Please tell us what it was you didnt like about Icmeler

too many samey restaurants with waiters fixing bills and dancing all over the place..... not genuine Turkey anymore.... overpriced.... the sea is not so clean... and the market is a nightmare...

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But there was a thread about Icmeler where someone had said they defy anyone not to like Icmeler. I have to say, it was ok, but not a place we'd particularly look or rush out to book to return to

We felt exactly the same after going there a few years ago Karen. We went because everyone raved on about it on HT at the time but were actually disappointed. Just too many restaurants making the competition and hassle overwhelming . I didnt mind the dancing waiters , actually quite liked that part but it did all feel a bit samey and just too much for us . Completely different feel to Olu but I also appreciate many will prefer Icmeler and that Olu has changed over the years too .

lyn

We have visited icmeler since 2001/2 the resort isnt what it once was.ive asked myself do i feel this way because i have become over familiar with the place,but standards are slipping sadly.We would visit turkey for our relaxing,chill out holiday then go to magaluf/benidorm etc for our blow outs,icmeler is becoming more and more popular with the younger generation particually young girls,a lot of the bars havent changed their entertainment,decor or menus in 9 years,and in some places the waiters can be downright rude/cheeky.although i will say service on the whole is excellent.Icmeler is however a holiday resort nothing more and i have come to terms with the fact if i want a more authentic turkish expeirience i shall have to visit other areas,as i personally think that the place is becoming more and more rowdy even if the bars are required to turn music down at 12.Sadly one of the things you discover about the place when you visit repeatedly is that a lot of fake tourist/local frienships are formed and the only thing the majority of the locals respect is the good old para.there is a another website i dont know if i am allowed to mention its name,which allows members to post stories about ex cheating boyfriends etc etc .....icmeler has an alarming number of people named and shamed for such a small place ....i know this type of thing happens all over the world but icmeler seems to be getting a reputation

All I can say is that's not the Icmeler I know and love - I wouldn't keep going back time and time again if it was anything like that!

this year was my first year in icmeler we usually go to altinkum and i must admit i wasnt looking forward to it,but i loved it we were never hassled and even when we went into shops if we said we were just looking they left you in peace,the market is just the usual market although they were more pleasant than altinkum as was everywhere.we have booked already to go back to icmeler already ....well the day after we came home lol the place is spotless and everyone we met were friendly and never once in your face.

suzie

sorry to be so negative about the place,it does still have some very positive aspects,but we are caught in that strange place where we are not really tourists anymore,but we dont live there either,we return due to family ties,and unfourtunatley have seen and heard things that have made us more and more cynical over the years.In some ways i wish i could still go purely as a tourist and be ignorant to some of the dramas that go on.However i will say that overall the place does have a kind of cham that draws people back ,even though i now have a love/hate relationship with it.

Last year was my first year to Turkey for a holiday we stayed in Icmeler and I really liked it, but my husband doesn't like going to the same place twice so we went to Altinkum this year. I talked some friends into coming with us ( they didn't fancy Turkey for a holiday) but after all i raved on about Icmeler from last year ( dancing waiters, shows etc.) they decided to give it a go. We went to Altinkum this year(just come back). Had a good holiday with friends in Altinkum but its nothing compared to Icmeler, Loads of hassle trying to find somewhere to eat, very pushy, trying to get you in to there restaurants, one turned very abusive when we said no, (he said he couldn't understand the english?) What ever that meant. Found the market experience worse too, you expect a bit of banter, but some of them very cheeky and rude. Didn't find many restaurants (waiters) doing shows every night only on a couple of nights.
We are fortunate to be able to have another holiday in September and have talked hubby into going back to Icmeler for a week, am looking forward to it.

Please tell us what it was you didnt like about Icmeler

Its not that I didn't not like it, it just wasn't how I expected it to be, nor was it as nice a place as I expected it to be. Olu is the only place out of all the places we've travelled to that we've been back to and would go back to again. I was thankful for the hotel we had in Icmeler because it was in the perfect location for us and had a nice pool, slides and right on the beach.

I didn't find it as good value as it has been on our previous visits to Turkey and I would agree with Chelsea Boy with his comments about not being traditional turkey and being overpriced. I know Olu isn't traditional Turkey either, but we did see more traditional than in Icmeler.

It just wasn't what I thought and at the end of our first week I was already ready to come home (and thats the first time I've ever felt that way on holiday). I didn't find the people as friendly in Icmeler and you very much got the feeling of them being interested in the money you spent and very little else that hasn't been our experience in other places we've visited.

My favourite day of the holiday was when we got a water taxi over to Turunc for the day. As soon as we stepped off at the marina it was just like being in a completely different place, it was peaceful, a lot friendlier and just a lovely place.

Don't get me wrong, we did have a relaxing holiday, but I know a lot of that came from our hotel and the people we met there, it didn't come so much from where we were. When we came in through Marmaris on the journey in, my heart sank when we went through it as it was just so far from the places I like to go on holiday and apart from a trip over to the waterpark and the drive back out through Marmaris to the airport I know that I wouldn't want to go there either lol

I didn't find Icmeler hassly particularly, Ive learned to say no, show I mean it politely and walk on, but they then go on to say something about you in Turkish which you can quite clearly see isn't nice! Even my son (9) commented on that and how it felt horrible. I did want to get an addition to the jewellery, and I went near one shop and it was enough to put me off . . I think the most hassle came from the tour/trip agencies around the place, and both trips we went on the information we were given which led us to buy were completely wrong. our boat trip didn't stop at any of the places that the guy had told us it would and with the trip to the waterpark were told we could return at anytime, when we come out we were told that our last bus back had gone at 330!!! Thankfully we used the Dolmus, but its just things like that which just put you off a bit. . . talking about putting you off a bit . . .the kids along the beach front with their scales do get on your nerves after a while!

