Lalila Blue Suites 5 Star

Stayed here for one week with my boyfriend. The hotel was a lot smaller than expected with little space to relax around the hotel. The furnishings around the hotel were great quality however, the facilities were very limited and didn’t give much of a luxury feel. Location wise it was set in a busy area so there was plenty to do outside and lots of food places to eat. Entertainment in the evening wasn’t great. The restaurant food was very limited, more repetitive than most all inclusive I’ve been to and there was a serious lack food labelling. We luckily didn’t have any allergies but if you did, the hotel definitely wouldn’t be a safe place to eat. The room was very basic and there was a £25 a charge a week to use the safe in the room. We were also only allowed one key to the room and was told it was for security reasons which was very frustrating as it meant we couldn’t charge anything unless we were in the room and made it difficult for one of us to pop back.

We have just had a great week at Lalila Blue Suites, it was our 4th time staying at this hotel and we cannot fault it. We paid extra for the swim up room and love the privacy this gives. Our room was immaculate as always and all the staff were friendly. This hotel is in a great location and would highly recommend staying here if you are looking for a quiet and relaxing holiday. We have already booked for next year and cannot not wait to return.

We had three double rooms between the family, one with a pool view and the other two with a side street view. When we got there, one was a disability adapted room which was disappointing as it seemed to not be as modern as the other rooms. Thankfully, the staff managed to swap this room for a regular room the next day which we should have had upon arrival anyway, regardless of whether the hotel was full or not, since that is what we booked. All our rooms were modern, beds were very comfortable with soft mattresses, aircon was great, mini fridge in the room and the bathrooms were all very modern. The cleaners came in regularly as well which was good. There was a significant charge applicable to use the safe so I just ended up putting valuables in my suitcase and locking it that way. Unfortunately, one afternoon I did get back to my room after the cleaners had been to find the door unlocked and someone had tried opening my suitcase as the code was set to 000 but thankfully it was a custom set code. Trying to report this attempted theft to the staff was a nightmare due to lack of English skills, they thought I wanted the doorman to bring my suitcase down. If you are unlucky enough to be on the non-pool view side of the hotel, your bedtime will be after midnight every night because the music from the adjacent restaurant (Ledbury steak restaurant) is ridiculously loud up until midnight and will keep you up unless you bring very good ear plugs. The food was very good and typical of a Turkish all inclusive hotel, so many things to choose from, breads, cheeses, salads, meats, so many deserts although was a little samey each day. Hot food is also available pretty much all afternoon from the pool bar area (pizza, chicken nuggets, burgers, chips, salads etc.). Dinner starts at 7pm, if you get there around 7.30pm we found there were no tables available for a while. Drinks on the other hand were a little disappointing, not many cocktails on offer and the ones we tried were not the best. If you wanted an iced coffee you had to go and get two separate espressos from the self service machine, wait in the bar queue and hand them to the barman to make it. Coffees from the machine were also terrible. With regards to the pool area, yes you have to reserve sunbeds if you plan on being by the pool for the day, got there around 7am each morning and there were plenty available to reserve, 7am to 8am seems to be when everyone comes to reserve the beds but it's not manic. The pool is quite small and very shallow. There are only two stepladders on either side to get in - it would be beneficial for the hotel to install some proper steps so people can walk in, especially the elderly and disabled. There's also an indoor pool which is nice to use during the day when the small outdoor pool gets packed, and there is a sauna and steam room which you can use as well. Around the poolside, it is extremely slippery, we witnessed multiple falls every day and had some near misses ourselves, someone is going to get seriously hurt one day around that pool. Evening entertainment was shockingly bad for a 4 or 5 star hotel, it appears that this is where the hotel saves money because it really was not good at all. Day time entertainment consisted of darts in the morning, a quick session of aqua aerobics and then water polo in the afternoon, albeit in the very confined pool space. Staff were very friendly and attentive, most of them had basic broken English skills but not enough to hold proper conversations - this is not a criticism as I know it's not an English speaking country although other hotels I've stayed at in Turkey did have exceptional language skills. Overall, despite the things I've mentioned I think it still deserves a 4 star rating as its a nice hotel in quite a built up area so evidently some things are unavoidable. For families with young children I'd recommend avoiding this hotel as it was mostly adults and there are probably other better hotels that are more suitable for families.

I believe in giving an honest review as that's how I find good places to visit. Hotel very clean, food very good. Staff really pleasant and helpful. Pool area small and although there is notices asking people not to save sunbeds when we first arrived at 5.30am people were out putting towels on them. I wouldn't like to see the hotel at full capacity as there wouldn't be enough sunbeds or tables/chairs for evening entertainment. To end on a positive note the Spa in the hotel was one of the best Spa experiences I've ever had.