The Hemera is a very clean hotel with extremely spacious rooms, the bathroom in particular was very big with a huge shower.
The food was very good,very impressed with the quality of food in the snack bar at lunchtimes. You could choose from the menu or there was show cooking,a salad bar, pasta bar or fresh rolls made for you as required. The hotel restaurant was always very busy for dinner with lots of queing and quite a few spillages. We had no trouble getting a table due to the fact we had three young girls with us, in fact it was a little embarrassing as we we given the same table every night complete with flowers and our drinks waiting for us! We found the restaurant staff very attentive but I really don't think this would have been the case if it had just been hubby and myself. There is no waiter service as such in the evening which I found quite unusual but it is very easy to get served at any of the bars,also when waiters collected glasses they did ask if we would like another drink.
Entertainment was poor in my view. Poolside there was enough to keep everyone amused during the day but I think a hotel of this standard should try harder for evening entertainment,the exception being the beach/foam party on a Saturday night which I think most people joined in with and enjoyed.
All in all we had a very good family holiday here but if it had been our first time to Turkey I don't think we would have rushed back.It was a pleasant walk along the beach to Side which is a very nice resort with lots of history but on the whole we prefer Olu Deniz which just seems more Turkish in our opinion.To sum up I would say this hotel is excellent value for money, would we go back? probably not.

Arrived late afternoon after an excellent early morning flight with Monarch .No delays Huge plane , felt roomy and meals included . 1 hour transfer to resort .

First impressions very good . Lovely spacious rooms close to reception with a large double and large single .Both rooms the same . No rollaways which was good news for my son . Chose the room with the best view for ourselves and 2 eldest sons had the other room which was oposite and up a different flight of stairs.

Changed and went for a look around . Sat down at pool bar while boys enjoyed a splash around .I had a coffee while hubby enjoyed his first beer in a decent sized proper glass . Excellent that was him happy . strolled down to beach . Fairly busy both ways with lots of hotels along this stretch.

Food - excellent .

Breakfast . Usual choice of breads and pastries . Hot dishes, yoghurts, jams, honey , cereals , nice porridge , cheeses and salads etc . also fruit . Only odd thing was there were pancakes and fried eggs but other than 1/2 odd days No ommlettes which is unheard of in Turkey . You could book A la carte breakfast where interestingly this was mostly ommlettes and basic turkish style so maybe not your thing if you dont like eggs . The A la carte brekkie was served in the turkish restaurant which has a nice cool friendly feel.

Lunch you can take either at the busy snack bar where you are served chips, burgers, pizzas bagettes etc by the harrassed waiters or choose from a buffet of salad , pasta , spag bol etc or there is a live cooking station some days with an extra dish . There is also a jacket potato bar with fillings .
Or you can choose the more formal main restaurant with the normal buffet type selection similar to dinner .

Dinner is served at the main restaurant .Tables mostly inside with a few outside .We prefered outside as there is no ambience whatsoever inside and not the greatest of settings considering this hotel is on the beach . Brightish lighting , and feels like a busy caferteria .Also the air conditioning in there is rubbish. Outside not much better. Some candlelight would be a nice addition for the outside tables . Being July it was very busy and somewhat chaotic with people heading this way and that and trying to avoid loosing the contents of their plate . Hubby said it was like a crypton factor assault course getting back to his outside table with a bowl of soup.

Plenty of choice . Several hot dishes , veg rice,pasta etc . soups , pide/breads . Huge cold and salad selection and an enormous selection of puddings and fruit .

3 la cartes available but we couldnt get a booking for 7 days . Turkish , international and fish . Didnt try the fish . thought the Turkish was the best.

Patisserie was lovely . lovely cakes,ice creams and coffee served all day . We definately had our monies worth in there . It was also the only place that had decent air conditioning

Pool and entertainment -

Plenty of sunbeds available but if you wanted a poolside bed you needed to be up for 6-6.30 in high season . The first week we were there I was getting up at 5.30 and most were already taken but seemed a little better the busier 2nd week for some reason .
There are also plenty of sunbeds on the grassy areas around the pool and heading down towards the beach .There were still available beds here late morning and often all day. Most of these areas have lovely trees for some shade and there are brollys spaced every 2 sunbeds around the pool so no problem getting shade .
Lovely sized pool with water polo /volley and a game at around 12 followed by the usual in Turkey club dance . Very odd old music played most of the day that at times felt depressing . I was told the music is down to the new animation team so they really need to get themselves some new CD's . There was a huge list of activities going on during the day but other than Aly (shooting/archery) who was very good and made an effort to talk and say hello to guests and on the odd occasion Bora who did the water polo none of the entertainment team seemed to make any effort to let you know where activities were taking place and very little interaction with guests . I know not everyone wants to be hassled with reguests to get involved but they just didnt seem to bother at all . Water Arobics in the afternoon with one of the females looked very dull . Not even any music to go with it.

