Karbel Hotel - All Inclusive

Back from a week here. We had one of the refurbished family rooms, with two bedrooms and two bathrooms. The staff were lovely, and there was a good choice of tasty food. We'd come back.

The location at the top end of the strip is great, but the food and beds let the hotel down. The meals were the same repetitive things each day, with little thought put into them. The beds were tired and hard, with springs poking out. I've slept better on a mate's sofa in my younger days. For about half the week, a few bar staff didn't seem interested in helping. After their manager gave them a rocket, they couldn't do enough for you. All in all, a very average hotel.

We had a great family week on our first visit. The pool was lovely, with activities for children like pizza making, dancing, and face painting. Adults and kids could also try water aerobics, darts, killer pool, and water polo. We weren't at the hotel every evening, but enjoyed the Kenyan acrobatics, Turkish folk performers, and live singers. Karaoke was less to my taste, party pooper alert. The room for three was very small, though it had plenty of storage, a good balcony for drying swimwear or relaxing, a decent shower, and effective air conditioning. It got chilly at night, so I turned it down. I had to ask twice for an extra pillow, since the receptionist first said no, but someone else sorted it and I slept much better. There's a safe for an extra charge. We didn't use it, had no problems with valuables, and felt the hotel was safe. Food was plentiful and varied. I especially liked Turkish night and the range of salads. Breakfast had several kinds of eggs and options for healthy or indulgent appetites. Lunch was either at the restaurant, with salads and hot dishes like dinner, or by the pool, with tasty family favourites such as burgers, nuggets, chips, and salad. The woman making fresh flatbreads poolside was a gem, with fillings including cheese and chocolate. Ice cream came out at 3:30 each day, with different flavours. Water, juice, and hot drinks were self-serve and available in different spots. Soft drinks, beer, and local spirits were included, while cocktails and some other drinks cost extra. Most of the staff were great, and you soon learned who to ask for help. Photographer Omer deserves a mention: he was fantastic at his job, friendly, and engaging. Engin from the restaurant was a helpful, friendly host too. The main issue for us was how relaxed the hotel was about smoking. There were no non-smoking areas, so people smoked around the pool and at lunch and dinner. It was really unpleasant for our non-smoking family with a child. Seeing drinking glasses used as ashtrays was gross and disrespectful. It's a good spot, about five minutes on foot from the beach and boat trips, three minutes by car from the cable cars, with good shopping on the strip beside the hotel. There are also nice restaurants nearby if you want a change of scenery.

We had a lovely room in a great location for exploring the area, and it was serviced each day. Most of the staff were very good. The problem was that management, guest relations, and the TUI representative seemed uninterested in feedback. The restaurant food was cold, the tables were dirty, and the staff there seemed very uninterested too. It's a shame they'd rather lose customers than listen and try to put things right. Sadly, we won't return.