Just back.--long review, grab a cuppa before you start

[smc4761]

I had booked my flights for this holiday back in May 2011 with Aegean Flights who went bust some time in August last year. I then had to book new flights with Jet 2,but with other things happening I thought that I would not manage to make it this year butI did and had an excellent holiday

GETTING THERE

Taxi arrived bang on time to take us to Glasgow airport, for our flight at 15.20. Roadworks at Glasgow were cleared and got there in about 30 minutes

Check in with Jet 2 is at terminal 2 and check in was fast we were the only ones in queue. 22kg of luggage plus 10 kg hand luggage. Well done to my missus her bag only weighed in at 18kg

In Glasgow airport there is a Tesco before you go through security and the prices are the same as normal so worth stocking up on sweets etc

You have to buy your drinks however once you get through security and WH Smith prices are ridiculous. £1.89 for a 500ml bottle of coke etc

Duty free shop was OK and 2 bottles of spirits for £20 was good value

If you smoke 200 cigs was a bout £32, but could be had on the plane for about £28

JET 2

Great legroom in seat. The seats are fixed so you don not have that annoying person in front of you putting seat back. Food and drink prices on board again are expensive, they have a captive audience and charge what they think they will get away with. £2.25 for a can of coke, £4 for small can of beer, £2.60 for pot noodle, £1.80 water, £1.35 packet of crisps

We had boarded the flight queite early and I thought maybe we we get away quicker. Problem was just about everyone on the flight had taken small suitcases as hand luggage and there was no space in overhead lockers. Stewardesses spent ages trying to fit all the bags in, but we eventually left about 5 minutes late for our 4h 30 min flight. No entertainment but you could hire a DVD player for £7.50

TRANSFER

Got to Dalaman and were through visa and passport quickly, even managed to be amongst the first to get our cases.

I had booked our transfer throgh Travel Republic and went to find our bus. From there everything went downhill and we had the transfer from hell. I will do a separate note on the transfer, as the transfer back from Dalaman was even worse. I have written to Travel Republic and will advise the outcome

APARTMENTS

Stayed at the Castle apartments in the village where I have stayed before. They have improved them since last year with a lovely new bathroom, newly tiled and a new corner shower enclosure

The apartments were very quiet during our holiday with only about 4 couples using the 22 rooms. Next door apartment, Sarigul were even quieter

OUT AND ABOUT

A few changes this year but not too much. Kingsland and Peking, and Lal restaurants were closed. The Masala had moved from near canal area to next to main square.The new square is lovely especially at night when it was lit up. Mrs smc4761 favourite coffee place Timothys had closed and a new restaurant was in it place, so I had to find a new place for her to get her coffee fix

The new underground market area looked great, cleam and fresh. The new stall area at the canal was OK but not many stalls were taken

The resort was quiet again this year. Not many people were buying in the shops, restaurants were generally quiet as were the bars

RESTAURANTS AND BARS

Having been to Icmeler about 9 times we decided to try some new restaurants for a change as well as vist a few of our favourites

MELISSA, went there 3 times, first was excellent, 2nd was very good but the 3rd time was OK nothing special. TITANIC was also very good

BULLSH*ts was excellent as usual.OKIMO, the starter was the best we had, but the main course was just OK, nothing special. BLUE FOX food was excellent but despite being vey quiet the service was very slow. If anyone remebers OZZYS in the village from a few years ago, OZZY now works in Blue Fox and after 2 years he still remembered me

TOMMYS in the village was however the best food, best service and I would highly recommend here

All of these places were offering meal deals, bread,mezzes, soup and a chicken or pasta dish for between 17.5 and 20 lira,. Tommy was similar except it offered ice cream (6 scoops) or pancakes as opposed to soups.

