..... So can't wait to go back next year!! So much so we are going for 3 weeks next year!!

We normally stay at the Kocer apartments but money was tight this last year so did a budget DIY holiday - flew out with Monarch airlines from Birmingham, boarded on time but had to wait for 45 mins before being pushed back due to delays in Turkish airspace!!!

Very disappointed in the entertainment - no film!!!!! Stupid comedy programmes that have been repeated a million times on TV anyway - oh and celebrity masterchef final from 3 years ago!!! Good job daughter took her portable DVD player - watched Shrek 4 lol!! x

Anyway - arrived at Dalaman and as always superb through their, off the plane, visa paid for, through security, bags collected and out within 25 mins! Booked transfers through
DM Transfers and they were they ready and waiting for us x paid £80 for that

We stayed at the Imperial Lodge apartments this year (opposite Club Amaris/Club Maric). Small apartments, only 17 there but the apartments themselves were big and spacious, plenty of room for the 3 of us, maybe a bit of a squizz for 4 and don't know how the family of 5 coped!! Pool was small and only had about 23 sun beds but surprisingly enough you could always get one - but that's because we soon discovered that they only got the sun till about 3:45!!! That's so not good! A couple of times we went over to the Club Maric and used their pool - that was fab but the one waiter was a right pain in the ***!! Alisha is 13 now and he pestered the life out of her! Threatened to slap him one day - in jest of course but he did get a bit much!

The food at the apartments was fantastic! The owner is English/Turkish so the menu had English fayre on there. The shepherds pie and steak pie were to die for (13 lira each)!! English breakfast including tea/coffee and a basket of toast (not just 2 pieces) was 7 lira. Elsewhere you were paying around 5 lira but without drink so balanced out there really.

Meals out - Natalies: oh how disappointed were we we eat there every year and always fab but this year the main one has gone and we visited the sister restaurant further up beach - we were first in there at 6pm and had to wait 50 mins for our meal, had to ask 4 times for our bill and honestly the service was dire! Had T-bone steak (mushrooms and onions separate of course!), Mexican chicken and grilled chicken, 1 Efes and 2 waters - 90 lira.

Aysha - really good meal in there - service a lot better! Mexican chicken (again - I got a taste for it lol!), plank steak and pizza and drinks - 75 lira. Entertainment on after meal including break dancers with fire show, diabolical Michael Jackson and bar staff being hysterical lol! Yeah seen it all before but they still make me giggle lol x

O-Yes - oh my oh my!! Went there on our last night and it was just to die for! The service was faultless, the food was melt in the mouth - all in all it was just totally fantastic! I had steak Provencal (garlic sauce) making my mouth water now just thinking about it! OH had T-bone (he likes his red meat!) and daughter had chicken plank (she was determined to have one!). 1 Efes, 1 iced tea and 1 large water (and it was a 1½ litre bottle!) and puddings - Alisha had about 6 scoops of ice cream and I had the biggest crepe I've ever seen and all that was only 100 lira! Bargain I thought x

Tasty Bites - how expensive has that got!!!! I remember 6 years ago all 3 of us good eat ourselves silly and have drinks (no alcohol there) and got change from 25 lira - 1 large kebab there now is 13 lira, a large potato is 10 lira! Still very tasty but expensive.

Mad Boys (Armutulan) - similar food as we've had before. Cocktails BOGOF (and normal size ones at that!) About 80 lira.

Charlies (opposite Selen Hotel) - really good meal and thank you to them all for my birthday cake xxx but was bad in bed the next day and ill for 2 days so "¦. Not sure if it was the food there or a bug because we were all bad over the following week so won't cast aspersions there x

Club Maric - worst meal ever! Think the chef put a whole jar of peppercorns in the Mexican chicken!! Revolting! First time ever sent a meal back x

Think that was the main ones!!

Drinks are on average 4.50 lira for a bottle of Efes. Soft drinks around 3 lira for a small or 5 for a large. Water about 2 or 3 lira. A lot of places this year were advertising cocktails BOGOF but BEWARE!! We noticed that they weren't "proper" size cocktails! Yeah you were getting 2 drinks but in small glasses so effectively only getting 1!! Andy's Bar (by Black Mirror) gave normal size cocktails at BOGOF - they were 15 lira.

Did the AI Boat Trip! Went on Memories boat and had a fab day x had a 2 hour stop off in Turunc - spent a small fortune there lol! But was a good day x Drinks a plenty and lunch was good. Also had "breakfast" - basically bread and jam but it filled the gap so to speak lol! Cost £12 each this including collection from hotel and return back at end of day x

Weather was just totally glorious! Our hotel was in a bit of a sun trap so our thermometer registered 52.7º (126.6º) one day (will put pic on later to prove it!!) - so it was blooming hot!

Did the Turkish bath too for the first time!! My that's an experience ain't it lol!!! The sauna bit was horrendous I thought but the rest was good - apart from the guy sulking because I wouldn't spend extra money on a facial and foot massage (if anybody touches my feet they die lol!!)

Got a fantastic pair of Uggs!! £25 - bargain!!! These are everywhere but some copies are not good so be careful - got mine from shop next door to Migros supermarket. Authentic by the Point Centre are other good copies but they wanted £35 a pair! Got a nice Chanel bag for £20 too!

Transfer back to airport was spot on too - arrived 10 mins early so all ready for us and no rush to airport or fear of missing flight

And that was that - back home to miserable weather and work

Only 50 weeks till we go again lol!