Sifne Thermal Otel

The prices are good, and there’s natural thermal water in the rooms, pools, and even the sea. They clean the pools every day. It’s run by Cesme municipality, and the staff are responsive and caring. The location is perfect.

For a couple of hours, it’s a nice place to use the thermal pool for the day. The hot pool is clean, and the sea is only 50 m away if you want to cool off. Two or three hours works well.

We paid $980 AUD for two large family rooms for my family and me, which felt pricey for Turkey in October. As soon as we went in, both rooms had a horrible smell like a burst pipe. The clerk said the pipes had been cleaned that morning and suggested leaving the balcony doors open. I did that and took the kids to the pool, but after two hours the smell was even worse and unbearable. Then I tried to get showers ready for the kids and found there was no hot water in either room. The room phones didn’t work, so I had to go down to reception. I asked for the manager to come up, but he sent a clerk instead. The clerk had to cover his nose too and agreed the rooms weren’t livable. He said we’d need to be “upgraded,” but the manager later admitted we had already booked the best rooms available. They moved us to standard rooms of lower value instead. I asked for the price difference to be refunded, and the manager said he’d “look into it.” It was late and I was exhausted, so I accepted the standard rooms. The taps there still had no hot water. That was the last straw. We’re staying tonight and leaving first thing in the morning. At this price, the foul smell, no hot water in either room category, broken phones, and management brushing us off without a solution were unacceptable. Tourists should be careful and steer clear of this complex.

We came for a weekend with my wife, and it was better than we expected. The rooms were clean, the staff friendly, and breakfast was good. If you have a car, it’s easy to get into the old town and Ilıca from here. A good option for visiting the Cesme area if you want to avoid paying as much as you would in the popular parts.