For lunches we tried a few places and the prices in some were a bit of a shocker, compared to last year, very big price increases. One of our places we used to go was eith ERDEM cafe or PIER 15 on the front. Food prices were OK but at 7 lira for an EFES this was the most expensive beer in Icmeler. 4 lira for a small coke was not cheap either

NEFIS Pide and KAYRA pide also used to be great value. I remember paying around 6 lira last year for a pide, this year it was 10lira in Nefis and 9.5 lira in Kayra. When we passed Kayra 2 days after we had our first pide in the the price had gone up to 11 lira

The MERT doner next to Sylvias in the village was great, lovely food and although they did not speak great english service was always good as was food

Special mention must go to the TANDOORI SIZZLER near to the square and the ICR office for the biggest price in crease. Last year they had a set menu at 19.75 lira, which was very slightly more expensive than others but still great value. I had several meals in there the food was good and each night the places was packed

This year however there was no set menu, a typical starter was around 12 lira, a typical chicken dish around 24.50 lira ( the most expensive chicken dish I saw) so this would be around 36.50 lira compared to just under 20 lira last year. Dont get me wrong this is still only around £13 which is not bad but compared o other restaurants fairly expensive and a huge 70% plus increase from last year.

Maybe as a result of this, the place generally was very quiet, where last year it was very busy
What makes a good holiday for me is the people you meet, being able to get a sunbed during the day without having to get up at silly oclock, good food and as I get older peace and quiet a time to relax. Throw in some sunshine and there you have the perfect holiday for me.

Icmeler in May offers most of these things. Our apartments only had a bout 4 of the 22 rooms taken, it had 2 swimming pools therefore sunbeds and peace and quiet guaranteed. We spent most of our mornings around the pool area where the weather was warm but on occasions during the first week it did cloud over although still warm at 25 degrees.

A special mention must be made to Mike and Audrey from Middlesborough who were in the apartments with us for 10 days. they were also there last year at the same time as us. Great company and very friendly and Mike made us a fabulous curry in the apartment one night. Great company can make your holiday and they certainly are people you would like to meet on holiday

For lunch we would either go for a snack, donner kebab being our favourite or have something in the apartment

I do not mean to be patronising but if you are on a budget as I was there is a lovely place opposite Sylvias in the village which sells whole roasted chickens just off the spit for only 9 lira. Pop along to the bakery next to Tansas for some fresh crusty bread which they can slice for under 1 lira, add in some tomatoes and peppers which are ridicoulsly cheap, 2 peppers cost me a bout 10 pence and bingo one deliclious cheap and tasty lunch

We would go for a stroll afetr lunch either down to beach area or around village area. The whole of Icmeler is lovely at this time of year, plenty of flowers, plenty of colours and smells. The council must spend a fortune on flowers, marigolds in particular are plentiful on the roundabouts in the village

BARS

Now Mrs smc4761 was panicking a little this year when I told her that her favourite place for a coffee last year had closed, Timothys. Where could she go to get her cappucino fix as she does not really drink

On our first night we went to EDDIE's bar which had moved slightly from last year to bigger premises, just one door down. Lovely bar, nice quiet music comfy seats great to relax in. Beer was 5 lira but the capucino was only OK

Next night we went to TIN TIN which is just along from BUFFALO bar and Champions bar. Success, TIN TIN did a lovely cappucino and an even better latte so we spent most nights in here and numerous afternoons. The bar was busy most nights and again mainly gentle background 60 and 70 music Drinks prices in Tin Tin were 4 lira for a beer, 5 lira for a latte, local spirit and mixer 6 lira. the other 2 brs were similarly priced and amongst the cheapest in Icmeler.

Champions was generally quiet, Tin Tin was busy, with quiet music. Buffalo was sometimes busy but had karaoke on at night which is OK if you like that, we don't

On the canal, Venice was busy but not as busy as it used to be,The new bamboo bar, the old Dreamboys was quiet and they still insist on hassling you, a place to avoid. Sports bar, Diva, Florida were quieter than normal although Friends bar opposite Loveboat was busy most nights

Drinks prices were typically, 5--6 lira for a beer, spirit and mixer, 7--9 lira, cocktails usually 14 lira although this was usually BOGOF. Wine around 8 lira a glass and soft drinks 3--5 lira.

