Back again to the Arum for the 3rd consecutive year...and 4th time to Side since August 2008 (we went on a cheap holiday last october to another hotel).

Needless to say, we love this hotel, its hard to believe this time two years ago we were dreading going to turkey!!

The Arum gets better and better.

We had a fab room (one of the garden apartments) which was huge, bigger than previous rooms (and they weren't small!!).

Food was probably better than the year before. Breakfasts were good, great selection of cereals, fruits etc and omelettes were delicious. Also proper crepes once a week. Again, for a proper english cuppa its 3 of the blue teabags in a pot and as much water as you can get in. The coffee is always excellent.

For lunch, we went to the Bonsai snack bar and shared either chips, or 2burgers and chips between the four of us. Was plenty for us, and worked out far cheaper than ice cream. For example, 2 burgers & chips, with 3 soft drinks and an Efes came to 25lira. Four ice creams once came to 24lira, and definitely weren't enough to keep us going from breakfast to dinner. Sandwichs were 12lira each, and were ok, although not enough for two people to share, and could've done with mayonnaise (was slightly dry). But anyway, the hamburgers at Bonsai were some of the best burgers I have ever eaten (trust me, nothing like mcdonalds...I'm a bit of a burger snob).

Dinner was excellent. I normally ate the 'rice with gruel' (bulghar wheat cooked in tomatoes) with lots of salad and fish to start, followed by a selection of whatever was there. Fish included sea bass, bream, mackeral, trout, leer and others. The stuffed vine and cabbage leaves were excellent. Outside on the grill was a daily 'special.' The fillet lamb they did out there melted in the mouth it was so tender, and the meatballs on skewer were gorgeous. Again, the flatbread with mince meat was out of this world, great.

Puddings were better this year, ice cream on every day but one. The lemon was sublime, unfortunately we only discovered this the last night. Also the dark choc brownies with nuts were great, really rich with vanilla ice cream. And the creme brulee on saturday was heaven.

Mexican Night - everything had a spicy kick. The stir fry thing was too hot to eat, it was unbearable. It was the only thing we all disliked...however the normal stir fry was good. It was a great themed night though, the food was definitely inventive.

Turkish night - was our favourite night. They had proper kebabs on spits, which were gorgeous. And they made loads of the flatbread with mincemeat that night.

Al A Carte - we went to the fish restaurant again, which was suberb, although it did get too dark to debone the fish. Starters were great, discovered my 10 year old liked cold smoked fish. I had sea bream, which I still rave about - I have never had a piece of fish cooked so perfectly as that. Youngest had a kids meal, others had the bass (again gorgeous) and the sole (wonderful although slightly underseasond). Would have liked more carbohydrate with this meal though, instead of just one undercooked potato. But would definitely eat there again.

Pools were spotless, although sunbeds were a large issue this year. We witnessed several arguments over towels...not helped by the spa man who stood there grinning.

There are quite a few cats and kittens around the hotel, which only approach guests if encouraged (people were feeding them on tables....but they encoyraged the cats to get up there even after waiters asking them not to). Once kitten fell down the side of the hotel, which resulted in a rescue operation by guests (using the pool net....the animation team refused to help but the kitten had been there for days without water).

Cleanliness of the whole place could not be faulted...our rooms was cleaned to perfection every day. Pools were checked several times during the day, as was the beach.

Staff were attentive without being overbearing...the staff at this hotel really are some of the best we have come across, and like previous reviewers we do hae our favourites.

Evening entertainment was not good...but we tend to go out in the evenings anyway so not a problem for us.

Slight noise from building work next door (sunrise queen) but nothing too bad...although it did disturb us on two days and we weren't warned about it by thomas cook.

All in all, we hope to be back next year. Haven't booked yet (we normally would have done).

Usally me and my family like to experience new places and different countries when it comes to coming on holiday, however this year was the 4th consecutive time of coming to this hotel.
It is simply beautiful.

The cleanliness of the hotel was just top notch, clean towels available whenever you wanted them, and credit due to the maids who do an absolutely fantastic job of cleaning the rooms.

The location of the hotel on the Side beach is gorgeous, the beach is amazing and so is the sea, although we found that going in by the Crystal Sunrise Queen is better due to the rocks, although this was not a problem for us in any way.
The new promenade that has been built along the beach passed all the hotels is definately well worth it, most nights i enjoyed a lovely walk in to Side town with my friend who was staying at the Sentido Perissia, which he says is also lovely.

In my personal opinion, i think it's the staff that make the holiday.
The waitors, bar staff and animation team are just lovely, extremely attentive and 'our favourites' as we called them, are the reasons why we choose to come back year after year.

I love this hotel and really couldn't imagine going anywhere else now, and i can't wait to return next year!

Back again to the Arum for the 3rd consecutive year...and 4th time to Side since August 2008 (we went on a cheap holiday last October to another hotel).

Needless to say, we love this hotel, it’s hard to believe this time two years ago we were dreading going to Turkey. The Arum gets better and better.

We had a fab room (one of the garden apartments) which was huge, bigger than previous rooms (and they weren't small).

