love affair well and trully over

by **Harrishawk** » 26 Oct 2012 15:50

Hi
Great post Susan these sort of problems seem to be happening more and more
We too have been to a few different parts of turkey but always considered icmeler the best until this year
In the past if you didnt want to run the gauntlet of getting past the hasslers you could just have a quiet night at your apartment bar but that wasnt much better for us this year even the head barman was constantly on peoples backs and like yourselves we had extras added to our bills
We didnt feel as if we could relax as it was a constant battle arguing about things on our bill we never had
I never ever thought that we would fall out with icmeler but thats what seems to have happened and very much dought if we will return in the future
But as the saying goes never say never
Would be good if Loz would explain what happened
Cheers

and frantically saving for a trip to see our daughter in Australia.

Anyhoo. We will return, possibly in May/June 2013 depending on late deals and the recession being truly over..
JT, I will be in touch for quotes after crimbo.

But after that boring intro, I will say that when we stayed in 2009 we had a great time and experienced little or no problems as mentioned in this thread. Our friends have been since and while they say prices have inevitably risen (Where haven't they) they are still very much pro Icmeler.

We stayed self catering and paid for meals and drinks as we had them in the apartment bar, settling up each evening, so no nasty shocks at the end of the holiday. The staff weren't offended.

All you have to do is tell them you are on a budget so you are paying for each round of drinks as you have them.

Simples!

If you think Icmeler has problems, then don't go to Kusadasi...Hassle everywhere!

by **Canli** » 26 Oct 2012 19:08

We've been going to Icmeler for quite a few years now, and although we do try new places, we tend to stick to the tried and tested ones, but on our recent visit we realised that nothing stays the same, and changes need to be made. The apartments we've used for the last 2 years for example. It's in a residential area on the edge of the old village, so pretty quiet, or used to be. We went back early one night with the intention of having a few drinks in the bar, only to be met by the music pounding out before we got to the end of the street. There were only a handful of people in the bar and when we told the staff the music was too loud, they offered to put a table outside for us. They'd have had to put it at least half a mile away to be able to hear ourselves think! While we were shouting at the staff over the noise, a lady came down and said her family were trying to have a conversation on their balcony and couldn't hear themselves, so could they turn the music down please. One of the staff spoke to the DJ, who is also the owner of the apartments, and his reply was, it wasn't that loud, and he didn't turn it down at all. We went elsewhere until after 12, when the music has to go off. We spoke to several people over the 2 weeks who had also complained, but it continued all the time we were there. Most nights, the bar was empty. After that night, the only staff speaking to us were reception and the cleaners. The bar staff ignored us completely. Needless to say, we won't be going back, nor will a lot of other people who were regulars. We went and looked at a few other apartments while we were there, and will try one of them next time.
One of our favourite restaurants also fell far short of the usual standards. We were told the owner has cut back on staff, and it shows. The food is still very good, but the service was very poor, and the entertainment, for which they were well known, non existant. Again, people were going elsewhere.
On the plus side, we were pleasantly surprised when we tried a restaurant where we had a very poor meal a couple of years ago. We only went in because a friend of ours was working there now, and we ended up in there on 3 ocassions, and the food and service were excellent. They also called us in for a coffee when we passed on our way back to the apartments at night.
On our last day we wanted a late afternoon meal close to the apartments before leaving, and the only one open was just round the corner. Once again we were surprised by the standards of what looked like a very basic restaurant. We'll be calling in there again when we go back.
So, although we were disappointed with some of our old favourites, we've found some new places to go, made many new friends, and can't wait to go back.

by **majie** » 27 Oct 2012 06:33

Your post proves that they dont play the music for the guests, they play it for themselves. We stayed at Club Aquarium a few years ago, they are very nice apartments at the back of the resort. Whilst laying round the pool the same old music from from years ago was playing on a loop very very loudly round the pool. everyone round the pool (all ages) complained so i asked them to turn it down. they did for 30 mins then it was off again.... result... never booked there again. the racket from the restaurants all trying to out do each other music wise is appalling, but still it goes on.

by **Canli** » 27 Oct 2012 08:23

We spent a lot of time talking to bar owners trying to explain to them that they have to cater for their customers, eg, if they have mostly older people in, they don't want loud music, whereas the youngsters do. They just don't get it. They seem to think everyone wants banging music from 8am till midnight. We came to the conclusion they play the music full volume to make it appear the bar is busy, even if there's no one in. They themselves don't even notice it. They can have several tvs on full blast as well, all showing different programmes. We actually met one young waiter who works in a kareoke bar and he told us the constant noise drove him mad. He just wanted peace and quiet. As soon as the boss left, he turned everything off and sat and chatted to us. When the boss came back, the TV went on immediately. We've often prayed for a power cut!

by **chrada** » 27 Oct 2012 09:01

I don't post much but I feel left out, I go to Icmeler twice a year, not once have I been hassled, and I am an oap, and waiters don't fawn over me. Booked for next May, waiting for flights for September. Love Turkey, especially Icmeler.