First Visit Review

[lisanige]

Having just returned I thought you might appreciate an honest and factual review.

Firstly your CURRENCY EXCHANGE, best rates are in Turkey, unquestionably, every shop restuarant and trader offered better rates than any money exchange either in the UK or the airports, (last week they were giving 2.57-2.60 TLR - £ ).

DUTY FREE,cheaper on flight if you want genuine,(Mayfair £10 for 200)Turkish shops have some cheaper cigs, but not genuine if that makes a difference to you.

ICMELER,a pleasant and panaramic setting,a flat valley village leading to the Sea front surrounded on three sides by forest filled mountains, small enough to walk around,with the old village back towards the mountains and the larger Hotels lining the beach.The beach is fine stone,has good views over the bay and to Marmaris at the other side,but unfortunately over packed with sun-beds (£1 each a day, rental from pestering hawkers).

MARMARIS,If you have come to Turkey to escape the naff cheesyness of Benidorm, then do not bother visiting Marmaris. Over-crowded even in June,tacky shops selling 'tat', replicated on every street, mainly T-shirts,bags and silver over and over again! The markets are the reverse of the UK, actually more exspensive than the shops for goods.Although the fruit and veg are very fresh and cheap.

ICMELER DAILY ACTIVITIES,Boat trips and Excursions, Many boat trips on offer,basically these take you to clearer waters for swimming (brochures will show snorkelling with all the equipment provided! didnt see any on any boat!!),bear-in-mind Dolphin Island has no Dolphins,Turtle Beach only gets Turtles in laying season (end of August then the area is restricted),the Caves! are not even peneterable as they are so small.Cleopatra Island is a 'nice' beach, no more no less!The ruins trips to EPHESUS,has a very early start, 06.30am as Icmeler is not close by any means, four hour journey!
And considering the economics of the country 90% of the trips are greatly over-priced.

DINING AND ENTERTAINMENT,Firstly the entertainment is sadly none exsistant,the 'shows' are merely the bar and waiting staff doing the same dance routine and steps to the same songs night after night,with the mentality of the louder the better!(although the saving grace is the law of having to stop dead-on midnight) and quite sadly and honestly 'performing chimps' is the best review phrase i can conjour up! The only true show is 'TALK OF THE TOWN' in Marmaris, a tired drag act from Yorkshire.
The dining,although extremely varied,(but like Spain still has 'all english breakfast and roast Sunday lunches ' everywhere!! can't undestand why people go abroad for these!!!),it is not of a high standard(with one or two exceptions,i will not name as maybe not affiliated to this site) or exceptionally cheap, being around £8-£10 for a meal,bearing in mind the quality,having had a T-Bone one night for £10 i would only rate it 5/10.The Turkish meals (usually £6-£8) of mainly Kebab meats are ok but again represent no value given the economics of the country.The drinks are exspensive if you vie away from the local beer 'EFES', an over carbonated larger of bland taste,being approx.£1-£1.40 a pint.Most alcoholic drinks with a mixer are £3-£4.( I say due to the econocmics of the country as you have to bear in mind the average wage is only about 20% of the UK at best!). However the service is excellent, sometimes over the top but nethertheless impressive.English is spoken everywhere even when attempting to speak Turkish, although that was greatly appreciated they would want to reply in english.

TRAVELLING,The best way is by 'Dolmus' local minibuses, with orange markings for Icmeler, and @ 1.75TLR ( .70p), set fare so good value, just wave them down along main roads, as Taxis are even more exspensive than in UK.Car hire would be at your discretion as the roads have no markings and the highway code has not reached Turkey yet!

OUR HOTEL REVIEW-ALINDA, Trade description!!!!!! By no means an Hotel,HOSTEL is the nearest word to describe it,no facilities,Take-away, Drug store, Confectionary shop were all permanetly closed.'Pool-Bar' was a counter against the wall where all drinks,consisting of-very poor lager,gin or vodka only with orange or lemonade and cheap coffee or tea, served in tiny beakers, when returning for fill-ups within a few minutes given looks as if to say 'how greedy are you'!! Restuarant..it is not!! It is a food hall at best,meals are stewed veg,pasta and usually cheap hamballs (not meatballs),salad(large selection) and bread,cheese and one sliced meat,no variation breakfast lunch and dinner same format.
Many guests demanding move on arrival.Mainly occupied by Russians, whom i can only attribute their seculded lifestyles and limited travel experiences from the past,severally lack any form of social skills what so ever.Situated right above and next to, three of the 'the louder I play it the better it must be' bars!

but worst experience of all DALAMAN AIRPORT, only one word will descibre this place (or is it two)... RIP-OFF... £9 for burger and fries @ McDonalds......£6 a pint,.....£3.50 can of coke,....£3.50 small coffee,....be perpared take a pack-up for your return!!!

