We chose All-Inclusive for our accommodation at the Gold Island Hotel (Alanya, Antalya, Turkey) for 7 days in mid May and it truly was all-inclusive. The rooms were excellent and well maintained throughout our stay. The hotel was marvellous with luxourious furnishings and I had an excellent view over the beach/sea from the ‘Globe’ part of the hotel. My son and his partner stayed in the annexe part of the hotel as they wanted a jaccusi! Their room and facilities were just as good however; they also had a sea view, and the adult only pool (with plenty of sunbeds and umbrellas) & snack bar (which we used every lunchtime) were close by. We found as along as we had the AI bracelet we could use any part of the hotel. The staff in all parts of the hotel were very friendly, helpful and went above and beyond to make our stay enjoyable.
The food was very varied, tasty and well cooked – the buffets were “help yourself” and “as much as you can eat”.
We ate breakfast and evening meals in the main hotel but these were also available in the annexe. I should mention the two or three patisseres, ice-cream stalls and barbecues dotted around the hotel – we had to call a halt to these half way through the holiday for fear of having to buy a new wardrobe of clothes! The mini fridge/bar in each room was full of free soft drinks; at least 5 large bottles (any further had to be paid for but I didnt need to) and water was freely available for the whole of the holiday.
Believe me this was a major plus in the heat (30 deg C +) as we have been on other all-inclusive holidays where we have had to buy, and carry back to the hotel, any water!
They also had on-site entertainment every night (the Arena) which was excellent and there was a bar (The Blue Bar) separate from the main part of the hotel where there was live music every night. I’m young at heart (due to retire next year, hopefully) and my travelling companions are in their 30 so we really enjoyed this but appreciate its not for everyone. We did spend part of each evening in the main bar in the hotel (open 24/7) where it was quieter and you could sit and have a drink and have a chat, play cards or people-watch.
We didnt take advantage of them but for anyone wanting a bit of on-site activity their were gyms, saunas, massages, indoor swimming pools etc available. We did take a wander around and they all looked clean, modern and well-equipped.
The hotel also catered for children – we didnt see many as it was in term time – the beach was close by and there was a pool with activities and also an activity area behind the beach but as these were separate we found we were not bothered by alot of noise etc from any children and those we did see were certainly enjoying themselves.
The hotel foyer opened up to a Library (quiet time and boks for reading of course) a large seating area, the main bar, a patissere (where you could also help yourself to coffee and soft drinks) and a selection of shops down one side. There were two sets of two lifts either side the foyer to the floors/rooms above the foyer which were large enough for wheelchairs and I think everywhere else was accessible being on the ground – the Blue Bar had a ramp next to the steps and all other areas were on the flat ground (but I did not actually see any wheelchair users at the time). We were provided with a map of the hotel and its facilities which we found very helpful as the site covered a large area. I dont think we managed to see everything. We had a late flight back home and they let us store our luggage in a meeting room off the main foyer which was very helpful but you could extend the vacation time (at a charge) for your room (normally 12 noon) if you requested this on arrival and if the room was to be empty.
Because the shops were in the hotel we decided to take a look and this is the only downside we found – being typically english – they do a ‘hard sell’ and its difficult to avoid them once you interact. Also between the main hotel and the annexe there was a row of shops and a ‘travel/tour/excursion’ agent; and again they would ‘hard sell’ after approaching you in the ‘street’. We found being friendly but firm and not making eye contact worked!
We did go through a ‘package holiday’ with a british travel agent – and that’s another story but I would say here that if we had known about the ‘hard sell’ approach in Turkey we would have been very careful of the excursions we booked – and they advised us not to use local agents! We went on an excursion to see three natural waterfalls which was very enjoyable – although this was done through a local tour company the british package holiday company sold it to us (very reasonably priced) – but this was intercepted by stops at a jewellry shop and clothes emporium where again it was spoilt by very ‘hard selling’. That was just one day though..
Overall we enjoyed our holiday, and now with the experience would go back again but well prepared 🙂