My May 2013 Review Long

[smc4761]

My 10th visit to Icmeler and the first time I have ever done AI. I can remember saying on this forum about 18 months ago that I would never go AI, never say never




Getting there




We normally fly from Glasgow however Easy jet who were doing the cheapest flights only fly from Edinburgh. It is only an extra 15 minutes or so. Edinburgh airport was OK I do think however that Glasgow has better food and shops as well as a bigger duty free. A fairly big queue to check in but this still only took around 30 minutes. A special mention to Mrs smc4761, who managed to get her luggage weight down to 15.9kg, for 2 weeks a new record




Flight left on time and actually arrived 15 minutes early. Easyjet drink prices are a wee bit ridiculous as well, £4 for a 330ml can of beer and £1.80 for a bottle of water or can of Pepsi




On arrival at Dalaman 3 other flights had also arrived around the same time and a further flight about 10 minutes after ours. Visa control had 2 people on duty and were in no hurry to process. It took almost an hour to get the visa. On the plus side when we went to collect the cases they were already there




TRANSFER




After the fiasco of last years transfer, I booked the shuttle transfer with Icmeler Online, which was still a great price £12 each return. Went to the United Blue desk who the transfer was with but after a few minutes he could not find us on list Oh no here we go again. Suddenly our name did appear on the list and we were taken to a 14 seater minibus. Had to wait around 20 minutes for the bus to fill up and off we went. Usual 15 minute stop. Dropped one couple off in Marmaris and we were soon in Icmeler. Altogether from when we boarded to getting off around 2 hours 20 minutes. A private transfer cost around £70 dearer. Is it worth getting there an hour earlier for such a cost not in my opinion, but some seem to do this. I would recommend Icmeler online shuttle transfer




ACCOMODATION




As stated above I said I would never do AI, however I was on a really tight budget this year, not had a pay rise for few years doing work on house etc, but need to go to Icmeler. The AI offer at the VELA hotel was only around £200 more expensive than my usual S/C apartments, so decided to book there. The reviews from last year were mixed, good clean hotel,great location however the food seemed to be a problem for quite a few people




Well the hotel was clean and the food, well I have no idea what people expect from a 3 star AI and the price they pay, but I was pleasently surprised. Breakfast had cereals, cornflakes etc, Turkish breakfast, plenty of bread and jams, cheese and meats,olives etc,boiled eggs and beans. The hot option was a spicy sausage usually. Outside the chef would cook fesh either ommlettes, cheese, onion meat tomato or fried eggs. Something for everyone




Lunch had a great selection of salads, soup as well as 3 hot dishes usually chicken fish and meat, chips wedgies croquettes, fried potatoes. Ice cream, numerous cakes, melon and oranges and apples




Evening meal was similar but in addition they would also have a hot plate outside offering more style of chicken or meat dishes. Ice cream cakes etc were also available.




I do eat mainly chicken and they did this in a huge variety of styles. so I was happy with the food. Plenty of it, as soon as a dish ran low they brought out more. Some folks had complained it was always cold, but I never found this




Our room faced onto the square and we started off on the 4th floor giving great views of the area and the sea. The rooms had a mini fridge, free air conditioning, hairdryer. We had a double bed as well as a single bed. Bathroom was large although the ones on the upper floors only had shower curtians. The ones on lower floors had a glass shower cubicle. Also had a TV however the only English channel was BBC world news Friends bar which can be noisy was nearby however once midnight came they switched the sound off and you could not hear a thing from there unlike our hotel, more of which later




Hotel and pool bar area was OK, around 60 sunbeds around the pool area and a further grassy area where you could put additional beds. Some morning however many of the beds had towels on them from silly oclock and no one would use them for most of the day. Most of those doing this were Brits. Pool is 1.6 m all round no shallow parts and a separete baby pool. Table tennis and pool table as well as a kids play area were round the back




DRINKS




Now Mrs smc4761 and I are not big drinkers. Typically we would have a diet cola in the morning, a drink with lunch, one in the afternoon, a couple with our meal at night followed by a further couple of drinks at night. At a quick guess this would have cost over £250. As I had only paid an extra £200 for the accomadation I certainly got my monies worth. Local gin, vodka, brandy raki as well as Efes, soft drinks tea and coffee were on offer and the measures generally were fine




Hotel staff worked very hard and put up with a lot from some of the guests. Many of the staff spoke little English, but were always polite helpful and courteous. Quick to clear tables and ensure dishes were always topped up with food




