Noxinn Deluxe

So, only just getting round to this review. Overall this hotel was very nice, located about a half hour walk from the local town centre centre-there are several small shops minute's away and a tiny town about a ten minute walk away. The hotel is quite modern looking with a nice but not clinical feeling inside. I had paid extra for a sea view room and it was set right in the centre, a couple of floors up, overlooking the beach. However, it was also overlooking the big bar area, which as I hoped it wouldn't, created a lot of noise come the evening. There was even a 'Cocktail Party' one night-lovely and looked fab, but not if you decided not to go out that night. I must say the way it was set up looked pretty cool, just didn't really want my room over looking it. Have to admit though, the sunsets were just gorgeous from my room. The room itself was reasonably modern and kept clean on a daily basis. It was also of a respectable size with a queen sized bed-always appreciated as a solo traveller. There was a fridge and, not a deal breaker, but I always like a freezer compartment to make ice for the following day-not an issue though. The pools were really nice, and though I like being around the 'busyness' of a main pool sometimes, I always like the option of a 'quiet' pool. I discovered this when I went to the gym one morning, thinking this will be lovely for some days of the holiday-how wrong was I! Respect doesn't seem to be followed by all holiday makers. Note on the gym-it's decent and open early enough to get breakfast afterwards. Anyway, the first time I went to have a relaxing/quiet few hours by the relaxing area/pool, annoyingly, there were kids-no parents-there and a group where one guy would not shut the xxxx up. I put headphones on, trying to ignore it, but these people just can't keep still. Upon a guy bombing into the pool, I'd had enough. I don't mind the chatting, messing around, playing, shouting-not at all-just go to the main pool area. I mean literally the whole top floor is dedicated to relaxing and surely there can't be that many holiday makers who can't read/read the room. So, after almost an hour I went to reception, then to the customer liason room, to explain the situation, with them saying that they'd go up to the top floor to ask 'them' to respect/leave the area. Another 30 minutes go by-nothing. Another trip to customer liason-nice and relaxing-and as I was going back up to the top floor the 'group' were coming back down. The kids were still there and one of the customer service ladies eventually came up and explained to the kids that the area is not for playing-still no parents to be seen. So, 90 minutes later, I finally got a relaxing few hours and it is a nice area-when it's quiet. However, what followed on my next several visits to the top floor was as unrelaxing as it gets. Numerous trips to customer liason disturbed my day, and surprisingly, on a couple of occasions the lady-as lovely as she was-came up to the top floor with me, would then go over to whoever wasn't respecting the area, then come over to me to say what she'd said... Like seriously, now I've got daggers aiming at me across the pool while I'm trying to relax. A sarcastic wave from myself seemed to stop this childish behaviour. An idea would be, to whoever the regular staff member is up there-the bar guy, for example, to keep an eye on the area and then politely advise 'noisy' holiday makers to respect the area, and if it was to continue, to contact customer liason. Quite simple really. The food at this hotel was quite decent to be fair. There was plenty of choice and lots of freshly cooked options-they even had their own in house bakery, so everything was lovely and fresh. I also noticed that there weren't the usual long queues and scrambling, which is always appreciated, though this could had been because it was October and not Peak Season. There were different options on where to eat for lunch at the top of the beach area-I was quite excited upon first seeing this area-so many options, though I found the food here to not be as good as it first looks. The lady who made the freshly made large pancake with fillings-forgot the name-was very good and was the best food in this area. The other option at lunch was by the main pool and I enjoyed several lunches here-the staff were very good and you could get things like pizza, burgers, salad ect and it was pretty good. The evening meal is where this place exceeded expectations-and as I don't always get the evening meal on all inclusive-there's only so much you can eat-so, I only discovered this into the 2nd week of my holiday. The food was quality, tasty, with so many options with freshly made stations. I was very impressed by this and wish that I'd had gone to have more evening meals. There was also an option to go to the A La Carte restaurant-I really can't remember much about this apart from the food was just OK and I didn't go again and would not recommend it. I quite enjoyed the late afternoon cake/biscuits in the bar area that I'd enjoy with a relaxing hot chocolate. Some of the biscuits were better than others, though it was more the experience that I enjoyed-sitting on the huge chairs by the window, normally with the company of a cat. Onto the bar area-it's a large area that I normally went to sometimes at the end of the afternoon. The service seemed to be OK at this time-though this could be hit or miss. There seemed to be 'young students' on work experience and I found the odd one to be very good, though the rest were either uninterested/lazy/distracted by each other. One problem I felt was that there seemed to be no one in charge/a supervisor. It's only natural that if you leave a bunch of teenagers alone and expect them to work to a good standard and with enthusiasm, it's not happening. I came down to this area only once in the evening and did not repeat this. No problem with the area being busy, but there was literally nowhere to sit. After ten minutes I found somewhere, only to wait about half an hour for a drink-also I had to go up to the bar three times to ask for my drink. I did not repeat this-I have certain expections and things that I enjoy-spending an hour having 1 drink in an overcrowded and poorly staffed area isn't something that I enjoy. As for the evening entertainment, I presume something was on, though I never saw anything. What I do know is that there is a nightclub of sorts-never went-and if that's what I liked/the youngers ones, I'm sure that they enjoyed it. The beach was quite good for a Turkish beach-Turkey is not renound for the best beaches. Although busy, there were always sunbeds available and I enjoyed quite a few days on the beach. There are areas to walk to and I'd say it was kid friendly-shallow waters and not choppy waves. As I was coming to the end of the holiday, I found myself craving more and more relaxing time. Yes, this is probably an age thing, but also because of how the hotel is set up-I hadn't had any true relaxed days, which I need in the mix on holiday. On one of the last days I paid to go to The Yatch Club next door-nothing to do with the hotel- and I had such a lovely relaxing day. Also, on the last day I paid for one of the huts on the side of the hotel beach-think it was €25/30 which meant that you got the hut to yourself for the day, service to bring you food and drink and most importantly, relaxation. I more than enjoyed this with lots of peace & quiet, a little bit of snorkeling, the company of a cool cat with lots of food and drink. Crazy to think that my last 2 days were my favourite-yet for these I had to pay for. Overall, it's not that I'd not recommend this hotel-it's nice and has some good points. I also appreciate that I have different needs to some other holiday makers and the absolute need to have relaxing days as an option is a must for myself. No, I won't be returning, but I never return to the same area/hotel anyway.

