Icmeler Love it or hate it

[Birdy]

Due to arrive Icmeler 29th of august ,and looking forward to the experience .However i do like to report on my return and be quite honest and blunt as to what i find during my stay.Earlier this year had 14 days in Egypt followed by a 14 night Cruise that called at Istanbul and Kusadasi ,It was because of this cruise that i changed my negative preconceived views of Turkey - Wrongly having a vision of Turkey as having low standards of cleanliness and amenities.During my recent visit to Turkey by way of Cruise i was staggered by the cleanliness and general hospitality i experienced whilst in Istanbul and Kusadasi.I only mention my recent trip to Egypt as a guage as to the types of holiday i normally experience, and i had an idea in my head that Turkey generally would be simiar to Egypt.Having monitored this forum for many weeks i am getting mixed messages ,Some of the concerns i have are to do with reports on the deterioration of Icmeler in regards of it becoming more and more like Marmaris / loud - cheesy - and tacky .I look forward to reporting on my return not only on here but several others eg Tripadvisor - Holiday truths etc.Stand by for my unbiased personal pinion.

[jonffs]

i look at it this way , i always stay in marmaris but its only a place to sleep as i dont go on hol for the nightlife i go to relax, there are soo many great places to visit around the coast its easy to get away from the hussle and bussle and find a nice peaceful beach i always end up in ciftlik (not sure if thats spelt right ) or turunc i think there is some thing for everyone just depends what your out there for ,
i have been to several other countries and none come close to the turkish people and there country in any way shape or form , as for egypt been there and tunisia and hated both rat infested places

just my opinion ... flame away

[weetoony]

Our first visit to Icmeler was in 2006 and we were very reluctant holidaymakers as the bombs went off in Marmaris two days after we had booked. We took the holiday mainly because it was cheap and cheerful and we were prepared to "rough it" in what we expected to be slightly better than a third world country.

We had done the whole Costas, Canaries, Algarve, Cancun, Cyprus, Greece etc package for twenty plus years and it had all become very much the same as you could easily transfer one resort form one country in to another and hardly notice the difference, apart from language.

As most do, we arrived in Icmeler in darkness and woke the next morning to find ourselves surrounded by pine clad hills, lots of open space and next to no high rise. This alone was an absolute delight and obviously we were up the valley beyond the old village.

We explored the resort down to the beach and found that the modern part of the resort was no different to all the others we had encountered across Europe and thought "here we go again" until we were introduced to the old village and its outstanding hospitality.

Very rarely do you get a chance to get involved in another country's culture when on holiday but Icmeler certainly gives you this in bucketloads. Our only drawback is, as Teuchters, we often find that the agricultural sounds and smells in the old village are inclined to make us temporarily homesick.

How many of the thousands who visit Icmeler every year have even seen the old village? Does the old village really want to be introduced to the swally lager, lager swally brigade? We hope not.

We sincerely hope that nothing has changed.

[Birdy]

It appears everyone is wary of giving a yes no answer to the Poll at the top of this page .should i take that as a yes ? as i know that most of you love Icmeler and are probably loathe to indicate its deterioration,or should i just make up my own mind.I feel pretty sure i will adore Icmeler for its scenery and climate lets see what else i can add in favour.

[chris jo and cory]

hey birdy................
we are over a week later than you..we fly out on 5th sept...........havent voted in the poll as its been two whole years since we visited.........and am looking forward to seeing if any changes have happened..........im sure you will enjoy your holiday though..........best thing about iclemer is it can be as active or as quiet as you want!
if the iclemarian way is too quiet for people...marmaris.(aka blackpool) is quite a contrast and only just down the road and easily accesable by dolmus or water taxi.
as an extra twist this year.we are taking our son........15 months old......so this will put a whole new slant on our holiday.........but we dont worry............weve seen how the locals act with kids and toddlers......and have no wrrys on that front!
ill look forward to your report..............as a first time visitor to this marvolous place............as im sure youll fall for the place in a big way as most folks on here have.............
btw..............where are you staying.............prehaps people can offer more local advice if they have stayed there?

[KarenH]

i have clicked no.......as i dont think it is on the deline at all.....

i agree it has changed, and some people may actually like that, a small bit of it has become a bit like marmaris with its very loud music.......whilst i cant stand that, i have to say its easy to go somewhere that doesnt have loud boom music playing, we never had a problem finding a nice bar/restaurant to sit in....

its the most friendliest place, and cleanest place i have ever been to .