Evening entertainment at the beach bar area (open until midnight) was again dull and cant say we witnessed anything upbeat. We watched a couple of caberet type shows but everybody looked bored stiff . There was a show put on by the mini club one evening that was lovely to see and Im sure the children enjoyed rehersing for it and an odd comedy show done by the animation team that was quite frankly embarrasing to watch . The beach and foam party on a saturday night seemed to be the best night . Also an olympic games morning around the pool on our last day was very good and more upbeat and great to see the different nationalities having fun competeting against each other .

Pool bar with some live music until 11pm

There is also a nightclub that is open from 11.30 until I think about 2am and a 24 hour lobby bar that was a good size and actually seemed to have the best atmoshpere but as my hubby is a smoker he couldnt sit there for long which was a shame .

My teens had a ball every night and often didnt come in until 5am . They made lots of friends and put this high on their list of best holidays .

To sum up . We had a lovely holiday at the Hemera . Our teens had an absolute ball .The food, drinks and accomodation is of excellent quality which we couldnt fault .
Guests I would say half English and the rest German/dutch with a few others thrown in . A good crowd of guests and Everybody friendly .

The staff regretably we found on the whole pretty miserable for Turkey . Again very little interaction with guests and none of that usual Turkish high jinks and banter which we missed . They were very busy I surpose but I dont think that is an excuse for rudeness on the odd occasion and lack of even a good morning from many . There were of course the few exceptions and the couple of female staff seemed to be the best .On a couple of accassions we were requested to sit at tables we didnt want to sit at just because they were already laid out and they wernt happy when we requested to sit elsewhere .
It was almost like they were constantly being watched by someone in a smart shirt and were too scared to even stop and chat or didnt feel it appropriate which is a mistake in Turkey . Maybe this is normal for the larger hotels along this stretch of coast but it didnt feel like Turkey to me so I dont think we would return to this area.

As this was our first visit to the Hemera we had no previous experience there to go by but many return guests were saying how things were not the same and how the fun and laughter was missing now the old entertainment team had left .

This must be the best hotel we have stayed in, the cleanliness of it was 100%, the food was really good always hot and a good choice so you would never starve!! The Patisserie especially which was open from 10am till 6pm and air conditioned so it gave you an excuse to go and have a coffee and cake in the cool...(that was my excuse anyway)!Beach bar that we went to for our lunch always had a good choice and speciality cooking every other day, if you didn't want any of the buffet food you could choose off a menu, absolutely brill!!
Entertainment we thought on the 1st few days we admit was a bit poor but once the new staff had found there feet they were very good and worked very hard around the pool and baech during the day and putting on shows every other night. Chief the head of entertainment was a bit up himself (excuse the pun) and didn't mind putting the others down in front of the guests which wasn't good in our eyes! Ali (I Kill You Man)!! Was absolutely brilliant at his job day and night you would find him doing archery and shooting and was very good at his job considering all the hours they put in.Would we visit this Hotel again? Too right we would, we met alot of lovely people whilst we were there alot of whom have been there quite a few times and they said it just gets better, infact a family and another couple we met have already booked up for same time next year. On a whole if anyone finds faults with this Hotel, I think they must live in cloud cuckoo land!!

My husband and I have just returned from staying a week at this hotel and it was the best hotel we have stayed in. The hotel was spotlessly clean, food excellent, staff very friendly, room excellent. The hotel was surrounded by lovely gardens. This would be the hotel that we would go back in the very near future. We would recommend this hotel to anyone who would like a bit of luxury. It was good value for money and being all inclusive you did not have to worry about having to pay for anything. This hotel we would give 10 out of 10. Well done Hemera!

just got back this morning this was my fifth visit and probably the last . entertainment same.. food same. animation apart from sherif , some couldnt be bothered to ask whether guest wanted to join in with activities..

i would recomend people dont play bingo rip off prices 6 lira a ticket. my wife won the 2 lines on the ticket she had which now the ticket only needed 2 numbers to complete the full house they took the ticket from her and said it wasnt fair for her to maybe win another prize with the ticket even though she paid to play..

