Aska Lara Resort and Spa

We spent 4 nights at the Aska 25/08 - 28/08 . We were in the river suites room 2004. The river suites are approximately a 150m walk from the main building a few minutes walk, if you suffer from mobility issues this may not be ok for you but is not difficult although up a couple of inclines and over a covered road bridge. We are in our 60's and managed.

THE HOTEL -- This is situated over 3 sites , but you should already know this if you have booked it and done some diligence 👍. The river suites are seperate as described above and are in a tranquil area beside the river with their own pool, bar, towel station. And strangely a nice looking yet disused restaurant overlooking the river. This was a pleasant area although quiet. Unfortunately most of these rooms are without a balcony and we could not dry swimwear, towels etc , no clothes airer. Also a big minus was the lack of in room ironing facilities, I do not expect to go to an ironing station or ask for an iron for an hour in a hotel of this quality.

The main hotel was very clean and situated on the other side of the main beach highway.

WET N WILD WATER PARK was accessible by a 15 min walk or a frequent shuttle service from either the river suites or the hotel. The walk is not advisable mid day in high temp and occasionally the bus was very very busy. Be patient 😁 The water park needs investment and is a little dated for the price point of this hotel although still enjoyable for it's intended audience , the under 13's. For supervised toddlers was great.

THE ROOM The standard of cleanliness, maintenance and quality throughout the site was a little inconsistent, for example have attached photos of a dirty filter between my shower cubicle and the bathroom, the stained and badly fitting plumbing fixings of the shower controls, the broken and worn poorly fitting seals on the shower doors, some minor decorating issues and the poorly fitted bathroom mirror. These issues did not warrant a full investigation but need to be addressed to avoid further issues. Attention to detail is paramount to attract repeat visitors.

THE BARS In the main hotel were clean and staff were polite, attentive, and accomodating. I was disappointed with the number of beers on offer throughout the hotel, Tuborg malt, Carlsberg, Weissbier and questionable Guinness. The other spirits were mainly the normal house stuff. There were branded spirits and the drinks I had were well made although a little "Turkiye" strong . Service at wet n wild bars was stop and go with no contingency for sudden increases in demand and longer waits at lunch and evenings were normal. Not many waiters in the evening when entertainment was on.

RESTAURANTS AND DINING Main buffet was a little chaotic in the evenings with too many people accessing this at the same time. Young children wandering about helping themselves without supervision etc. No portion control as I observed some plates piled high with anything that was available, and then sadly the same plates only half eaten left on tables because the guests eyes were "greedier than their bellies". If the 'a la cartes' were a reasonably priced option then maybe this would've been a release for the buffet, but with more and more hotels asking for overpriced supplement payments for these then no wonder they weren't well used. Food quality was good and there was plenty , the kitchen staff were all obviously trying their best in what seemed like a disorganised environment. Maybe some barriers to separate diners would be better? Breakfast was much easier to navigate.

Overall this was a pleasant experience and our reasons to be at a mainly child friendly hotel was to surprise our family, this was achieved and we made some great memories with them. Some parts of the hotel need upgrades and more staff are needed for such a diverse and large clientele. +++ Gozlemes at wet n wild were absolutely amazing. +++ Beach and accessibility and the jetty. +++ General demeanour and attitude of staff. --- Some maintenance. --- Dining options.

This review is meant in a purely constructive manner and I hope it will be taken as such. The hotel is a little expensive in its current guise considering the amount of choice and investment along the Lara coastline. Regards Mick and Lois Reynolds.

We arrived back late last night and had a great 11 nights here!

I'm vegetarian and never struggled to find anything to eat. Our daughter is a fussy eater and never struggled to find beige food to eat. The 2 "normal" eaters had lots of choice at every meal! If you limit what you are prepared to eat, then you might have an argument for the food not being good or plentiful, but, if you are open to trying stuff, you will not struggle for food in the slightest! The noodles (out the back in the grill section) were lovely!!

Wet n' wild has three restaurants plus a section where you can get hot wraps. How anyone can say the food isn't good or is limited is beyond me!

The lounge restaurant that is included for one sitting wasn't that great, we wouldn't go here again in the evening if we return (which we absolutely would, without hesitation!!) But it was good as a snack restaurant at lunch time.

The Italian restaurant was good!

My only slight gripes - the lifts, we were on the 5th floor and sometimes had a bit of a wait! The shuttle bus was sometimes a bit busy, but, we never had to wait very long and the journey is less than 5 minutes, we never felt the need to walk to wet n'wild. The entertainment wasn't great, but it was fine. The entertainment team were very good! Especially Alex. The floors are very slippery, we saw a few people slip over. Wear some kind of footwear!

Room was fine, 2 adults and 2 children (15 and 11) in a standard pool view room. Not a lot of storage but otherwise fine. Housekeeping very good, fridge re stocked daily.

We never struggled to get 4 sunbeds together at wet n' wild and there were always beds available until lunch time, so I don't see how anyone can struggle to find sunbeds unless they want to be right at the front by the pool. There were less beds at the hotel pool, bit were always some available later in the day.

We hired a pavilion for one of the days, front row, it was great, we loved it, very relaxing, waiters very attentive. Lunch menu was the same as the lounge lunch menu.

All staff were friendly. If you speak to them they are always very polite and responsive (they might not instigate a conversation as they won't necessarily know what language you speak, but if you say hello, they are happy enough to chat!).

The Starbucks always seemed to be very busy.

Late checkout was €50 until 3pm or €85 until 6pm.

We took Lira as only used cash for tips and paid for anything else by card (everything priced in euros and they convert to Lira when the take payment).

Go with an open mind, don't look for problems and you likely won't find them

Me, my husband and children aged 15 and 11 have just returned from 11 nights here We had a great time and would love to return.

The only main negatives and reasons why I haven't given 5 stars is there was often a wait for lifts which would be more problematic with a buggy and they could do with a few more toilets around the Wet and Wild area.

The restaurant could be chaotic but that is to be expected for a family all inclusive resort in the middle of Summer. Certain times are quieter than others - we found breakfast was OK around 9 and sitting towards the back area of the restaurant was calmer and we always found a table here with no issues at breakfast and at dinner around 7

I cannot understand how people say there are few options for food at this hotel. There are so many options every day loads of salads, lots of different meats at dinner, lots of Turkish options to try, various curries, rice, potato, pasta options at every meal and lots more. They do change it a bit each day but even if they didn't there is so much you could have a different meal every day. My husband is vegetarian and never struggled and my daughter is fussy and only really ate beige fried food and pancakes and they had options for this at every meal and a separate children's buffet section

The staff are friendly and kind and want to help you have a nice holiday - if you are polite and friendly to them, they will be to you

Shuttle bus was really frequent so we never walked to Wet and Wild and always got the bus which was an extra thing to factor in especially having to get the bus at night after the entertainment but just became part of the holiday routine and is easy enough.

My 11 year old found plenty to do in the day and evening and there looked to be plenty to do for younger children in both the day and evening.

Evening entertainment isn't the best - there are quite a few nights where the show was playing music and getting people up to dance. There were some nice bars and places to sit at the hotel as other options though and the kids mini disco was good. The kids club was open whilst the main show was on in the evening and it had a big play area just next to the entertainment area

The beach is just down the path from the water slides so it was nice being able to sit at a pool but also go for a sea swim - with a decent few taps at the top of the beach to wash the sand off.

All of our family had a great holiday and would love to return