DoubleTree by Hilton Antalya-Kemer All-Inclusive Resort

I loved this holiday so much that I've stayed here before and booked again for next year. There are activities at different times, so there's always something to do. The hotel feels clean and welcoming, and the bar and restaurant staff were brilliant and treated us like royalty. From check-in until we left, the staff went above and beyond to make sure we had what we needed and were having a great time. It's the best hotel I've stayed at and the best holiday I've had. 🩷

The evening entertainment was spectacular, and there was an excellent range of food. We came as a family with two 14-year-old teenagers and had a brilliant week. The facilities and staff were first class from beginning to end. When our room's AC broke halfway through the trip, reception had it fixed within 30 minutes. We're already going back next year. Well done 👍

The jetty, coffee corner, Ibiza-style bars, and the area around the hotel were nice, and we liked the location. But we left feeling it wasn't worth what we paid and wasn't really a five-star stay. The beach was decent, though it was stony rather than sandy and packed with sunbeds. The pool was also crowded with beds, small for the number of guests in high season, cold and unheated, and surrounded by buildings and trees rather than the views shown in the promotional pictures. Even the slides were cold and rarely used, especially by children. They closed from 12:00 to 14:00, right in the busy part of the day, and looked worn out. The food and drinks felt much like other all-inclusive places in Turkey: fries that were mushy and oily, desserts that all tasted alike and lacked sugar, salty vegetables and rice, and bland pizzas. The drinks were low in alcohol. As far as I know, all-inclusive hotels serve beverages brewed especially for that formula, with less alcohol by law, even if the bottle labels suggest otherwise. The food trucks served frozen spring rolls and seemed to use precooked meat or leftovers in tacos. The burger stand ran out of coleslaw and spicy mayo for the whole day, though both were on the menu. The Guinness tap at the cafe, which was the malt variant, broke twice. Other bars didn't have all the beers shown in their videos, mostly just malt Efes. The minibar had no snacks, crisps, or nuts. We also had issues in the restaurant. We had to get our own cutlery and wipe down the table several times. Nobody came to offer drinks, and empty plates were whisked away almost from under our noses. That felt rude. Staff manners varied, from genuinely friendly to hurried and just going through the motions. At check-in, the welcome felt impersonal: the hostess was cold and didn't seem to try to make us feel welcome. After a long journey, the kids couldn't get ice cream at 8pm, which was disappointing. Not everything was included either. The a la carte restaurant and cabins on the jetty cost extra. Our room was the biggest letdown. It was noisy enough that the balcony was unusable, with roof blower fans making the room tremble. It wasn't properly clean, with mold in the shower and yellowish grout, and the wooden frames were starting to rot from damp, possibly because the bathroom ventilation wasn't adequate. Bright lights from the TV, a movement detector, and the digital alarm clock kept us up, so we had to cover them with blankets. It was too hot to sleep, but we couldn't open a window because of the fan noise, and the AC made a lot of noise too. The mattresses were stiff and worn, and we could feel the coils. There was almost no divider between balconies, so you could easily get onto the neighbouring one, and we could see the neighbour in bed around the corner. Our duplex was supposed to sleep four but had only one small bathroom, while other rooms had an extra one. There were only two balcony chairs for four people, making it feel like an old room for two had been converted. The upper bedroom was claustrophobically small, windowless, and hot, more like an attic. The pool and slides also need attention. We couldn't understand all the glowing reviews. This was okay, but definitely not the best in town. We expected more from the renowned Hilton formula, which felt like faded glory. We won't be back.

Food and the beachside pier were the best parts of our comfortable two-week stay with a toddler. The staff were friendly and accommodating, and they seemed to enjoy their work. There wasn't much to complain about, and technical problems were dealt with promptly when we contacted staff through their WhatsApp hotline. Our noisy AC was a nuisance, though, and we moved rooms because of it. I overheard other guests mention the same issue. The atmosphere was fairly casual. Most people dressed casually for dinner, though some dressed up. Guests were mainly Russian or British, and maybe 10% had small children. Late checkout cost €25 per hour. The best cocktails were served outside, above the beer bar.