[Jozzyd]

I havent voted yet because I havent been back yet, we fly tomorrow morning. Will vote when I come back. We went first time last year and did not see any Michael Jackson shows, bar shows or anything just the young lad at our apartments. The quiet life is there if you want it

[Birdy]

Staying at Ozay appartments in the old end ,going with two couples one of which as been to Icmeler many times ,it goes without saying they love the place but have said things are altering ,music getting louder etc.The other couple have not been to Turkey before.As said previously i was in Istanbul and Kusadasi earlier on in the year and if Icmeler is as clean and friendly, and relatively easy to find a peaceful spot to have a leisurely drink of an evening and some good food to be found then i will be happy.

[blondie]

I love Icmeler and honestly think it has something for everyone. Yes, there are bars with louder music, etc, but there are also plenty of quieter places and so on. I actually wondered if it would be too quiet for my 17-year-old daughter and her friend when we were there in June, but they loved it too- especially my daughter, who's now determined to get out and work there some day soon. I don't like Marmaris, I have to say - too busy and too tacky for me - but I can't really see Icmeler going the same way (at least, I sincerely hope not!).

[Laura_NI]

i originally went to icmeler in 2001.
i loved it. the weather was perfect and the atmosphere was amazing. i really really enjoyed it and that is why i have returned again and again. having said that, there have been many changes over the years. when i went originally there were mainly couples and families and it was really relaxed. last year i thought it had turned into a haven of underage drinkers and women on the lookout for holiday sex. it's quite disturbing to watch really. I do love icmeler as a place and i always will love it. a little bit of my heart will always be saved for icmeler and i will always return. but as the years have gone by i really struggle to remember the place i visited originally. its actually very sad. the friends i met originally are good people and i am still in touch with a few of them. so many other change year in year out it's hard to keep track which isnt so good either. I think if i were going now for the first time i might not be so taken.

[salford_steve]

For me I see no difference. I saw no one this year I could really say were acting badly, I still stand by what I have said many times on this forum, Icmeler attracts a better class of people than any other resort I have been to.

I still don't think Icmeler will change that much for a long time, for the simple reason lager louts who want to go drinking and clubbing all night are not going to choose icmeler because everywhere closes down at 12. You may get some lager louts that stumble accross it on a last minute deal, but I doubt they will return the year after because they will think it is boreing. However for the decent people like all of us on this forum, it's like paradise.

Steve

[chris jo and cory]

cant honestly say ive seen much of the old iclemer.much as im shamed to admit it!
must make the effort though this year..........we did get invited up to the old village a couple of years ago though.on an errand of mercy!
one of the guys working the bars got to know we were from doncaster.apparently hed spent time in donny and asked the wife if she could make yorkshire puddings.as he realy missed them and his wife and family had no idea what he was on about.....
the next day he picked us up from our apparments..called at tansas to get ingridients.then whisked us off to his home.
we had an absolute brilliant time with his whole family...........and left with the satisfaction that his wife now knew how to make.as he put it......the pudding of yorkshire....lol
as your freinds will tell you......do the boat trips............do the jeep safari(in old clothes.you wont get the dust out!)
if you do the market.be early....its gets hellish hot there after dinner!
feel free to pop into our appartment if you fancy a chinwag over a cold effes.were staying at the imperial...near tansas and behind the murdono chicken place.though i think the chicken place has changed names now!
we are there from the 5th

[fatblokecaver]

Yes it has - and in some parts for the worse.
We first came to Icmeler in 1995 and found paradise, it was quiet with a few large hotels but still Turkish enough.
Over the past 13 years we have watched parts slowly turn into the costas Turkish style.
The question is what do you go to Icmeler for? Is it fish and chips, english breakfast, sunday roast,to get p****d every night, curry on fridays, disco til dawn? Or is it to sample the delights offered by the Turkish way of life?We have travelled around Turkey and have seen the nice parts then come through Marmaris (blackpool abroad) and hope that Icmeler does not turn out the same way. It is going that way in some parts - it is only a matter of time until fatdonalds or bulge-erking arrives, when they do we will not go back.
If people want to drink all day party all night go to Marmaris and leave Icmeler the way it 'was'.
I will get off my soap box now.

FBC

[pickmepickme]

I too have voted yes, because as much as I love Icmeler I do believe that is is in slight decline at the moment although I do think it can rise again if the resort development is managed properly.

I have been travelling to Icmeler for 6 years now and love the place. i lived there for two years and spent 3 seasons working out there. In that time I have seen the resort grow massively and do believe that Icmeler has suffered as a consequence. I think that unfortunately the growth of Icmeler has been mismanaged and that it needs to slow down. The local government seem to think that by allowing lots of new bars etc pop up that it will increase income to the area, however all it does is spread similar numbers of customers across the resort more thinly. Resulting in bars etc making little or no profit and eventually this will lead to lack of improvement and a run down resort. Although this hasn't happened yet we do see year on year businesses changing owners as every new owner thinks they can be better than the old ones, businesses desperately vying for customers and the spread of noisy fun pubs selling every cuisine under the sun in a bid to please everyone.

