Villa Meryem

We stayed with our family in July 2024 after finding the place through Fewo-Direkt. The house is in the small village of Üzümlü near Kalkan. The valley view is stunning, and it's so quiet and private that the only sound all day is crickets. Even the pool area feels completely secluded. The villa itself was even nicer than the description. It's in a sloped garden with grapevines, fig trees, and pomegranates. Every room was spacious, clean, nicely furnished, and well equipped. The terrace and pool were lovely too, with loungers, cushions, and bath towels provided. I brought detergent, toilet paper, and dishwasher tablets from Germany but didn't need them, since they were already there. The fridge was covered with magnets from grill and fast-food places that offer easy delivery. The village's steep hillside setting is also its biggest drawback. The roads can be unpaved, with very steep climbs and descents. I'm a confident driver and usually handle hills well, but these roads pushed my driving, nerves, and car to the limit. You can barely make some climbs in first or second gear, and if someone cuts you off halfway up, you might have to reverse dozens of meters or turn around and start again. No wonder most locals use mopeds. The drive from Antalya through Korkuteli and Elmalı gets more mountainous as you go, and my wife was at her wit's end. If coming from Antalya, the coastal route via Kemer and Finike is another option, though that isn't easy either. Flying to Dalaman Airport and driving via Fethiye only partly solves the difficulty once you're in the area. Our 90-horsepower rental car was pushed to its limits. Another tourist from Germany, an Almancı, even managed to set his car on fire in those extreme conditions. Maybe a proper 4x4 would handle it differently. We cut the trip short after three days and found another place because my family didn't feel comfortable with the location. That wasn't the accommodation's fault. I didn't expect a refund and didn't get one. I had misjudged just how extreme the conditions would be when booking from a distance, and really couldn't have assessed them any better.