taxman you are so right it is so easy to do your research first before booking your flight and people should not be afraid to ask questions of any of us especially frequent travellers to this wonderful country

Wouldn't think of booking a holiday now without doing some homework first. On the same theme I wish I had a £1 for the number of people I have spoken to who went to Turkey in July or August but said it was too warm for them .. duh!

Wilson

i dont know briar,you will just have to ask them,but then again they may not replie, ,sorry could't resist that one.

well said taxman i hate negative reviews , it is expected that some things in some hotels wont suit some people , what i think is terrible is when someone has nothing good to say about a hotel , i always tend to think that those people have some other issues with the hotels ,i like you have had great holidays in turkey for the last 12 years . i have honestly never had a bad holiday which would promt me to write a really degative review
again this is only my thoughts ,not intended to upset anybody

bluepeterno1

Now that we've got this incredible thing that is the Web, it's just so easy to find out what a place is like before you go. You may get some conflicting opinions, but there's usually enough factual detail to get an idea of a place.

Whenever I've an inkling to go somewhere, I usually do the following:

First, some general research and background. Newspaper travel columns are a good source. They're generally enthusiastic, because they're on freebies, but they're a good start. The best are http://travel.timesonline.co.uk/, http://travel.guardian.co.uk/, http://travel.independent.co.uk/ and http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/index.jhtml.

Then look at hotel and resort reviews at http://www.ciao.co.uk, http://www.holidaysuncovered.co.uk, http://www.tripadvisor.com and, of course, here on HT.

I'm generally narrowing things down by then, and can do some useful searches on the forum threads here on HT. Then I'll Google for more discussion forums. There are more than you'd imagine.

I usually open a file in Notepad and copy in useful URLs and extracts as I go.

Then, of course, I'll ignore all the research and go back to Akyaka

- Tony -

There are times when no matter how much research you do you can still come unstuck. As to my recent holiday were the hotel downgrades in the winter there is just no way to tell. Hotels can change hands, staff who have enhanced a holiday can leave. There are so many variables that all the research in the world cannot help in certain situations. If I had got a last minute cheapo deal I could not have complained but I did not.
My big mistake was not checking the summer price which was a great deal more than the winter price 1200 for one week in summer as against the 800 for one week just into the winter season we paid. I suppose the motto is you get what you pay for in the end. I think some of the problem is you think you have got a really good deal and you are swept away with enthusiasm and pressure by travel agents , ( only two seats left) can often mean you can make a foolish decision. Reviews can be confusing because they are so mixed on different sites. What's the answer I would say a diy but after the holiday firm we were travelling with went bust a couple of years ago ABTA stepped in and saved the day.
Its the luck of the draw.
Margaret

Margaret

I agree no system is foolproof and research is no guarantee that the holiday will be perfect because, as you say staff change etc etc. However to do no research before booking is, in my opinion, foolish.

I'm just surprised that some people go about it in the following order:

1 Book holiday
2 Check reviews on holiday just booked
3 Panic beacuse reviews are not good

I'm always delighted to be able to give recommendations to anyone who cares to ask. I just wish I could convince more people to give Turkey a try!

I'd agree, Margaret. Things change & you can't predict anything 100%. But I'd never want to get in a situation like I saw a few years ago.

My wife and I were staying in a small hotel near the beach in Anamur, a tiny village miles from any town. A great place to chill out for a couple of days, but there are no more than 3 hotels and six restaurants within 30 miles! One evening a German couple turned up, having booked for a week's stay. We never saw the woman again - she was so depressed she refused to leave her room. Her husband just wandered around, muttering: "Where is the casino? Where are the nightclubs?" The hotel owner gave them a refund, and they moved on in search of brighter lights.

I think 5 minutes with Google would have avoided this.

- Tony -

I totally agree with all that's been said. The reviews on here have been really helpful to me. Of course we're all different and want different things from our holiday, so what suits one person won't necessarily suit another.
My partner doesn't get involved in the research and booking at all, he leaves it to me and so when we arrive at a resort / hotel he has no preconcieved ideas - it is all brand new to him. I must admit a tiny bit of me envies him that element of surprise, but I'm probably too much of a control freak to be comfortable doing that!

