my partner had to use her wheelchair most times otherwise it would have been) then we would have been much more regular customers. A great place that we will definitely be back to.
Shopping
The market on Wednesday was just amazing, the first time any of us had experienced it. 100 Lira for a Hollister hoodie for one of our boys was got down to 35, a Converse hoodie for the other was just as much of a bargain. We had to pay the rep (cheaply) for extra baggage for all the stuff we ended up getting. We also visited a jewellers where, unexpectedly, we picked up a wedding ring for my partner!! We decided after that to actually set a date and are getting married on my 40th next April! Thanks for that, Icmeler
We also decided immediately afterwards that we would be returning to Icmeler for our honeymoon next September (sans kids of course) and when we told the lads in the hotel, they decided that they would arrange for us to have a second, traditional Turkish wedding when we come back over which apparently includes us parading around the town on donkey, horse or camel-back. We have opted for the donkey lol!Overall
Probably my partner finding her dream wedding ring (at an amazing price I might add, but I won't go in to the details) and us setting the date for our wedding just made everything extra-special for us on this holiday, but this was decided fairly late on in the holiday and by that time we had already had such an amazing time that it just added to it. As someone who has some amazing trips to Florida before and never thought anything could compare, Icmeler has really raised the bar for us in what to expect from a holiday. I loved it the last time I was there with my son 6 years ago, hence why I persuaded my wife-to-be and her son to make it our destination for our first family holiday, but the people and places just made it so much better than even I thought possible. We miss the place terribly already (hence my lateness in posting this review, i've been on such a downer since arriving home lol) but it just makes us all the more excited for returning for our honeymoon next year.
