hiya Lynda1972

thanks for the advice re. Ear infections, my 2 year old suffers with his ears and i was a little worried before reading your post, i have phoned the dr and he has given me some antibiotics just incase he gets an infection, Thanks again

leanne xxx

Have read that there are banana boats etc on the beach - is this the one at the hotel and are there sun beds set out in that area

yes the beach outside the hotel has sunbeds and also lots of. watersports which are great fun

Forgot to mention sunbeds...7am alarm anyone?

hi

im off this monday, anyone else??

getting excited now, also do people dress up at night?

leanne x

Couple of quick questions - what time are the rooms available from - think we arrive about 2 in the afternoon - will we be able to get pool towels when we check in as dont plan on taking any if we can get away with it but dont want to be without the first day as kids will want to be straight in the pool - do you have to pay a deposit and get a card for the towels? Whats the chances of finding some where to sit by the pool when we get there? Finally - does any one know what the gym facilities are like? Thank you all for your help.

You have to pay a deposit for your towel cards which you get back when you return your cards when you leave. You might struggle to get pool towels at that time, when we were there in June sometimes at 11 am there was none left.

We arrived about 3 and our room was ready, check in was very fast.

Really?

We were there in June and there was no deposit payable on the towel cards, BUT, if you lose any, it will cost you £10 for each card to replace them. Also, we never had any trouble getting towels at any time of the day.

There was no deposit for the towel cards. You get given them with your room key on arrival (one card per person - my friend even got one for her baby). The towel hut is open from 9am til 12noon I think, possibly 12.30 and then open again at about 16.00 till 18.30. You can exchange your cards for towels at 1600 if they have any clean ones left. Most days we were out and by the pool early (sunrise swim) so we tended to change our wet towels in the afternoon for fresh ones which we kept overnight and put out by the pool the next morning. We went out on a couple of day trips which involved swimming/getting wet so took our pool towels with us for that too.

Monday is a BIG changeover day. About 15 flights out and in so it's usually quieter round the pool. If you are arriving monday PM then you should be able to bag a couple of sunbeds on arrival no problem. If you are not an early riser and want a parasol when all the poolside ones have been bagged, the towel hut have a few that they will give you if you ask for one.

GILLG - Your room will be available straight away on check in whatever time of day you arrive.

Enjoy - I'm envious and want to go back

Lynda xx

Thanks Lynda - thats great - looks like we may miss out on the pool towels then for the first afternoon - suppose we could use a couple from the room - is there plenty? (is it the system of putting your dirty towels in the bath and they replace them daily?) Thats good news about the parasols as I was a bit concerned about not being able to get one unless we got up at stupid o'clock.

Cheers Lynda1972

Nice tip about using the hotel towels on Days out. We (family of 5 ) stayed at the tropical (sept 06 ) last year , and done the 12 island cruise , but never thought to take the hotel towels with us .
This year we went to Crete and it was ACE, But the Petra Mare did not match the Palace / Tropical Hotels. (cost roughly the same price, but Palace / Tropical is of a higher standard)
We have booked to go to the Palace next year (june 08)
The whole family cant wait to go back to one of the best holliday areas we have been to yet!
All the best for next time garry&family.

GILLG - you get one bath towel and one hand towel per person in your room so you could use a couple of those the first day and share the clean ones. They ask that you re-use your bath towels unless you want them changing to help the environment and so only towels left in the bath will be changed by the maid.

Ginkster - we booked our trips with Sarigerme Tours in the village (just a few steps from the taxi rank). We had excellent service from them for the second year running. Abul (the owner) drove us himself to the Turkish Bath and the Jeep Safari was great fun even though we knew what was coming. If doing the Jeep safari take your purse/camara in sealable plastic bags and don't wear light coloured clothes (or anything that you will want to wear again whilst on holiday for that matter )

We did the evening trip to Dalyan with First Choice. Unfortunately I had a bit of a dodgy tummy that night but it was nice to get out of the complex and eat somewhere different. We also used the Asian and Italian a la cartes this time and although they were nice you didn't really come out full! Nice to be waited on and have drinks brought to the table though.

Lynda xx

We also booked with sarigerme tours last year and they where Ace .
Last year we stayed in the hotel 2 long And did not see enough of Turkey, , Next year we will go and see the real Turkey.
We cant wait to see the guys from SarigermeTours again .....
They are realy good guys .
ONLY 10 MONTHS TO GO!!!!!

Lynda you've been a great help - thanks. What did the evening trip to Dalyan involve and if its not a stupid question what does a turkish bath involve?