Besides being a beautiful hotel on the in- and outside I don’t have much positive to write about our stay. It was a last minute booking as well so my choices were limited. But in my 6th straight year coming to Turkey this is by far the worst hotel experience I had.

Let’s begin with the room. On first two days I had to report 4x times three issues and only one has been solved instantly and a 2nd one three days before our departure. Issues were: water that didn’t drain in the shower, a leak at the toilet (never been repaired) and television that wasn’t working. That last one was the least important but with the World Cup and time difference with the US it would have been nice to watch some games in the room. Toilet leak gave us some nice smells.

The pools… Two small outdooor pools and not enough sunbeds. And the staff doesn’t take any actions with reserved sunbeds that stays unoccupied for several hours or even a whole day. Same goes at the beach. Even in the evening there were already some towels. Also tables at the pool restaurant were reserved with a piece of clothing or towel(s) while it stayed unoccupied for a long time. Why can’t the hotel management do something about this?

About the staff and service. I would say only half was working with a smile and motivation. The others looked like they didn’t enjoy their work at all. It wasn’t unusual that staff were roll eying while ordering. English seems like a complete unknown language. Simple basics should be a must. I read several reviews in which people complained about the English language. Coincidence? It was so striking that Turkish, German and Russian guests got the better treatment. The waiting line for simple (soft) drinks at the main restaurant was ridiculous at times. You had to be very lucky that a waiter is taking an order at the table. The service at the pool restaurant was the worst. During our stay (10 days) we never received once all our dishes at the same time. We had to ask for our missing dish(es) every time.

The formula “Ultra all inclusive” doesn’t mean much here. The hotel offers 4 alternative restaurants (Mexican/Italian/Fish/Steak) with a simple condition: a day before reservation. So far so good. Always nice to have alternatives besides the daily same buffet. But asking a fee of 5 euro for each guest and restaurant… seriously? We anyway went to two of them: Mexican and Italian. Luckily the food was good and the view at the Mexican restaurant (9th floor) is very beautiful. Afterwards I heard from some guests with whom I sympathized that they only paid once 5 euro and for the other reservations it wasn’t necessary. FYI, they were Russians. A fresh orange juice in the morning needs to be paid. So why call it “Ultra All in”?

At least the staff at the Spa & Wellness were very kind. Sauna, hamam, relax room and inside pool are accessible for “free”. I mean, it’s “all inclusive” right? But the steam room can only be used for a fee. Unless you have a massage. In that case it can be used for free during your stay. We had one massage program on our 2nd day and a regular one on the last.

It’s pretty clear I will never go back there and won’t recommend it. Previous hotels I went in last couple of years felt like paradise.