We did have some nice meals, we also had a couple of really bad ones and in one place in particular had our worst restaurant experience we've ever had in terms of service, food, meal. I couldn't wait to get out and he wouldn't give us our bill because they had entertainment . . .as I said to him, I hadn't enjoyed our meal., I didn't want to see yet another Michael Jackson who was nothing like Michael Jackson and asked again for my bill . .jsut an awful uncomfortable experience I neither want nor expect on holiday.

We were lucky to have a private section of beach in front of the hotel, although its a bit of a disappointing beach all round.

Its not that I didn't like it and the holiday wasnt a total disaster, we had nice hotel, relaxing time, great weather, but I wouldn't choose to go back to Icmeler, our previous holidays to Olu have just been almost perfect, and in my personal opinion and based on my preferences Icmeler isn't Olu and its neither a place I would choose to return to, nor recommend particularly to others.

But, each to their own, we met people in our hotel who had been going twice a year for 8 years, some who'd been going for 10+ years and they like it and it meets their needs and preferences, but for me, no . .

Well put Karen a sensible and balanced point of view.

I have been going to Icmeler for about 6 years and do like the place however some people do tend to be a bit OTT in my opinion about the place. It is a lovely place but if you are looking for traditional Turkey then Icmeler is not really the palce forthis. It is very geared up to the British market of holidaymakers although there are still plenty of Dutch germans etc.

Icmeler has changed even in the 6 years I have been going and I have to say not for the better. What i have noticed that in the early years itwas mainly families and couples. Recently though there has been an increase in the number of young guys and girls who are going and some large groups of middle aged women. Perhaps there are folks who had come as children and decided they liked it they come withtheir younger friends

I have also read numerous reports about some of the bar owners and market guys being very rude to people. Again yeras ago this was not really heard of

Still it a good job we dont all like the same thing or same place or we would all be crammed into one resort. Each to their own

Stewart

I enjoy going to Marmaris and Icmeler,June and September.I tried Gumbet and Bodrum one year and that wasnt for me,like you Karen I couldnt wait to come home.I would love to try somewhere else in Turkey,but dont want a big disappointment again.

I would love to try somewhere else in Turkey,but dont want a big disappointment again.

This is how I feel again now too and wonder if we were to return to Olu which my son does want to, will we be disappointed?

A friend has an apartment near Altinkum they said we could rent out, but I wonder whether we would like it there. We did like our visit to Turunc, and think we'd be ok there for a 7 day holiday . . .but I wonder if we were to visit other places whether I'd leave feeling disappointed and "short changed" as I did with Icmeler. It's like it was missing something and Im not overly sure what lol

I know how you felt Karen, We love Olu Deniz too and have been many times. Last year we decided to go the Club Letoonia in Fethiye thinking we would enjoy a bit of 4/5* luxury and would still be able to pop over to Olu for the day. We really missed Olu and ended up going over and staying at the Mavi Belchi Hotel for two nights. Letoonia was OK but it just wasn't Olu Deniz

I also know how you feel, been to Icmeler four times, last time was last year, but felt we needed a change this year and decided on Dalyan and absolutely loved it and the good thing only half an hour from the airport. Lots to do and see although no beach but the trip by either boat or dolmus was lovely and the beach was outstanding and proper sand. Can't wait to go back next year.

Love dalyan,it has kept is charm and is enchanting,icmeler once had a very similar atmosphere,i am glad some one else has noticed the amount of "ladies of a certain age"visiting icmeler,i was beginning to think it was my imagination.

"Ladies of a certain age"? Not sure what that's meant to mean - but it's a bit of a sweeping generalisation is it not? If I happen to fall into the age category in question, I think I might be a tad offended by what I think you're implying here...

Offended or not it's true, please don't let Icmeler become the second Marmaris with British girls who are an embracement to our country.So much so while having a manicure in Icmeler one night and talking to the Turkish man who owned the shop asked me why British girls come to Turkey and behave like dogs in the his street.
I did inform him that not all British girls were the same, but totally understanding what he meant after having been to Turkey many years on holiday and witnessing some girls behaviour nothing less than disgraceful.

Blondiescot

No offence intended and the statement I made was a generalisation. Unless you walk about with your eyes closed you must surely have noticed the increase in women I am guessing in their forties, in small groups eg 3/4 of them. There is nothing wrong with that however some of them are totally OTT and are getting completey wasted and out of control. There is nothing wrong with having a good time and having a drink but they are a bit much. Yes it is a generalisation as there are also women "of a certain age" who do not behave in this manner. just simply my opinion and an observation

I know there are plenty of others who do the same thing, but this "category" seem to have increased significantly in the past year or so. Icmeler previously was a family and couples resort in the main, and I appreciate that this is also a generalisation

Stewart

I have been going to Icmeler since 1992 and am returning again in 4 weeks.It has changed a lot since my first visit but nowhere stays the same.
I have gone in October for the last 4 years but after reading complaints regarding the behaviour of certain bar/restaurant and shop staff it will be my last visit if I am on the receiving end of anything untoward.
It must be a totally different Icmeler to the one I see in October but like all Turkish resorts none are like they they were years ago.
I have been to many other resorts on holiday and others on day trips but Icmeler is my favourite-at the moment.
I hope its as peaceful this October that it has been the last few years or I will be looking elsewhere next year.