Mercia Hotels & Resorts

The hotel and pool are spacious, and I liked that there weren’t many people in the pool. The room was nicely furnished, but it smelled of smoke and didn’t feel fresh. The blanket was in bad shape, as you can see in the photo, and the AC was very loud.

The pool was clean and great, and the staff were the other bright spot. Receptionist Ömer was especially good, and thanks for the “Turkish cologne” :). They sorted out every problem we raised, including dirt, a bad smell, and poor internet in the room, though these issues shouldn’t have happened in the first place. The whole staff’s English skills weren’t very good. Breakfast was really good at first, but after two days the same food became tiresome and disappointing. The fitness, sauna, and hamam facilities were the worst part. The sauna didn’t work, the hamam seemed unused for months, with dead cockroaches and dirty water coming from the pipes. The basement fitness room had no airflow, and half the equipment couldn’t be used. Connecting to the internet outside the room was almost impossible. Only the staff and pool deserve a good rating. Everything else needs improvement.

Getting to the historic city takes two hours by public transport, so don’t choose this hotel if sightseeing is your plan. The service didn’t come close to the famous Turkish hospitality.

The pool is really nice, but the Wi-Fi is poor. If you have your own car, this hotel could be ideal. Without one, it can feel like a nightmare: there’s only one bus line nearby. There are also wild dogs around, and they scared us whenever we came back to the hotel, so we didn’t feel safe.