There has also been a rise in cheap all inclusives packages which attract new customers who come to the hotel and hardly ever venture outside except to go to the beach or to the weekly market. They could be in Spain, Greece, Mexico or anywhere as the food is the same the pool is the same and its hot! They dont see any of the real turkey or its culture and for them its just another cheap get away.

Someone else also mentioned the increase in women coming to Turkey for sex, although I dont believe every single woman coming to turkey is looking for sex, I do know from my days as a rep that this is quite common and many of my customers would boast about having had sex with various men during there stay! They would then go home and tell there friends and they would come back with them the year after! Like I say not all women are like this but it certainly doesn't do Turkeys reputation any good.

I wont stop travelling to icmeler, not in the near future anyway as I know where to go to get a sense of the real turkey and I know many people there and still think of it as my favourite holiday destination. Maybe it was my time spent living there that took a bit of a shine off it to me but I do hope that the resort reverts back to having a bit more turkish charm and less of a blackpool feel to it.

Lea.

[Birdy]

It appears that all is not perfect in Icmeler but that is only to be expected ,it seems that there are just a few small issues that can easily be sorted by the locals should they wish.Do they want short term extra cash or long term stability ?.

[ALAN]

Icmeler still offers something for everyone , its your choice which restaurant /Bar you choose to go in. There are so many nice places to choose from and like anywhere there is the good and the not so good. If you get feed up with the lively loud ones why not head towards the Old Village where there are a good selection of restaurants that make you welcome, in a very nice location that cater for families and couples .
Icmeler still does it for me .

Al

[smc4761]

I have been a member of ths group and holidaytruths for about 4 years and log on on a regular basis to read the comments. I cannot believe how much opinions have changed inthe past few months. Previously there was rarely a bad work spoken about Icmeler, now there are many negative comments. I think that can be a good thing, Icmeler is great however there are some negative points, as with most resorrts. I beleive that the comments posted on here over the past few months are perhaps giving a truer reflection as to what people think of the resort

I am hoping to go on holiday during October for 2 weeks and I am hoping to go to Icmeler, my 4th time. However the cost of getting there, the ever dwindling exchange arte, 2.07TL to £ today, and even the cost in some restuarnts has made me think again. My wife and I dont drink a lot we like to go for a meal at night, then a couple of drink before we call it a day. Restautrants with a starter, main meal, 2 efes and 2 cokes plus tip is going to cost around 70TL, almost £35, these are typical prices I know you can get cheaper.

I have friends just back from Rhodes who advised that with the euro improving slighty over past few weeks, prices were similar if not cheaper than Icmeler. I appreciate that its not all about prices, but having been several times before is it time for a change?

[Birdy]

Has Icmeler gone down hill and Our last time in Icmeler. are similar to this thread in that they consist mainly of tourists claiming that their visit was marred in some way .Hope the people who can make the changes required to alleviate some if not all the problems do so ,it would be a shame if the resort was allowed to decline any further .

Over and out.

Icmeler people please heed the warning . ignore at peril.

[art deuchars]

If we british holiday makers think icmeler is going down hill, i.e. loutish behaviour,loud music , poor value for money and so on .
ask your self the question apart the very nice turkish/kurdish people what is probably the next bigest nationality in icmeler ,the brits so the loutish behavior comes from our own back yard , as for the loud music ,(in my opinion) the bar owners are only giving us what they think we want,and lets be honest it stops at 12 mid night after only 2hours. as for poor value for money I was in icmeler in july for 14 days never had a bad meal drink was priced ok no complaints there then. or is it just a case of the brits want every thing for nothing. Just remember the world is sliding in to recetion ,so every thing is geting more expensive, think about the average working turk dose he have £2500 to blast on 2 weeks in the sun DONT THINK SO.

[Birdy]

Points taken on board. Of course its Brits that undoubtedly are the main culprits in lowering the tone of anywhere they go ,I for one would like to avoid the people responsible and iam told that Icmeler is in the main visited by lovely specimens of the UK but as is the norm it is the minority who spoil it for the majority it is these who should not be encouraged by having tacky loud bars etc .As for being expensive i don't think it is at the moment but it is heading in the wrong direction ,the main cause again "brits" the clowns running the uk forcing down the value of the £ at an alarming rate of knots.I will be in Icmeler in 7 days time so will get to judge myself expensive or not - tacky or not .I do have very good expectations.