Icmeler Online Holiday Forum & Reviews - Turkey

Hi

Probably already been asked a few times but here goes.
Is the water safe to make brews with? We usually use bottled water but I have read on here that the hotel we are staying in does not allow you to take your own stuff up to the rooms - even water and that they charge 4tl for 1ltr of water, I am sure it is much cheaper in the supermarket.

If I can't use the tap water I am going to have to smuggle it in as I am not willing to be ripped off!

Best to use the bottled water for making your tea and coffee, they say the tap water has a high mineral content and could lead to upset stomachs.

I am not paying hotel prices either for water, will just wrap it in a pashmina or take a spare ruck sack and put my goodies in there, then keep it in the wardrobe or some where, bugger that.

Thanks for that

I agree Colette I can think of lots of better things to spend my hard earned cash on. I will be spending money in their bar and restaurant but I won't be buying my water there. Strategic wrapping in beach towels I think

If I am staying self catering I do not listen to them and just carry my water etc as normal, why should I have to bother hiding it? If they lowered the prices then people would buy from them, and I tell them this. I also tell them that it is self catering so they cannot stop me bringing food and drink in and I am always left alone after that and I have stayed at a great number of apartments. I will not be intimidated into having to hide stuff or pay extortinate prices.

sharon1968 wrote:Hi

Probably already been asked a few times but here goes.
Is the water safe to make brews with? We usually use bottled water but I have read on here that the hotel we are staying in does not allow you to take your own stuff up to the rooms - even water and that they charge 4tl for 1ltr of water, I am sure it is much cheaper in the supermarket.

If I can't use the tap water I am going to have to smuggle it in as I am not willing to be ripped off!

Crikey Sharon, can you give a clue as to the name of the hotel (withought naming it ovbiously!) as I want to avoid it....................I took a box of wine from home to our hotel and often walked through reception with a bottle of water purchased from the shop accross the road. No problem at all!

Yes it is one of the hotels ICR offer, The Kapmar, although I booked it through another agent before I found this great site. It is very central and all the reviews on here are good but a couple of people have mentioned that they do not allow you to take your own stuff in.

I don't mind paying bar prices for drinks around the pool and in the restaurant but I do need a brew first thing to get the old bones moving and I begrudge having to pay a fortune for water which I am going to throw in the kettle.

To keep everyone happy, we usually buy a couple of bits out of the mini bar, but bring our own bottled water in, (usually in beach bag) and keep it in the fridge overnight ( take the mini bar stuff out!), but before we go out next day, if we are not taking it with us, we pop it in the wardrobe. Never found any probs doing this

We've just returned from the Kapmar (will post a review soon- but really pleased with the hotel ).

Occasionally brought a couple of small bottles of water from the bar, but generally smuggled water in from supermarkets (especially the bigger bottles). Just hid them in the beach bag, and was never questioned.

Also, didn't really make much effort to hide the bottles in the room, and left biscuits out on top too, and nothing was ever said to us, although I guess we didn't walk into the lobby showing the bottles

jivebunnie0 wrote:To keep everyone happy, we usually buy a couple of bits out of the mini bar, but bring our own bottled water in, (usually in beach bag) and keep it in the fridge overnight ( take the mini bar stuff out!), but before we go out next day, if we are not taking it with us, we pop it in the wardrobe. Never found any probs doing this

I just use the tap water to boil the kettle in and I haven't had any problems, but I have bottled water for drinking. Most places where you buy tea and coffee use the tap water anyway - as long as it is boiled you will be fine.

We dont actually bother with tea or coffee in the morning, so only use the bottled water for drinking and taking my Resolve

I have used tap water for tea and coffee and have been fine but it does to me have a taste-sort of salty so prefer bottled. I never have tea or coffee in a restaurant for this reason, they all have this taste as they use tap water but it is safe to drink. Dont forget when you have ice in your drinks it is tap water.

Chocoholic wrote: Dont forget when you have ice in your drinks it is tap water.

Just to clarify that is wrong, 99% of the places in Icmeler buy there ice in, in big frozen bags

Chocoholic wrote:If I am staying self catering I do not listen to them and just carry my water etc as normal, why should I have to bother hiding it? If they lowered the prices then people would buy from them, and I tell them this. I also tell them that it is self catering so they cannot stop me bringing food and drink in and I am always left alone after that and I have stayed at a great number of apartments. I will not be intimidated into having to hide stuff or pay extortinate prices.

if you are staying self catering there should not be any issues with bringing food/drinks into your apartment - it's normally hotels where you would encounter this.

tamii wrote:

Chocoholic wrote:If I am staying self catering I do not listen to them and just carry my water etc as normal, why should I have to bother hiding it? If they lowered the prices then people would buy from them, and I tell them this. I also tell them that it is self catering so they cannot stop me bringing food and drink in and I am always left alone after that and I have stayed at a great number of apartments. I will not be intimidated into having to hide stuff or pay extortinate prices.

if you are staying self catering there should not be any issues with bringing food/drinks into your apartment - it's normally hotels where you would encounter this.

Yes, I do agree with you to a certain extent but in some apartments I have stayed in they have kicked up a fuss when I have walked through reception to my room with water or cans from elsewhere. Some of them (not all though) try to get more money by any means and if you are new to Icmeler or not assertive at all you will end up paying their extortinate prices which will eat up into your spending money. Actually by rights even if in a hotel you have paid for your room and you have the right to take in food or drink from elsewhere.

Found this while browsing the internet, it does seem to suggest water is unsafe in some area's of Turkey;

Please provide a link to this site, for copyright reasons, thanks

You do not have to post links to say that water is unsafe in some parts of turkey as it is also fact anywhere you go in the world without proper filtering.

Common sense really should come into it and though I can drink the tap water from my room, people visiting Turkey may not be able to as they will not have built up an immunity to the high mineral content.

Always safer in ANY country to use bottled water.

If I am in Egypt I will even use it to brush my teeth with.

While I am here and posting.

You are not expected to buy anything from any self catering apartments that we sell through our website, self catering means exactly that, you cater for yourself and this also includes toilet rolls.

Why this question comes up so often baffles me, if you are staying in a caravan SELF catering you would not expect someone to buy toilet rolls for you so why people in self catering apartments expect them supplied for them after the first freebie in case you are caught short is beyond me.

In a hotel in Turkey or anywhere in the world you abide by the rules of that hotel.

If the hotel rules state that you are not allowed to bring food or drink in from outside then you must abide by that rule or take it in without them seeing it, to take it in, in full show is just rubbing their noses in it and will just make them stop you every time.

I'm not intending to be brazen and rub anyone's nose in it I just object to paying 4tl for a bottle of water that won't even fill the kettle. If more realistic prices were charged it wouldn't be an issue in the first place

No worries Sharon, Admin John wasn't referring to your post

Colette wrote:No worries Sharon, Admin John wasn't referring to your post

It's fine Colette I hope it didn't come across as sniffy - it wasn't meant to