Lill Maison Hotel & City Club

We come here for days by the pool, and Sarah at the pool bar is a big part of why we love it. She's friendly, always clearing things away, and happy to help with anything. This year's deal was 250 lira, with lunch included: a burger, salad, or toastie, all served with chips and a soft drink. The 250 lira is deducted from your final bill.

The garden and pool make this feel like a lovely little oasis, with a beautiful park also within walking distance. It's about a 15-20 minute walk to the marina or beach. My room was large, faced the garden, and had comfortable beds. Everything was clean apart from the bathroom door, which could do with freshening up. The staff were very kind and breakfast was really good, though I'd have preferred coffee instead of Nescafe. It was a pleasant surprise and much better than its Google rating suggested.

The peaceful pool and lovely, well-kept gardens made coming back after sightseeing feel like returning to an oasis. There were plenty of sunbeds and umbrellas each day, so no need to rush out to claim one. The hotel is between Chalis beach and Fethyie, and the local bus stop is just around the corner, with the ride to the resorts costing very little. Staff were welcoming, especially Sarah, who runs the pool and bar. She's English, patient with all our questions about the area, and always went the extra mile. The place is charming and very clean, though the building could use some modernising. It's reasonably priced and good value, and we'd definitely come back.

We had several problems during the week. Two of the three beds in the apartment creaked loudly with even the smallest movement, making it very hard to sleep and waking our baby every night. We asked reception for help and they sent a carpenter, but the beds were still like that when we left. Some doors also wouldn't close properly because of problems with the locks. We weren't told when booking that the family apartment we were given was in a separate building across the road. That left us feeling removed from the hotel's breakfast, pool and reception, and meant putting up with road noise and smells and noise from the bar and cafe on the ground floor. There were also brief power and water cuts after accidents in the area. Those weren't the hotel's fault, but they still affected our stay. Since we were in a separate building, nobody at the main hotel seemed to notice until we reported them.