Another return visit to the Hotel, we arrived at night, and were given the wrong room. Sorted it out in the morning.

Hotel spotless as always and plenty to eat and drink all day long. A lot of elederly people in hotel for time of year. Lots of early risers for breakfastm queing at 6.45 am, even when it was pouring down with rain.

All the animation team have changed this season and they are still finding their feet. Shows were poor, and most other entertainment was poor bands, all with same repertoire. All music and dancing over by 11.15. No atmosphere in pool bar, or any of the lounges. We went out at night as it was so tedious. Just lots of drunken guests.

A week was long enough to relax, couldn't cope with a fortnight again.

This was our 7th visit to Side and 6th to Hemera. Rooms and public areas are spoteless and reception staff and porters were quick with check in and luggage delivery. Gardens are still beautiful. Hotel wasn't full so plenty loungers although not many in the sun at this time of year, especially after clocks went back and daylight is lost. Weather was not over 27, and had 1 night of very bad rain and thunder which cleared early morning. its normal for the autumn though. Food choices are better, breakfasts now have a panini type sandwich grill for you to make your own sandwiches, keep kids away though as they are very hot. Lots of peole are unable to walk in straiht lines round the buffet, going backwards and there were a few spillages!!!
Aquarium Bar is now Hemera lounge, has been updated with a wooden floor and panelling and high seats at back have gone, newer sofas added, and a splash of colour. Shows have moved indoor into nightclub/old conference room. So no chance for dancing in the old bar. Standard of shows has gone down, more external singers and live music with very similar repertoires !

After returning from this hotel. we feel that we should add our comments. As this was the fourth time we visited this hotel.
The hotel is clean ,rooms are nice.
It is a lovely hotel. But some things have changed.
Firstly you have to pay to play pool and playstation , this was not the case the last time.
In the thomas cook brochure it does say this is free.
The entertainment is been the same for the last four years, And it is very poor. The music some evening by the pool bar was better.
The animation team the only ones we feel where good was Ali and Tugi. The rest just sat watching you play. Did not join in the games like Robin or scooby did. They never said hello to you .
The food was below par than previous years the service at the beach bar was very slow, and some times your food never came.
The air conditioning in the main restuarant was very poor. It was extremely busy at meal times. They have built more rooms, but not extended the restuarant.
And to get in to the other restuarants you had to book we tried, but the only date we could have was the 18th August , We would be home then.
Sunbeds well where do i start. This is worse than ever. People where putting towels out before midnight around the pool.
I even saw the pool man a few times between 12.00am and 1.00am putting towels out. he was getting tips for doing this. So you had no chance around the pool.
This needs to be sorted out.
They use to do the garden party which was fantastic, but it was not done last year because of the work done in the hotel area. But we where told it would be back in 2008. This was not the case. They are not doing them anymore. We asked why ? and the comment the grass get damage. But they do this in a sister hotel Arum.I feel that they are cost cutting on items that they do in this hotel. But it has been graded as a 5 star. I feel it should go back to four.
It is a lovely hotel but it has gone down hill in some areas. If this was sorted we would go back in a couple of years.

I loved the hotel it was ace i would love to go again !! The rooms were really clean and the food was delish :) the hotel is right near the beach which is brill!

The staff were really friendly i loved them all :) i had a massage which was great and the pools were really clean, it was really hot and the entertainment during the day was fab.

The night entertainment was ace and really funny thanks too the animation team i love youu all especially ali and malikai (dont know how to spell it) you made my holiday the best and i miss you lots :'( id love to go back and i hope i do!!

Having stayed in the Hermera last year we went again this and it was just as good. The hotel just cannot be faulted it is absolutely spotless; from the second you arrive to the second you leave the hotel staff are cleaning.
Everywhere we went the hotel staff greeted us with "you were here last year welcome back". In my local pub they cant remember what I drink??. I have only given the food four stars as didn