I would think Bitez would suit them perfectly.

Scroll down the board and have a look at all the related threads.

It is a short transfer from the Airport, with the only possible drawback from your pre-conceived idea, being that most hotels are smaller B&B properties. The major upside, is that there are enough quality restaurants within short walking distance to turn this minor hiccup into a major plus.

You are also only 10/15 mins away from Bodrum on the local Dolmus (minibus), or 5/10 mins by Taxi.

Enjoy!

I agree with Luddendenturk, Bitez would be a great place for them. There are some lovely hotels and apartments, lots of nice restaurants and a few bars. The beach is good and although there isn't a harbour in Bitez itself, it is only 15 minutes away from Bodrum with a lovely harbour.

There are lost of day trips available and there are various boat trips on offer too. They could also get on a bus very easily to lots of other places around the Bodrum Peninsula.

Bitez certainly isn't commercialised and they will find some lovely food of all kinds there.

I hope this helps and if there is anything else you want to know just ask.

Kedi

Hi, thanks for the ideas so far. The only problem is I've had a look at the resort reports for Bitez and quite a few say there wasn't much to do in the evening apart from in the restaurants. I know they don't want full on 18-30s madness but thy'd like a good choice of bars for in the evening.

I've found a couple of hotels, in Side and Marmaris, any opinions on those resorts?

Thanks for your help

Have they considered Icmeler? It's less commercialised than Marmaris, but has a great selection of restaurants, bars etc, and it's only a short trip to Marmaris if they want to visit there. The only downside is that the beach is shingle rather than sand, but there's a promenade which is lovely to walk along in the evening - you can even walk all the way along the coast to Marmaris if you fancy it! Plenty of trips you can do as well - the boat trips are highly recommended. Turunc, which is smaller and much quieter, is just along the coast a bit and you can take the dolmus or water taxi there. Happy to help with any more information if you want.

Marmaris is very big and commercialised so maybe Icmeler would be better. Or going back to the Bodrum Peninsula they could look at Turgutreis, that is a bigger resort than Bitez or even Gumbet. Gumbet does get busy during July and August but if they are going out of those months then it is lively without being too mad and there is a bigger choice of bars for the evening.

I would recommend Icmeler as well: plenty of bars and restaurants - music/entertainment on till midnight, but you can stay in the bars till the early hours with background music talking/drinking etc.
shops and market stalls open till 11pm/midnight so they can have a wander round easily after even a late dinner.
lots of walking and exploring can be done as there is the town and the old village.

only negative i would say would be that the beach is shingle, although there are parts of it that are sandy (some hotels/bars have their own private part)

Hi

I would recommend SIDE the Beach House Hotel this is a small and very friendly place. It is owned by Australian Lady and a Turkish Gentleman who will help you in what ever way they can,without being in your face. All rooms are mainly sea views and the beach is about 10 paces. If you want the shops bars restaurant your in it,but without the noise. If you want to look around a amphitheatre that's about 5 mins away. Also you can watch loggerhead turtles from the shore(5 mins).View the area out on google earth also youtube.This area suits most age groups

Hi, I would also recomend Side. We are an elderly couple and over the years have been to most resorts in Turkey to see the sights. We now just go to relax in the sun and find Side ideal. but do stay b & b in the old town ,. We have stayed in the Beach House for the last few years and its location is right on the small beach, about five minutes from the main street and in close proximity of many restaurants and bars. The beach in Bitez cannot be compared to those in Side, where it is soft sand not shingle. If you want to go out on a day trip there are may boat trips from the harbour and various tours to Aspendos, Perge, Alanya etc. Apart from the Beach House look at the Villa Onemli, Yali Hotel, Kamer Hotel and Tuana Hotel.

I'd also reccomend Side. Ok, we haven't been to any other resorts (well, actually we did altinkum (sp?) in 1992, and kusidasi/ephesus as part of a cruise in 2007).

Its a lovely sandy beach (but is under a lot of work at the moment on the beach, should be finished in April, with work starting again in November -end of season). The people are very friendly. Theres a good choice of bars/restaurants, and loads of hotels to choose from. Its a mainly german and russian resort (still quite a few english). Apparently its more expensive than other turkish resorts, but we still find it much cheaper than our previous holidays on greek islands.

The work on the beach is the long beach to the west of Side which is backed by large All incl and half borad hotels. This is where you will find the Germans and Russians. I would recommend staying in the old town, unless of course you want luxery, in a b & b small hotel and use the small town beach or big beach which is on the east of Side. This area is mainly tourists from Uk , Netherlands Norway etc. The Beach House hotel provides free loungers and shades on the town beach.and there is an elderly gent who will fetch your drinks for you if you dont want to climb up the few steps.In this part of Side there are many restaurants after your custom so the competition helps to keep prices down.

oludeniz ....................would be perfect iam bias but i have been to alot of places in turkey its the best for me but then again were all diffrent

by the way oludeniz totally english ......................im not a racist not a loud to be my fathers dutch

It may be worth them considering Yalikavak or Turgetreis on the Bodrum peninsula, Turgetreis being the larger but with a more Turkish feel. Both are lovely places. Resorts on the Bodrum peninsula can boast only a short transfer time from Bodrum peninsula, plus it's so easy to travel around the whole of the peninsula so you can see quite a lot of the area.

JAK xx

I am biased but love Oludeniz - last time I was there it was lovely and not to far to Fethiye. Lovely boat trips and the most stunning beach and lagoon. Great restuarants and people.
We are going in June to the new Mozaik apartments which look stunning and are on the outskirts so will be nice and peaceful but not far away from the shops, restuarants etc. I have posted the link in a previous posting if you need to look at them. They look gorgeous.

Anne

Another three to consider -Turunc, Dalyan or Akyaka. The scenery around all of them is spectacular and they are all quite small resorts. Dalyan is probably the biggest and most developed but the setting by the river is wonderful, of the three this resort has the best beach. It is protected because loggerhead turtles nest there, so it is accessed by boat. The trip to the beach in itself is a great experience. Akyaka is very uncommercialised, and is the quietest, it has a lovely beach, but the village and restaurants are a bit more spread out than Turunc. Turunc is very compact and the low-key nightlife revolves around the restaurants and bars in the main street which is pedestrianised at night. Nowhere is more than 10 minutes walk away, but there is still more than enough choice of lovely restaurants and bars for a two week holiday. Its the sort of place where you get to know the bar and restaurant owners and waiters, and other holidaymakers, which makes for a lovely friendly atmosphere. There are a several small family run hotels and apartment complexes which would probably suit them. It's also very easy to get around by taxi boat, dolmus or on organised trips. It is also possible to walk over the cliffs to Amos and Kumlubuk, which are the next two bays to the west. Marmaris and Icmeler are both within easy reach if you want shopping or a lively night out.
To give them an idea about the restaurants here is a link to my post from last year
http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=135360
As long as you do a lot of research you will be able to find the resort that suits them. There are some very big brash, commercialised resorts which are probably not for them, but there are also many which offer exactly what you have described.
Hope they have a good holiday!