Infinity Beach Alanya

The Mediterranean food was a highlight, and the cats in the lobby gave the place a warm feel. Staff weren’t fluent in English, but they greeted guests with smiles and seemed genuinely willing to help. The room was clean, though noticeably damp, and the air conditioning didn’t cool it well. I also felt it brought on a persistent cough. Communicating was sometimes difficult because of the language barrier. The nearby beach is hilly and poorly maintained, so it didn’t seem suitable for children. There was also an unpleasant smell from a nearby sewer. I stayed recently at Infinity Beach Hotel in Alanya. It’s a budget hotel with some charm, but guests should know about these drawbacks when setting their expectations.

The beach was about a three-minute walk away, with sunbeds and umbrellas, though there weren’t enough for the number of guests and you had to be lucky to get one. It’s a narrow, small beach with fine sand and pebbles where you enter the sea. The rooms were clean, but bedding was changed only once during our stay. The cleaner came in even when we said no, including while we were sleeping. Bring your own toiletries if you don’t want to use dish detergent to shower. Despite the solar panels, there was never hot water. When I called the front desk after returning from the beach and finding no hot water, nobody answered, but somehow the water was hot again. Meals were a real disappointment. The food was bland and spicy, not hot, and everything was spicy. The fish was bitter and dirty with raw potatoes, the pasta was soggy with vegetable oil, and the soups tasted sour and bad. Bread and chai were the only good things. At the pool bar I saw cockroaches, and cake time meant dry, salty biscuits. There were 15 cats around, eating where people ate and using the hotel shops as their bathroom. The smell was nasty. They threw up in places, and staff didn’t clean it right away. When we first entered the hotel, the smell was so bad we had to hold our breath to get to the elevators. I was also disgusted by cats climbing onto tables while we ate. Waiters rushed us, taking plates if we paused for five seconds, and sometimes before we’d finished. This was a long-awaited holiday at a hotel listed as four stars, but I wouldn’t even give it three. We’re not picky, but we were very disappointed. We’d never recommend it to anyone who doesn’t want the same experience. Thanks for your time and patience, and sorry this is so long.

The hotel is in a great location, and the beach is very close, though the beach bar used the same machine as the hotel. The bartender was really friendly. The general manager and an older employee were helpful when we asked about activities nearby. The language barrier was frustrating. Some staff couldn’t communicate well in English, so even simple requests took a long time. The hotel’s condition and service felt more like three stars than the four it claims. At night only three stars were lit up, perhaps because it used to be a four-star hotel but isn’t anymore. The alcoholic drinks were good, especially the beer. The juices were powdered mix and water, and be careful, they put hose water in the beach bar machine. The coffee machine listed lots of choices but really offered only a few, and drinks came in cheap plastic cups. The food was good but repetitive. The Turkish bath and spa weren’t operating, which was a big letdown. The elevator kept malfunctioning, and the mini fridge stayed warm because the room only had electricity when the key was inserted. For a hotel calling itself four-star, these problems give the impression that saving money mattered more than guest comfort.

The hotel’s location is good, with lots of things nearby. But breakfast, lunch, and dinner were a struggle because guests filled plates and packed food into bags to take to their rooms, so sometimes there was nothing left to eat. I was there with friends and family in Alanya a month ago. Reception staff didn’t speak English, which made communication very difficult. There were too many cats, and the lobby smelled disgusting. Some climbed onto tables to eat leftovers. At the beach bar there was a machine with two kinds of cheap juice, made from powder and water, plus water that was filled from the hose we used to wash our feet.