Anadolu Hotels Didim Club

The gardens and beach were lovely, and the pool and beach areas were clean, pleasant and well maintained. We liked walking around the quiet grounds. There was plenty of good food: the all-inclusive buffet changed daily, with freshly grilled meat and fish, and themed Taco, Sushi and Turkish nights. The pool snack bar became a favourite, with baked pizzas, Turkish flatbreads, gözleme and burgers. We also enjoyed the à la carte meal and its surprisingly good wine. The pool and beach bars were easy to use, with almost no wait for drinks. Yunus, Efe, Francesca and the other girls whose names I can't remember were friendly professionals. The alcoholic drinks themselves weren't very good, even by all-inclusive standards, but that's not the staff's fault. Most staff were helpful, especially in the restaurant and bars. Reception was uneven: one lady, who I believe was English, was genuinely helpful, while others, particularly a man with a piercing, were dismissive and unhelpful. For all its appealing grounds and food, the hotel feels like three stars at best, despite being advertised as five. The rooms are dated and need renovation, from the wardrobes and beds to the headboards and safes, which all look from the 1990s or 2000s. We were there for ten days with our infant and had to change rooms three times because of cold water and a persistent sewage smell from the bathroom drains. The first two rooms had no hot water and smelled bad. It was stressful not being able to bathe the baby properly. When we asked for help, a housekeeper who didn't speak English gestured that we should open the balcony door to air the room, which felt insulting. The engineer used Google Translate to ask us to wait 5-10 minutes for hot water, but after running the tap for 15 minutes it was still cold. Housekeeping sprayed strong air freshener, which only covered the sewage smell briefly. The last room had slightly warmer water, still not hot, and the smell came back when the freshener wore off. All three rooms had very thin walls. We could hear neighbours opening wardrobes and flushing toilets, so our infant woke often during the night. I didn't expect other guests to be quiet because of our baby, but I did expect a five-star hotel to have reasonably soundproof rooms. We talked with a few other guests with similar hot water and odour problems, so it seems widespread. It might matter less to people who spend most of their time outdoors, but it's serious for families with young children. The hotel has lovely natural surroundings, good food and a strong restaurant and bar team, but the room quality, upkeep and reception service let it down. The grounds and beach alone don't make it a five-star resort. I'd give it three stars and strongly urge management to sort out the hot water and sewage smell. With some care and refurbishment, it could be a great hotel.