Eftalia Ocean Resort and Spa

First off, this hotel is not all-inclusive despite being billed as one to me at the time of booking. I totally understand that some exceptional items or luxuries would fall outside of the all-inclusive concept, but there’s so much you have to pay for that it simply cannot be called an all-inclusive hotel. As for the 5-star rating, if you’ve stayed at a 5-star hotel before (including ones in the Antalya area), you’ll very quickly discover that this feels like a 3.5-star hotel at best. The hotel isn’t terrible, but the all-inclusive billing and star rating set your expectations, and those expectations will not be met at the Eftalia Ocean. My advice is, if you’re getting this heavily discounted and with a free child place, it’s worth considering. However, for anything even close to full price or a small discount, you’d be better off looking elsewhere—in fact, you’ll drive past lots of better options on your 2 to 2.5-hour transfer from the airport!

Pros:

• The Spa: It was lovely and better in quality than the rest of the hotel. Once you’ve negotiated a hefty discount, it’s also not bad value.

• Eftalia Island: This area is good. It's a short walk away, has a couple of pools, and features a good water park.

• The Beach: It is nice with lots of shade, and if you get there early, you’ll get a cushion (they don't have enough for everyone). It was a bit dirty, though.

• Water Sports: There are loads of options—we paid £110 for a tandem paraglide and a speedboat ride around the bay.

• The Lobby: It's nice with lots of seating and great air conditioning. That said, the queue for the lobby bar will be big, as it’s one of the few bars that offers beer, wine, spirits, and a couple of not-very-nice pre-mixed cocktails included.

• The Rooms: They are really good. I wouldn’t bother upgrading, though, as the ones they will try to sell you are noisy. The mini-bar was always filled but the curtains don't cover the windows (take an eye-mask) and the bedding was terrible.

Cons:

• Hidden Extras: Expect to pay for loads of extras: cocktails, ice cream everywhere except behind the pool between 12–2 PM, spirits at many of the bars, drinks in the on-site pub, a glass of orange juice at breakfast, etc. You really need to spend time learning where the included stuff actually is.

• Crowded Pools: The pools are incredibly busy with far too many sunbeds. We didn’t manage to get by the pools on Eftalia Island at all, and the main hotel pool fills up very early. Expect to be literally shoulder-to-shoulder with other sweaty guests while on your sunbed. They really are that close together.

• Constant Selling: You’ll be sold to—a lot! I had the tattoo guy ask me a couple of times every day whilst chilling out if I wanted a tattoo. Plus, staff are always going around trying to sell you stuff that you probably thought was included, like fruit juices, etc.

• Main Restaurant: The single restaurant is really busy and only open for a couple of hours, making it chaotic. There’s a fair bit of choice, but it's the exact same every day which is a big shortcoming for a hotel claiming to be 5-star.

• The A La Carte Restaurant: Not much to say other than it’s just not an A La Carte restaurant. It's a set menu featuring the exact same food that is served for lunch and dinner in the main restaurant. I guess it makes a welcome change from queuing up and fighting over food in the main restaurant, though.

All in all, despite having a nice week off work, I couldn't recommend the Eftalia Ocean unless you’re comparing it against other 3-star hotels and getting a major discount. Carefully read other reviews before booking, as a lot of them are requested on-site by the animation team (who are actually decent—they’re called the "Summer Gang"), but those reviews don’t reflect the hotel as a whole.

We arrived with high expectations, but the reality was nothing like the holiday advertised. The room was dirty on arrival and clearly had not been properly cleaned or prepared for new guests.

The food was absolutely unacceptable — trash food quality, cheap, repetitive and with very poor choices. The meat was horrible, many dishes looked unappetising, and the meals felt like the cheapest possible catering rather than what you expect from a 5-star resort. My son became very ill and was vomiting for three days, which caused huge stress and ruined our holiday.

The hygiene standards were shocking, the pool situation was unacceptable, and the snack bar was extremely poor. The overall service was disappointing, and we often felt that guests were expected to tip rather than being treated with genuine care.

This was supposed to be a family holiday, but instead it became a very upsetting and frustrating experience. The hotel does not match the image it advertises. We feel completely disappointed and would never return or recommend this place to others