Hi Summerhouse,
I do agree with you I am the one that does it all as well. My long suffering husband has actually got to the point were he says sometime too much research can spoil it. I am with you I like to know what I am going to and research the whole thing so I know what is going on. At least I thought I did. I even e-mailed the hotel direct and was told everything was in place
and as normal. On my return the speedy reply telling me everything was up and running was very incorrect. When I got back I e-mailed them pointing out the inaccuracies the reply was blank silence.
Oh well you live and learn. I still agree with doing as much research as is possible but you cannot always rely on other people's experiences they may not be yours.
Margaret

i agree with all things that have been said especially neknit and summerhouse, as you know neknit exactly the same thing happened to me

we checked reviews on the hotel on various sites, even had recommendations from a member of this site, sent my mother who lives near this hotel to ask questions etc due to being opened a mth earlier than usual, all seemed fine, she only went in reception and said it looked fine, so we went ahead and booked it, but infact it was dreadful again same problem that neknit had,it was out of season so prices cheaper and the quality and quantity mainly of food was horrendous for a 5 star all inc, rooms more 3 star basic, entertainment etc total rubbish, but it did have nice views !!! so sometimes as ive proved no matter how much research you do there can be times when the hotel can be bad despite good reviews, i couldnt have done any more than i did before booking it, my husband also doesnt take part in booking so he pleased just to get away and not have the bother of it lol

but why do some members book a holiday and then read reviews on their chosen accommodation/resort afterwards only to find negative comments that make them feel they've booked the wrong holiday?

That doesn't always work.

We really did our homework on the hotel we booked for this years holiday to Marmaris but when we got there we found out that all the staff had left and new ones had started since the end of June and they where awful.

We spoke to a couple who had stayed in the hotel in June and they had such a good time they booked to come back again in September.They where as disappointed with the hotel as we where and said never again would they go back to the hotel.

So yes you can do your homework on a resort and you can to a certain point do your homework on the accommodation but with the fast turn over of staff in holiday accommodation your homework can sometimes be wrong!

It may be that your homework and research does not stop you being disappointed but then it's through no fault of your own.

I had a similar experience in Crete three years ago so I know it's not foolproof. I just feel that with so much information available these days, not to do some research is inviting disappointment.

I know we all want the best for our money, we save all year to go on holiday, but you have just got to enjoy yourself, make the best of a bad situation, and remember you could be sitting in England in the cold and rain,at least if the hotel is rubbish you usually get the sun shine in Turkey, could be worse.Happy hols

Nothing stays the same, everything changes

apshelbourne,wow what a beautiful place akyaka is.we only found about this place this september when our turkish friend took us here,we are one of the lucky ones who has made a great turkish friend,if our hotel is rubbish ,we move in with him ,so cheap deals bad accomadation dont bother us we always know we can have a good holiday no matter what ,with a turkish friend in icmeler and one in marmaris ,we know we cant go wrong ,theres always a warm welcome at either turkish friends house .this has enabled us to have as many holidays we want .akyaka is a hidden gem .a part of paradise that we would never have found if not for our friend ,the fish restaurant ,is unbelievable,the beach and the sea are beautiful,no wonder you always return, xxx jan

ladyjan ive been going to akyaka for a few years now and love it, we are going for nearly 3 weeks in july cant wait, luckily i have my own apt there , but i do still like to see other places in turkey and sometimes when its booked i have no choice but to stay in hotels so then ill stay in another town, im so glad that theres no huge hotels and never will be to spoil akyaka

hi ellie_meg could you tell me where akyaka is in relation to say marmaris , and also some information about the place and surrounding area, thank you

bluepeterno1

hi

akyaka is 20 miles from marmaris, as you come from the airport along the main road and after about 45-60 mins you turn left towards marmaris its about 1/2 mile from there, either straight up the road a short way or the back way in is a small road just where the bus turns to head for marmaris

here is a website on akyaka to have a look at
http://akyaka.com/index.php

akyaka is a lovely small town mainly turkish, there is a lovely beach, nice riverside with restaurants along side, prices in restaurants are slightly cheaper than say marmaris etc , we found a fab restaurant, that did free starters, pide, lavash, then we had 2 casseroles which were gorgeous, my little daughter had egg & chips, we had 4 lemonades, 2 beers, free plate of fruit each and bill came to £8 for 3 of us lol and it was lovely, so we ate there most nights , just depends of what sort of thing you like , its extremely pretty, surrounded by mountains, no big hotels, dont think theres any discos didnt see any , bars are chilled and laid back,friendly place, no hassle, didnt see any noisey bars like icmeler, marmaris, etc, if you want a scenic place, chilled atmosphere not too busy, this is ideal, ive loaded some photos on a while back have a look, if you want to know anything else, ill be happy to answer any questions