Just one more question (I think!!). Is there a currency exchange centre at the hotel or in the village - after ready the reports was just planning on taking Sterling - will I need any lira at all?

Thanks

Mad2007 and who ever else has got a preium flight to turkey flight number FCA 534/535 better check details :- i have phoned up first choice airways today and they have told me it is a modified boeing 757 that is used which has more leg room but seats aren't wider two drinks are free one before take off and one during on flight meal, also you will need to check that you have got the proper kiddie meal boxes as when i booked this was confirmed on booking but was told to check with airline and guess what thay weren't booked, be interesting to see what seats are like as it say in first choices booking
"Jump straight to the front of the queue with priority check in and boarding. You'll get 3kg extra luggage allowance, a premium cabin space with extra legroom seats and free sitting together, all from just £19 per head. Why not treat yourself?"
going on 23rd august not long to go now

hiya

could someone please let me know if milk is available? my son loves milk, and did i read there are microwaves about? just so i can heat the milk lol, he's only 2. i was also wondering do they have breakfast cereals in the morning?

many thanks
leanne x we go on monday!!

Yes, there was milk in the breakfast restuarant. They have two drums of milk that you help yourself to. There are also several varieties of breakfast cereal available.

The evening trip to Dalyan was just a coach leaving at approx 7.15pm from the hotel arriving in Dalyan about 7.45. From the coach you take a short walk to a bar where you have a free cocktail (there are non-alcoholic ones for the kids) and you have about 2.5 hours to explore Dalyan/eat at a restaurant/shop etc. Whatever you want to do really. You meet back at the bar at a designated time to walk back to the coach. If you wanted to you could eat early at the hotel and just have a wander round the shops as everything is open til late. Adults were £6, kids aged 7-12 inclusive were £3, 6 and unders were free.

Turkish bath (off site) was £10 per person regardless of whether adult or child. Included pick up from hotel gate and return. Take your swimsuit! On arrival you are shown to a changing room and given a checked sarong thing and sandals. I wore my bikini and the sarong, the men can go naked under their sarong thing if they wish(that's how the turkish people do it!) or wear swim shorts/trunks. There are lockers for your belongings. You are taken into the sauna - not like a swedish sauna, this is all marble with a high domed ceiling. You sit and sweat it out for a while and then the masseur comes in. You lie on the marble slab while you are scrubbed from head to toe with a sizal mitt (exfoliation), they then wash you off with clean water. Each person is scrubbed in turn then after that you take turns to be soaped and massaged then washed off again. This is the turkish bath. After you've all finished you go outside into the courtyard garden to have cold drinks (extra - although reasonably priced) and you will be offered an oil massage (also extra - 30 lira per person). My husband and I had the massage and it was LOVELY! I have a long standing shoulder problem which the masseur really worked on for me as it'd been bad due to not sleeping in my own bed. It was much better afterwards. There is no obligation to have the massage - we chose not to last year. There is a tip-box as you leave and they appreciate a tip regardless.

You can exchange £'s to lira at the hotel reception. The exchange rate is on an electronic display thing on the wall. It varied between 2.36 and 2.41 while we were there. I took £20 of lira with me and exchanged as and when I needed it. There is a post office in Sarigerme (signed as PTT) where you can exchange - this would probably give you a better rate. When we went to Dalyan the coach stop was right by the PTT there so you can also exchange there too. There was a consistent exchange rate in all the hotel shops this year of 2.5 lira to the £ which is better than last year as they seemed to be making it up as they went along! Although watch them because the hotel shop prices vary, sun cream in the shop by the amphitheatre was dearer than in the main shop downstairs from reception. We exchanged lira as and when we wanted it. You will need lira for drinks and snacks on day trips (although mostly lunch is provided), tips, taxis etc. The hotel shops accept lira, sterling or euros, MUCH better bargaining power with £'s in the market. Village shops accept £'s and trips can be paid for in £'s. Trips to the Doctor (dreaded ear infections) are best paid for in cash with £'s. I put my Dr's fees on my credit card and £59 turned into 177 lira (3YTL to the £!!) so ended up far more expensive.

Milk is available around the hotel all day. There are insulated jugs of it next to the coffee machines in the pool bar by day as well as in the main restaurants at other meal times. My friend just filled up some empty water bottles and put them in her room fridge for her baby. There are microwaves in the restaurants to warm things for babies.

The breakfast cereals were not that nice. Some that looked like golden nuggets had no taste, chocolatey ones and museli which was awful! We took a jar of marmite with us so the baby had marmite on toast a lot!

Ok. I think that's it! I really must stop coming here and start looking for next years holiday