The hotel was around 60% Brits and 40% Russians. Now I had never really had any dealings with Russian guests before, but had heard a few stories about them and their behaviour on this and other forums. I know this is a generalisation but I am sad to report that what we have read about them is largely true. They have no concept of what a queue is, are very rude and demanding to Turkish staff. Some of them must have believed that the food was going ti run out and the amounts they would put on their plates at times was ridiculous. To be fair however they would at least usually eat all the food




One night I was walking back to my table with my food when Mrs smc 4761 stood up. Seeing me she asked if I could help a lady who had just fallen. This was around 8pm and I went to help this lady around 30 years old up. Along with her friend we got her to her feet however she was quite literrally legless. The smell of drink was overpowering from her. She gave me a great big hug, blessed me and her friend somehow got her out of the dining room. On their table however were still around 12 glasses of wine. I saw her a few nights later and she in a similar state




OUT AND ABOUT




Another of the reasons we decided to go AI was that generally when we go S/C we would spend the morning at the pool, go for a walk for something to eat then spend the last hour or so also at the pool. We do not like the beach so spending all day at the AI was not really that much djfferent




We noticed a few changes however. A few restaurants have gone, Captain Bullshots, although that has now relocated to where the SET was, and is now called YOLO, Melissa, next to Titanic is now a bag a gift shop, Cubana in the village has gone as well. The EGE restaurant has gone also replaced by a bag shop. There is now a Geordie fun pub next to LFC bar. Eddies bar seemed even larger again this year


There seemed a lot more tattoo places




When we walked about during the day the resort seemed very quiet and on some nights many of the restaurants were quiet yet on other nights they seemed very busy. Venice was busy but in years gone by it would be very almost full, not this year




The public areas of the beach did not look that great although the ones where you have sunbeds seemed fine




Speaking to some folks in the resort they advised that the 12 pm curfew was not being observed. The Gossip bar in particular was bad for this playing music until way past 2 am.




it was not until the last day that someone mentioned they had not seen any policemen at all this year and that was true




Spoke for a while with OZZY who used to have OZZYS restaurant in the village, what a lovely man he is. he is now out of the restaurant business and work in a bag shop just long from the DIA supermarket. He is once again enjoying life without the hassle and pressure




FOOD AND DRINK




We did eat out a few times and some places were offering good meal deals. tried a few places we had not been to before Harrys, which was good, The Aysima which was very good, their balloon bread and mezes were great. Also went to Tommys which I have praised previously. The food was OK, the service was good and his new place also looked really good. Last year I remember paying


17.5 lira for the set meal. This year it was 21.5 lira for the same deal a price rise of over 20 % since last year. Dont get me wrong that is still a good price, and I suppose he has to pay for the new work on his premises somehow. Nefis pide was also very good as was a small pide place we went to when we were in Marmaris




Our usual bar TIN TIN were selling Efes for 5 lira, most bars it is now 7 lira, vodka and mixer 7 lira most other places around 9 lira. TIN TIN also do a lovely latte, which is Mrs smc4761 favourite tipple was 6 lira




Boat Trip




As with Sue we normally go on the Panorama Prenses but decided to try another one. Booked the lazy day boat trip with Icmeler online. it was slightly more expensive at 30 lira but was well worth the extra. The boat was a small one with about 35 beds on top deck. However there were only 18 on the boat and 4 stayed downstairs so plenty of room. Music was on in the background but not loud. Food was beautiful salad bread pasta chiicken breast ( i got 3 of them) and meatballs. Drinks were 8 lira for a small beer, 2 lira for water and 5 for can of cola. Stopped for 4 swim breaks as well an hour in Turunc, a perfect day. As it was so quiet on the boat this for me beats the Panorama Premses




Highlight of the holiday for Mrs smc4761 was her usual manicure and pedicure on her first day at Istanbul who of course recognised her immediately. 2 blissful hours later she retuned floating on air. On the last day of the holiday she had opened something and chipped some of her nails. So she went back and got another manicure to tidy it up. They still spent ages with her and still only charged her half price




Market stall down by the canal were a little busier but still fairly quiet and lacked the atmosphere of the old ones




Vela hotel has a sister hotel the Verde, just behind the Aqua and you could use both hotels facilities. The Verde is the better of the 2 by far. Better laid out pool area and pool bar which is more inviting at night than the Vela one. Better dining room area as well




In my opinion who you meet on holiday can also make your holiday making a good holiday fantastic. In that respect we were very lucky. We preferred the Verde to sit at night and have a drink and for the first 2 nights we were there it was very quiet and we enjoyed or own company On the 3 rd night we met 2 couples who had been due to stay at Vela but due to a mix up they ended up in the Verde, lucky them. For the next 7 nights we were in their company and it was a pleasure to have met such lovely, friendly and people who were wonderful company. A huge thanks to Joe and Chris, Gerry and Angie, you really made our holiday




