First timers review
Posted: 30 Jun 2009 18:39We returned from our first ever visit to Icmeler in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Our Onur Air flight touched down in Dalaman on time at 5:15pm and after collecting our luggage we made our way to the exit and were greeted by the ICR representative and were on our way to Icmeler by 6 o’clock. A forty five minute turnaround was a good start to the holiday!
The private transfer took an hour and a half and was longer than expected but was well worth the money. The transfer gave us our first chance to have a look at the country and the first thing that struck me about Turkey was how green it was. I’d been to the Bodrum area about 10 years earlier but had little recollection of the trip, so was pleasantly surprised to find it was much less barren than I’d imagined.
After a comfortable journey we arrived at The Faber Apartments situated towards the back of the resort close to the old village. I understand that these are not an ICR property so won’t rave about them too much! I do have to say however that we were very impressed with all aspects of the accommodation, from the lovely modern clean rooms, to the good sized pool, to the friendly bar staff.
Our first night was spent getting our bearings, as were our second and third nights! Icmeler was a much bigger resort than I’d imagined (seemingly with a bar or restaurant on every corner) but by day four I’d cracked it and was actually giving directions out to other holidaymakers.
Our days were mainly spent round the pool as my girlfriend wasn’t a huge fan of the rough Icmeler sand. We had an enjoyable day at the Atlantis water park, we did the Icmeler to Marmaris coastal walk (although cheated by hiring bikes), we spent a morning visiting Marmaris old town and the castle, and spent a relaxing afternoon in Turunc. We had planned on doing other trips but simply didn’t get round to it. Maybe next time.
Each night started in one of the many fantastic restaurants around the resort. I’d done some research prior to the trip and have to say the advice given on here was top class. We wanted actual restaurants to eat in and relax with nice quiet background music, rather than lively fun pubs serving food. We opted for Ozzys, Selam, Wayside, Lighthouse, Florida, Chef and Cupids all of which were superb with Selam and Wayside probably the pick of the bunch.
Our meal was normally followed by a visit to a bar or two with Bamboo, Wonderboys and No Name Bar being frequented on our more lively nights and more reserved places like The Sports Bar visited when we were looking to have a quieter night. We even had a night in Marmaris preferring Long Beach to Bar Street, but were not particular fans of either.
On reflection we were pleased with our decision in choosing accommodation in the old village as we liked the quieter atmosphere and more relaxed pace - I’ve never crossed the road with as many chickens in all my life.
There were many highlights to our trip : the friendly characters we met in the bars, the value for money, the weather, the water taxis, the superb restaurants, the Dolmus’, the choice of bars, the location and beauty of Icmeler with the lovely mountain backdrop, canal all lit up at night etc.
Downsides : the hassle, which although always done in a friendly manner, did get a bit tiresome after a while, the price of drinks on Bar Street, the three hour delay on the British Midlands flight home. Thats about it.
All in all a fantastic week and we’ll definitely be returning one day hopefully sooner rather than later. We’ve got a taste for Turkey now so are trying Oludeniz in September. Hope its as good as Icmeler - its got a lot to live up to.
Our Onur Air flight touched down in Dalaman on time at 5:15pm and after collecting our luggage we made our way to the exit and were greeted by the ICR representative and were on our way to Icmeler by 6 o’clock. A forty five minute turnaround was a good start to the holiday!
The private transfer took an hour and a half and was longer than expected but was well worth the money. The transfer gave us our first chance to have a look at the country and the first thing that struck me about Turkey was how green it was. I’d been to the Bodrum area about 10 years earlier but had little recollection of the trip, so was pleasantly surprised to find it was much less barren than I’d imagined.
After a comfortable journey we arrived at The Faber Apartments situated towards the back of the resort close to the old village. I understand that these are not an ICR property so won’t rave about them too much! I do have to say however that we were very impressed with all aspects of the accommodation, from the lovely modern clean rooms, to the good sized pool, to the friendly bar staff.
Our first night was spent getting our bearings, as were our second and third nights! Icmeler was a much bigger resort than I’d imagined (seemingly with a bar or restaurant on every corner) but by day four I’d cracked it and was actually giving directions out to other holidaymakers.
Our days were mainly spent round the pool as my girlfriend wasn’t a huge fan of the rough Icmeler sand. We had an enjoyable day at the Atlantis water park, we did the Icmeler to Marmaris coastal walk (although cheated by hiring bikes), we spent a morning visiting Marmaris old town and the castle, and spent a relaxing afternoon in Turunc. We had planned on doing other trips but simply didn’t get round to it. Maybe next time.
Each night started in one of the many fantastic restaurants around the resort. I’d done some research prior to the trip and have to say the advice given on here was top class. We wanted actual restaurants to eat in and relax with nice quiet background music, rather than lively fun pubs serving food. We opted for Ozzys, Selam, Wayside, Lighthouse, Florida, Chef and Cupids all of which were superb with Selam and Wayside probably the pick of the bunch.
Our meal was normally followed by a visit to a bar or two with Bamboo, Wonderboys and No Name Bar being frequented on our more lively nights and more reserved places like The Sports Bar visited when we were looking to have a quieter night. We even had a night in Marmaris preferring Long Beach to Bar Street, but were not particular fans of either.
On reflection we were pleased with our decision in choosing accommodation in the old village as we liked the quieter atmosphere and more relaxed pace - I’ve never crossed the road with as many chickens in all my life.
There were many highlights to our trip : the friendly characters we met in the bars, the value for money, the weather, the water taxis, the superb restaurants, the Dolmus’, the choice of bars, the location and beauty of Icmeler with the lovely mountain backdrop, canal all lit up at night etc.
Downsides : the hassle, which although always done in a friendly manner, did get a bit tiresome after a while, the price of drinks on Bar Street, the three hour delay on the British Midlands flight home. Thats about it.
All in all a fantastic week and we’ll definitely be returning one day hopefully sooner rather than later. We’ve got a taste for Turkey now so are trying Oludeniz in September. Hope its as good as Icmeler - its got a lot to live up to.