Food was probably better than the year before. Breakfasts were good, great selection of cereals, fruits etc and omelettes were delicious. Also proper crepes once a week. Again, for a proper English cuppa its 3 of the blue teabags in a pot and as much water as you can get in. The coffee is always excellent.

For lunch, we went to the Bonsai snack bar and shared either chips, or 2burgers and chips between the four of us. Was plenty for us, and worked out far cheaper than ice cream. For example, 2 burgers & chips, with 3 soft drinks and an Efes came to 25lira. Four ice creams once came to 24lira, and definitely weren’t enough to keep us going from breakfast to dinner. Sandwiches were 12lira each, and were ok, although not enough for two people to share, and could've done with mayonnaise (was slightly dry). But anyway, the hamburgers at Bonsai were some of the best burgers I have ever eaten (trust me, nothing like McDonalds...I'm a bit of a burger snob).

Dinner was excellent. I normally ate the 'rice with gruel' (bulghar wheat cooked in tomatoes) with lots of salad and fish to start, followed by a selection of whatever was there. Fish included sea bass, bream, mackerel, trout, leer and others. The stuffed vine and cabbage leaves were excellent. Outside on the grill was a daily 'special'. The fillet lamb they did out there melted in the mouth it was so tender, and the meatballs on skewer were gorgeous. Again, the flatbread with mincemeat was out of this world, great.

Puddings were better this year, ice cream on every day but one. The lemon was sublime; unfortunately we only discovered this the last night. Also the dark choc brownies with nuts were great, really rich with vanilla ice cream. And the creme brulee on Saturday was heaven.

Mexican Night - everything had a spicy kick. The stir fry thing was too hot to eat, it was unbearable. It was the only thing we all disliked...however the normal stir fry was good. It was a great themed night though, the food was definitely inventive.

Turkish night - was our favourite night. They had proper kebabs on spits, which were gorgeous. And they made loads of the flatbread with mincemeat that night.

Al A Carte - we went to the fish restaurant again, which was suburb, although it did get too dark to debone the fish. Starters were great, discovered my 10 year old liked cold smoked fish. I had sea bream, which I still rave about - I have never had a piece of fish cooked so perfectly as that. Youngest had a kids meal, others had the bass (again gorgeous) and the sole (wonderful although slightly underseasond). Would have liked more carbohydrate with this meal though, instead of just one undercooked potato. But would definitely eat there again.

Pools were spotless, although sunbeds were a large issue this year. We witnessed several arguments over towels...not helped by the spa man who stood there grinning.

There are quite a few cats and kittens around the hotel, which only approach guests if encouraged (people were feeding them on tables....but they encouraged the cats to get up there even after waiters asking them not to). Once kitten fell down the side of the hotel, which resulted in a rescue operation by guests (using the pool net....the animation team refused to help but the kitten had been there for days without water).

Cleanliness of the whole place could not be faulted...our rooms was cleaned to perfection every day. Pools were checked several times during the day, as was the beach.

Staff were attentive without being overbearing...the staff at this hotel really are some of the best we have come across, and like previous reviewers we do have our favourites.

Evening entertainment was not good...but we tend to go out in the evenings anyway so not a problem for us.

Slight noise from building work next door (sunrise queen) but nothing too bad...although it did disturb us on two days and we weren't warned about it by Thomas cook.

All in all, we hope to be back next year.

There

This was our first time to Turkey, and we really weren't sure what to expect in comparison to our usual haunts - the various Canaries. I can only say therefore it was a fantastic surprise.

First off, we wanted self catering, but now you can only stay at a minimum B&B as the apartments now only have a fridge and kettle, there are no cooking or (food) storage facilities, and as we like to eat out every night we didn't want to go all-inclusive. That said the apartments are excellent, virtually the same as any hotel room you'd find, two bedroomed in our case, a massive king size and two twin beds, with a massive shower. We got a sea/pool view balcony on the top floor and it couldn't have been better. I also can't say that the hotel was much below a UK 5-star if at all, so presumably the refurbs have taken care of any previous deficiencies?

We found the hotel was kept absolutely immaculately, both our room, which had fresh towels and was cleaned every day, and the hotel itself where one day we even saw a porter with dust pan and brush cleaning the access road! Whether this is because being focused towards German tourists that higher standards are demanded, or if this is indicative of Turkey in general I don't know, but a huge thumbs up from us.

There was no sunbed issue, with more than enough for everyone, and loads more stored beside the kids club for when it gets busier. The beach section for the Arum in fairness is one of the poorest, although if all you're doing is lying in the sun then there's no issue, but if you want to go in the water you need to head further along the beach, as the Arum's section is rocky. We only ate breakfast and at the snack bar for lunch sometimes, and can again only give both top marks.

The negatives - first off the price of drink, which was 5 TL for a 300ml beer, whereas throughout the resort it's generally 4 TL for a pint (500ml), by the end of our two weeks they'd even cut the happy hour back for 70 mintues to 45 minutes. So as a result we didn't drink much in the hotel as we normally would, maybe no bad thing :)

Secondly, this was Easter fortnight, but despite the recommendations coming out as ideal for families with teens, I would disagree and actually thought it was best for older couples and families with young kids, of which there were many. Our two (13 & 16) were about the only teenagers there during our time, and as a result they were at times bored, despite making use of the pools, slides, beach, Gym and of course the internet.