On the flip side some people in your hotel can also spoil the holiday for some. For the first nine nights, the Vela was busy but in the main it was couples aged arond 40 to 70. Now when we normally go at this time of year we stay at apartments in the Village and typically these are small apartments, maybe 20 people or in many cases less than that. As the Vela is an AI it has to be a bigger place and there were around 150 guests, so that took a little getting used to




After the 9th day the place changed quite dramatically. Numerous large family groups both British and Russian arrived with younger children, and older teens early 20 people as well up to around 15 people and the whole dynamic of the hotel changed. As there were large groups they felt the need to shout all of the time. I think some of them were on a mission to see if they could drink the bar dry as well. They seemed to take over large parts of the pool area and the dining area at meals. of course in the early hours at times they could be heard shouting, slammng doors in and out of each others rooms etc. As I said we go at this time of the year to avoid all of this, I am getting too old and need my beauty sleep, and generally it is older couples 50-70 that come. Even around the resort I found that there were quite a lot of younger people, 18-25 than normal, all permanently attached to either an I phone or I pad. Sorry if I have offended anyone this is simply my opinion and an observation




Someone had mentioned on a different forum that Icmeler was not as clean as normal especially at the start of May. I think it was not too bad but some areas did not look that great although it did improve towards the end of the holiday




One final moan was about the Rangers bar near to Rush. Now as I live in the west of Scotland I appreciate all the rivalry that exists between the 2 Glasgow football clubs. Walking past the Rangers bar one day and playing out quiet loudly was "The Sash". Not exactly traditional Turkish music or chart music and in some peoples eyes an offensive song. Did not bother me too much but I am sure a few folk later in the season may get offended by this. Dont think Icmeler as a family resort, this is really relevant




Right thats me off my high horse




THE RETURN




Picked up 10 minutes early in a small 14 seater mini bus and made great time to Dalaman. The queue however to check in was a joke. We arrived at 7.05 pm and finally checked in at 8.18pm.


Quick dash round Dalaman duty free where the prices were very good for cigarettes we dont smoke but have some friends that do,around £40 for 400 Richmond superkings




Flight took off on time and arrived back in Edinburgh 15 minutes early. But again 3 flights had arrived around same time and there were huge queues for passport control




IN CONCLUSION




AI or S/C is the question. The AI is great value I cannot fault that drinks alone make it cheaper. The food I found was good, obviously not as good as restaurants, but I enjoyed it although Mrs smc who is quite fussy did not like as much as me, although she still ate well




You really have to decide what is the most important aspect of you holiday and weigh up the pros and cons of both. As I am getting more and more like Victor Meldrew, the peace and quiet and the intimate atmosphere of the small S/C wins it for me over the larger hotels. Yes it works out more expensive than AI and I understand that for some big loud hotels are right for them, with lots of people and free drinks on demand, especially soft drinks if you have children, each to their own.




If I can afford to go next year depending on flight prices especially I will just have to save that bit harder to go S/C




Whenever and wherever you go this year enjoy yourselves and treat fellow holidaymakers and Turkish staff with respect and they will respect you. Happy holidays

[maryb]

fantastic review, thanks

[gerryrose]

Great review ,thanks for going to all that trouble Hope you had a wonderful time and will return.

[Roy]

Enjoyed your review thanks. Your wife went to Istanbul for the works & my wife is wondering if that's the one next to the Wayside? If not could you tell us where it is please, thanks.

[bobbysgirl]

Thoroughly enjoyed reading your review. It was very intresting and informative. Thanks for posting.

[sunlover loch lomond]

The Istanbul is the salon next to Wayside. I love it there and the family are so welcoming and no pressure to get anything done. I will be visiting for pedicure, manicure and hairdresser in the next couple of weeks.

[janeypoos]

Thanks for taking the time to post your review. It was very interesting and informative reading, I now know of a couple of more places to eat and drink at when we go next month

[iwanttogothere]

Appreciate the review. I'm a bit apprehensive now though. Me and hubby are staying at the Vela for 2 weeks from 17th June and although we appreciate that a large hotel will have many guests, I'm just a bit concerned that it will be too busy and full of very loud youngsters

In 2010 we went to Olu Deniz (Hotel Karbel) and for the first week it was nice and fairly peaceful but then during the second week we ended up with huge family groups virtually taking over the entire hotel - pool, dining room, bar. It really did change the holiday and not for the better. I hope that this doesn't happen this time. I guess we can always venture over to the Verde if it gets too loud and busy.

[sandybeach]

Great review hope others will follow your lead and write a review .
Sandy