SUMMARY, Good service,very friendly people however un-genuine it maybe!nice surroundings,good weather,varied cuisine.Still pestered by hasslers,best to totally ignore them on first night they get the message!Very bad-mannered and un-english like i know but you will understand come the second night!
But overall no reason to pay the same money and fly for twice as long when Spain and the Belearics have more to offer, with better value and more varied entertainment, activities and quality.Would i go back....NO

[hamish1966]

:lol say what you mean dont beat around the bush !
whilst i think you have some valid points i think that you may not have had the best holiday in icmeler. i to like spain however little icmeler has a charm about it that is inchanting i will return to icmeler this year and i am truely looking forward to it. i hope your next holiday is a better one wherever it may be thanks for your informitive post
mark

[Colette]

Well for every one of your negative points I can find you members who will give you two good points.

I take it you won't find the need to remain here then?

And considering the economics of the country 90% of the trips are greatly over-priced.

Maybe one of out ICR Team could comment on this~?

Why would a hotel have a take away in it?

Thank you for the review and we wish you well where ever you go in the future.

[JT]

A good and honest review from your own personal preferences and if we were all the same ( I have no taste for Spain myself as looking at pigs legs hanging in bars or raw bacon thrust at me in bars is not for me ) then the world would be really boring.

We do not sell food or drinks via our forums or websites so by all means go ahead and name the places that you went to so the other members can learn from your experiences

[Norman]

Hi LisaNige,
You were probably in the Alinda the same week as we were, and I must agree it was quite basic, but having said that in this world you get what you pay for. We booked on a last minute basis and paid £128 for 1 week. We found it OK and very clean. Rooms were cleaned every day, sheets/towels were changed every day. It never said in the info we received that there would be snacks during the day and also didn't get any drinks after 11pm. It didn't matter to us as we were out every night visiting the many freinds we have in Icmeler, who by the way are not false, who also keep in touch and always remember names. I must admit the Rusian and Eastern European People do nothing to endear themselves to other Europeans but I did not find them in anyway offensive, they keep themselves to themselves. Maybe try to speak to them in what little Russian you have picked over the years could help in some ways, often works in most countries.
I see from your review that you will more than likely not return to Icmeler, maybe another Turkish resort would suit you better, or maybe not. But anyway thanks for the review

[bec]

wow...didnt think i was really reading about Icmeler then..and picking Spain over it!
But everyone is entitled to their own opinion and everyones tastes are different.

After 3visits to Icmeler last year i went to Tenerife and i hated it.In our hotel nobody spoke to us at all,the hassling in Icmeler is non exsistent compared to the touts they have preying on the street corners.Would never go back and went for another week to Icmeler once returning home.

Regarding the boat trips i thought we actually got value for money and considering on some you are out for most of the day they are well worth it.
The bars-non exsistence shows?..what bars did you go to,most bars i know have at least breakdancers,belldancers and the stella show is an act in itself.

But this is your opinion probably many will beg to differ but i hope you enjoy your future holidays.

[Rami Off Work]

I loved reading it! I really did !!! BUT I only have one question,

And considering the economics of the country 90% of the trips are greatly over-priced

Over prices compared to which country at which economical level? Mexico? Ukraine? Czech? Thailand? Romania? Well been there and done that and we are still cheaper.( check Excusrions page on our site if you dont believe me.) Just because the economical state of Turkey is not as good as some European countries, what are they suppose to do, give things away for free and have worse economy?

And one more thing, this forum is not British only nor is Icmeler or Turkey so please refer from stereotyping other nation's citizens.

Thank you for your post in anycase. Got us talking now:)
Rami
ICR

[Sue]

besides bulgaria as I have property there, I would not go anywhere else other than Icmeler, we have thought about straying to Olu Deniz but at the last minute icmeler always wins hands down

[Neets36]

Each to their own really - personally, I'm with Admin, Spain isnt for me, i find it dirty and in my opinion (and I'm entitled to it) its not a patch on Icmeler but then if we were all the same it wouldnt do would it?

Hope your next holiday is more pleasant than you feel this one has been (in your opinion of course).

[janey1]

We found Icmeler 4 years ago and we look forward to going back there each year.

We did try somewhere else this year, Bulgaria. Yes we had a nice time, but it was not Icmeler and we can't wait until August to spend two lovely weeks there.