Some places are still doing the same old same old stuff, Michael Jackson Tina Turner, waiter shows, they must be sick of this as I most certainly am. The songs Kiss Kiss and Casper slide are still playing athough not as often. In general I felt the whole place was much quieter, music wise than normal

In the village area, DEJA Vu was very quiet whereas normally it can be lively as was the Garden and Sylvias, how they will survive the season I do not know. The first week DEJA VU had a set menu at 22lira which dropped to 19 lira by week 2. Breakfast prices also dropped by week 2 from 8 lira to 5 lira

HASSLE

Almost non existant this year. A polite know was enough in most cases. This year I did not see any places closed at all for hassle. Even the hairdressers and the jewellers who were very quiet did not hassle

WEATHER

The first week the weather was just OK not typical weather. Warm but cloudy with some spells of sunshine about 25 degrees during day. Cool at night and a jacket was needed at nights. The 2nd week the weather picked up, typical Turkey weather, glorious sunshine and a big difference at night, typically 32 during the day. In the 2 weeks we had no rain although it did rain once overnight

If you are able I would recommend the walk along the coast to Marmaris. It is mainly flat and there are lovely views along the way. As you come out of Icmeler just before the Marmaris Palace there is new hotel being built which will be a Hilton hotel. It is all screened off at the moment but looks to be fairly big

as you come into Marmaris there are some beautlful hotels an the whole prom area all the way to the marina is also very nice the whole prom area is flat and our town and cities could learn a thing or 2 about this. We had lunch near the Point centre and after lunch walked to the marina and round the old town. A lovely walk, the marina has been done up and i would recommend a trip to Marmaris. The large Tansas store near the bazar is gone and has been replaced with a beautiful area all water fountains and pretty gardens.

We took the dolmus back to Icmeler 2.5 lira each and the dolmus was very quiet. water taxi is also available and this now costs 10 lira each

RESTAURANTS

Some restaurants are doing set meals, which is typically, bread, mezzes, soup, and either a chicken, pasta or pizza dish for between 17.50 and 20 lira. if you prefer a steak option this goes up to between 24--28 lira

Places doing this include, Melissa, Titanic, Turkish Delight, Bullsh*t, Charley place, Set, Ege, Tommy,s Deja vuu, Sylvias, Blue Fox Cubana, Lovestar. As 20 lira is around £6.50 brilliant value

Many places do an English breakfast and this typically costs around 7 lira. You can get this for 5 lira as well, but the Wayside and Bonjour want 9 lira. If you want a lovely view while eating your full English, Cafe del Mar want 12 lira

I also tried HARRY RAMS in the village for the first time. Normaly i tend to avoid fish and chip shops on holiday. Everything is cooked from fresh and his fish and chips is amongst the best i have had. Lovely crisp batter on the fish and proper chips none of your frozen rubbish. the owner is a lovely man very friendly, speaks beautiful english and great service. i did not try his desserts but he showed ne them and looked amazing

if you dont fancy a set meal, starters are around 5- 8 lira for soups, which are usually delicious, 7--10 lira for other starters, eg garlic mushrooms. Chicken dishes are about 15--20 lira, whilst steak dishes are 22--30 lira

MARKET

Wednesday is market day and I have never seen the market so quiet. Normally you cannot move in the market you simply shuffle along not this year. I now go for just a look to experience the whole thing.

The food prices in the market are great and the veg tastes just so different to UK veg. Turkey veg actually tastes as it should. The price of fruit and veg is also very very cheap

EXCURSIONS

Plenty of places doing excursions, but we only did the 1 this year. Did the all day boat trip for 25 lira including lunch, but not drinks. Went on the Panorama Prenses, The boat was busy but not full. You can get a ticket from the guy who has a stall outside ERDEM cafe on the front, opposite "cheeky bugger" stall. background music, 5 swim stops and lunch makes for a great day out. Drink prices are a bit of a rip off, 8 lira for a small beer, 5 lira small cola. We just take some frozen water and this usually does the day

All too soon it was time to go home. transfer back was horrendous and I will update later on this. Flight back to Glasgow was 10 minutes late but unevetful apart from seeing a fabulous electric storm to the left and below our flight path. The cases were slow in coming off but once we got them straight to our waiting taxi and back to reality and 5 degrees

SUMMARY

Icmeler is still as good as ever. Prices are similar to last year maybe slightly more expensive, but then the exchange rate has gone up since last year by about 10% May is a good time to go everything is fresh the staff in restaurants are still full of energy, the colours around the resort are bright and this year as last year the resort is fairly quiet

the new canal stalls and the canal area has been improved with new paving which has helped this part of town. the biggest improvement however is the undergound market

Hope I have not bored you all too much and have a lovely holiday when you go