Hi Matt,
The Varlik Hotel is also known as the Mirage Hotel and changed to AI last year and although I believe they did have some problems then, we stayed there in June this year and had a great time.
The rooms were nicely furnished, cleaned every day and towels and bedding changed frequently.
We are quite fussy eaters but found the food to be delicious and always nicely cooked, although it did seem a bit 'same-ish' by the second week. The pizza and the Turkish pide served at the pool bar in the afternoons was the best I've ever had.
There are two large pools with plenty of sunbeds and parasols. One has a kiddies pool and is quieter, while the other has a water slide and is where the daytime activities take place.
The bar at the front of the hotel is open to the public and after 11pm AI stops and drinks have to be paid for but the pool bar is free for 24 hours and is where the evening entertainment is held.
We found all the staff to be friendly and helpful and the animation team worked very hard at keeping guests entertained.
It is ideally situated near to the beach, bars and restaurants and in a beautiful setting against a backdrop of mountains.
I would definately recommend the Varlik/Mirage as an AI hotel. However, because we enjoyed ourselves so much at the hotel, we did feel that we didn't see enough of the resort. This resulted in us returning to Icmeler earlier this month, when we went S/C and were able to sample some of the many excellent restuarants and entertainment in the bars.