Everyone to there own opinion, however I also agree I do not understand how you can possibly compare Icmeler to Spain. Thankfully it is nothing like Spain which is why we return there year after year.

Hope you have a better holiday in Spain.

[tinkerbelle]

Icmeler comes out best for us. We have been to Belek, Olu Deniz and Gumbet and many other places in the world.
As for Spain it doesn't even come close but that is your personal opinion. I would also like to know which restaurants you went to.
As John wrote it would be a very boring world if we all only wanted to go to the same place.
Margaret

[Jula]

Thanks for the review,sounds like you won't go back to Icmeler?!

I've been going to Turkey since 1993,did have a break and tried a few other countries but have ended up back in Turkey for last couple of years, this year will be my first time in Icmeler and despite reading your review i am really looking forward to it,most people i know return to Turkey year after year,obviously Turkey just wasn't for you,and like someone said each to their own.

[redrhino12]

Thank you for posting your review on your experiences and findings.
It doesnt do for us all to like the same things and I wish you well on your travels.

Gene

[clare]

I cannot believe that you think Icmeler is like that, I find the people really friendly and they are certainly not false they are just kind and nice people. With regard to the food I think you have a very good choice of foods at reasonable prices. I think you must have gone around with your eyes shut most of the time as most of the bars had entertainment and I am sure they do not do the same performace night after night.

I cannot believe you have slated Icmeler the way you have, I know we all have different opinions but surely you cannot hate it as much as you make out.

We all love Icmeler on this forum and will not let people pull it down.

August here I come

[lisanige]

For all that replied, firstly i have in no-way 'slated' Icmeler purely given facts. References to Spain, no particular preference of mine, however common sense will tell you that Turkeys' new customers are people mainly looking for an alternative to Spain,hence the comparisions.I am wordly travelled not just Spain..All over the USA,Carribean,Scandinavia and almost every country in Europe,as well as having lived in central Europe for seven years,so i certainly do not 'walk around with my eyes shut'.And do not forget this is MY view and opinions, no-where do i comment on individual bars/restaraunts as i am fully aware each to their own as we all have varied tastes and expectations and thought that maybe a little honesty could be taken for what it is and viewed accordingly!!
Snide remarks hardly offer a valid point of discussion do they?

[JT]

Lisanige you as everyone else on here is allowed their own opinions and please everyone do not make this out to be a witch hunt.

I like to see everyone opinion on things and without any nastiness

[cassie]

uh spain let me think! straw hats donkeys lager louts high rise hotels spanish flu spanish tum hassle from timeshare touts bimbos wearing next to nothing throwing up in the gutter british bars ect ect give me icmeler every time !

[skilly]

Wow, did you expect such a reaction, Lisanige? I've always said you either love or hate Turkey and everyone is entitled to their views but I have yet to find a forum as passionate about a place as this one!
I am one of those.
We went to Ephesus on a 2 day trip a few years ago and paid £30 per head, I must say it was the best value for money we have ever paid, it was unforgettable.
We also have tried other holidays, Spain included and have never found a place so 'warm' & welcoming year after year .
I love it so much, and my dream is to win the lottery and take all my family with me to prove to them once and for all what I am saying is true.
Thanks for a frank & honest review but I am sorry that you didn't see the beauty that is Icmeler

[keznel]

" Entertainment non existant" Have you ever even been to Icmeler?As for the waiting staff ,they`re more polite ,curtious ,efficient , oh and entertaining than i`ve ever seen in Spain or here in England for that matter.Then there `s "expensive trips" as opposed to what? A bus ride to town? Tell me where else you would get a full days boat trip with as much as you can eat or drink for between £15-£25 per person?."Highway code not reached Turkey yet" Who the **** cares , i personally do n`t go on holiday to see other versions of the highway code, and i suppose riding up and down pavements on scooters as in Spain is acceptable then is it?I go to Turkey to see and experience Turkey not to compare it to every other place.As for this comment " best to totally ignore them on first night" it just shows the type of person you are.Sorry but people like you make me ashamed to be English.Stick to Skegness

[Norman]

Most of us are worldly travelled, for me in particular I have been to every country in Europe, including most of the greek islands,Turkey (7 times)the USA, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, Africa, South Africa, South America etc, etc. I for one do not think for one moment that the new people coming to Turkey are looking for an alternative to Spain but more than likely quite the opposite. I have also visited all of those countries mentioned more than once, 2 or 3 times in some instances. Everone is entitled to their opinion but I for one think that this forum is not the one for very negative and not very factual comments about a country and people that we all like.
Hope your next holiday in whatever country you choose to visit is more enjoyable as this one was clearly not.