Finally entertainment, not a lot going on for the British as other reviewers have said, so you do need to head out every night.

we have just returned from the arum in side,turkey and it was fantastic!!!! we had a 2 bedroom apartment for the two of us and it was lovely. carpets in the bedrooms so no cold feet when getting up. fittings etc. were of a good standard although there wasn't a toaster but we managed ok without one.we went on their private beach everyday which had free sunbeds and parasols and the hotel provided the towels what a bonus! if you go there be sure to try one of their snacks at lunchtime at the beach bar. you can watch a lady make them for you. they are like huge thin pancakes filled with cheese,potatos and herbs and are delicious!we always went out on an evening so we dont know about the evening entertainment but the animation team were always busy in the day ie. boules,volleyball and other games. i had a turkish bath in the hotel and it was well worth the money (25 euros)pure luxury!!in the card room you can exchange your books you have read for others that people have left. the exchange rate was good at the hotel 2.40 lira to the

Our first holiday to Turkey will contain a mainly positive review. Let's start with the Arum Hotel itself. Superbly designed; many features that added to the holiday right from the onset. The layout is excellant giving the feeling of space but with atmosphere. There were never times that you were crammed in even though we were there in peak season.
Although I enjoy full English breakfasts, the absence of bacon and sausages didn't dampen my appetite and I usually had more than enough to last me until dinner! The evening meals were varied enough to satisfy most normal people with a vast number of desserts to choose from if we had any room left for more.
During the daytime, after securing our spot round the pool at 04.00, my wife and daughter relaxed by reading or swimming in the vast pool area. I myself took part in several activities including water polo, water aerobics, gym workout, step class, yoga and pallates! Not bad for a fifty-five year old. We also ventured down to the mainly sandy beach watching the local turtle population swimming around the jetty area whilst trying to get a breath of air in the 40 degree heat.
The hotel staff were almost without exception extremely polite and helpful. They all spoke English to some degree, most reasonably fluently. (Better than our Turkish). The entertainment team were great fun and were always cheerful in spite of the ridiculously long hours they were on duty. They all took part in the evening entertainment with a large array of dancing skills and elaborate costumes on show.
I would recommend the hotel to anyone and would certainly go back.
The major downside to the holiday was having to run the gauntlet of over enthusiastic shop owners when walkin outside of the hotel. (Window shopping is not an option).

Just arrived back from the Arum. We booked 2 Bed Apartment. We are a family of two adults and two teenagers. On arrival we were given a one bed apartment - not suitable for family with older teenagers as sofa beds only suitable for younger children. Immediately went to Reception and they told us to come back next morning to see the Manager. Manager said there were no two bed apartments available - he said there had been a problem. The fact that we had our booking form with us was stating 2 beds apartment did not help. We were told we would be able to move half way through our holiday to 2 bed apartment - not ideal as this would mean spending another day of our holiday packing/unpacking. Eventually negotiated that we would suffer the apartment in return for half board and proper bed for our 6ft 2 son which we accepted. Bed never arrived and we decided to make the most of it rather than to ruin our holiday back and forth to Manager.

On the positive side the Hotel is immaculate. However the apartments could do with a refurb as a little dated. Food variety is good but scambled eggs, tomatoes etc. were always cold at breakfast. We ate twice in hotel in the evening and the food was fine - usual hotel food. The al a carte restaurant is very good and not expensive at all.

All in all a good holiday but having booked this holiday a year before going we were very disappointed with the apartment situation.

We arrived at the Arum and immediately felt very welcome; at nearly one in the morning we were told that food was available if we wanted it, at no extra charge!
The hotel was one of the cleanest we have been in, and the beach and pool area were spotless. If you are going to go into the sea, walk to another part of the beach to avoid the rocks, and be careful - I was badly bitten by a fish. The bites became infected, and, three months later, the scars are still fading.
The food was slightly better than average, but definitely not excellent. The free coffee in the morning, however, was gorgeous. Thanks to the lovely waiter who had mine ready for me every morning!
We saw half of one evening show, before leaving. It was not entertaining, and was extremly boring. It also seemed to be catering for Germans. In the evenings, we found the best thing to do was walk up to the bars on the road into Side.
The staff were wonderful. One day when all the sun shades blew into the pool, at least half-a-dozen came running to help.
We noticed that the rooms appeared dated compared to the rest of the hotel. The manager told us that the main areas were refurbished that winter, and the hotel is closed for the bedrooms to be 'done' this year.
We honestly can't wait to go back, and, two days after landing home, we were in the travel agents, and have booked to return in July.

what a fantastic hotel and grounds. arrived at 5.00am to be put in a very large room but overlooking service delivery area. we moved rooms with no problems whatsoever. fantastic choice of food in the restaurant sorry no bacon or sausage for breakfast.hotel right on the beach lovely location, for lots of water sports or just to relax. would recommended to everyone!!!!! had a turkish bath in the hotel brillant.