The hotel looks very impressive and with a change of management could be a good hotel.

The food is diabolical and every thing is spicy and cold. The chef checks the temp with his hand and adds some more food if he thinks it is cold then mixes it all up. I have been to Turkey many times and the food is normally very good but this hotel is trying to cut costs any way they can. The orange at breakfast is watered down so much that you can't taste any orange. True the deserts are good but who wants to eat nothing but deserts. The pool bar have burgers but they put raw and cooked food on the same surface. Food hygiene at this hotel is non existent. We were all inclusive and ended eating up the road at a local bar.

They have a problem with the pool filtration and it is either so full of chlorine that it bleaches clothes and causes a rash or it is murky.

The beach is lovely but to get to it you have to go down some steep steps with a open manhole at the bottom,a point not mentioned in the brochures. No access for disabled.

Our bed linen was only changed once during the week.

They keep running out of basic drinks like brandy, vodka and they are watered down.

Lights are switched off in the reception area at night to save money making it dismal and depressive.

The entertainment team walked out while we were there because of a dispute with the management. Apparently the third time this had happened. The bar staff are run off their feed while the managers sit around talking and large queues build up.

Turkey is a wonderful country and has some very impressive hotels but this is not one of them. Do not come to this hotel it just is not worth it. To give it 2 stars would be pushing it.

We arrived the 2nd week of opening, so there was still some minor works going on, signs going up, finishing off outside theatre. Very clean hotel with nice clean rooms. Food was ok but not very hot!

Dining room bright and clean. No ice-cream for kids! drinks only basic turkey drink until 12pm, when it was finished that was it until the next day. Not much choice.

Entertainment just started but not organised, only 3 young Turkish boys with broken English, very poor. Staff very nice. Hotel rep had some compaints because there was about 10 people who had severe sickness due to food being reheated but she was dealing with the problem when we left.

Overall hotel very nice with nice swimming pool for kids and adults, tennis courts and bar areas.

The Can Gardens Resort is a new hotel, situated a 10-15 min bus ride from the resort of Side and a 10 min walk from a golden beach. Manvagat is a short bus ride away and self drive was easy to Antalya and Alanya. The Tourus moutains are a wonderful backdrop and make up for the lack of a sea-view.

Because it is new, the hotel was very clean and staff work hard to maintain such levels. Rooms are cleaned daily with fresh linen provided. The foyer, lounge and terrace bars are clean and comfortable.

The food is a self serve buffet. All four of my party (adults) found the choices, quality and quantity to be excellent although a small number of other guests were disappointed in the lack of English type food, particularly for children. the choices of sweets was amazing!!! The al a carte (served, in outside setting) was a major let-down however - we believe this is an area the hotel needs to improve or radically change (maybe a pizza restaurant??).

The All Inclusive includes a limited selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks available until midnight after which a charge is payable. Beer and spirits and hot drinks were readily available. There is one main restaurant (called the Pinus.....) where the majority of meals are available. There is a small choice of poolside snacks available at lunch time (burgers, chips, pizzas etc...).

Predominately the self-serve buffets include an extensive choice of breads, soup, hot meals (yes... chips are available!), numerous cold salads, pickles, sauces and delecious sweets. Breakfast is between 7-10.30am, lunch 12.30-2pm and dinner 7-9pm. There are 'snacks' available 4-5pm and 11.30pm-midnight.

Without exception the staff were courteous, friendly and willing to help. South Turkey has been dominated by German tourists over the last 10 years and Side is beginning to notice an increase in UK visitors - therefore good German spoken but less so for English.

The entertainment was a little hit and miss - whilst we were there, a group of entertainment staff left to be replaced by a group of young 'energetic' staff.

The design of the hotel does lead to noise being amplified around the bedroom areas and doors banging and loudly spoken guests were a problem for me. Nearby hotel entertainment was clearly audiable and a new hotel to the rear of the Can Garden is about to open which will have a major impact upon the hotel. Thankfully most entertainment is over by 10.30-11.30pm at the latest.

Rooms are 'functional' with 5ft beds in most. Balconies are small, particularly rooms set on the top floors. Bathrooms are adequate - shower/shallow bath/w.c. 1200watt hairdryer in the bathroom and shaver point. No tea/coffee making facilities in the room. TV is predominately Turkish/German channels. No Sky Sports.

The pool was large and clean but has a steep 'bridge' to cross which some may find difficult. The indoor pool is not heated.... and is COLD!!!

There is a very small gym, sauna and Turkish Bath. There are a few shops within the hotel and a hairdresser. There is also a small 'games room' which is payable.

Overall we all found the hotel to be very pleasant and we would happily visit again.

We landed back in england about three hours ago after a week at Can Garden. The hotel itself is great, food was boring after a couple of days and a couple of us have dodgy stomachs which we also had whle we were there. The staff are all brilliant, but it's a fair walk to the beach when you're not used to the heat.

The staff are all really good, the waiters make you feel like royalty, but do watch out for the very pushy and over expensive photographer who is a real pain. He takes you to the beach to do sunset shots, which are really nice, but you'll be there for hours and he'll hassle you for even longer to buy every picture he's taken.

If you want entertaining you'll need to make your own or spend the money on a taxi and go elsewhere as it's not good at all.

That said, we would go back to the hotel again, i'd like to return when they are a bit better established.

Went on family holiday for October half term & stayed for 2 weeks.

Accommodation is in wooden chalets/log cabins/garden shed/beach hut - Thomson call them wooden bungalows.
Room was fairly small. Had built in wardrobe, TV and air conditioning. Air conditioning switch was covered, to stop you altering the temperature, but we did manage to find a way around this as we needed heat as we were frozen at night.

Rooms are freezing when temperature is low at the end of the season. We had to keep air-con on heat all night, wear socks and fleeces to bed and get extra bedding. Took many attempts to obtain blankets - all we had to start with was summer bedding. I would suspect that in the hot summer weather anyone staying here would be cooking in the heat. Rooms were also not very sound proof. We were located close to the stage for the evening entertainment.

Entertainment was pretty dismal and we were actually relieved that they abandoned the shows after a couple of days due to the cold weather as at least we could then sleep. There was no way you could sleep when the entertainment was on. (We had also requested a quiet room!)

Needed the TV on when using the bathroom, as you could hear everything. The bathroom walls did not seal off the bathroom completely from the bedroom, as they didn't go into the apex, so any steam and unpleasant smells came straight into the bedroom.

Usual problems with stray cats and kittens around hotel grounds.

Restaurant food was surprisingly good, far better than other hotels I have stayed in in Turkey.

Pool was rather small given number of rooms.

Beach by hotel isn't too good, rocky, but you only have to walk a short distance to the sand. Be careful with the rocks and concrete areas. I slipped and cut my foot and knee and covered myself in bruises. In the following days I saw several others do the same on the concrete path/wall structure between the beach and the sea.

Had to get a key from Reception to use the gym. Always had the gym to myself, but equipment was very limited. I used the treadmill most days and found it ok, but my husband didn't get on so well with it. I think this was because he is a little heavier than me and he likes to jog/run faster.

Children's Club operated for just a few days of our holiday and seemed to cater for tots.

Turkish bath - good because it was free to use the Turkish Bath and Sauna, you only had to pay for treatments. Used the steam room once, then booked a Turkish Bath and massage - didn't like the staff - worst massage I've ever had - could have been because I didn't feel like I could relax properly with the guy doing the massage.

Hotel operates a card system, where you have to put money on a card at reception and them use the card to pay for your drinks, lunch etc. Found it a lot of hassle.

Hotel is in great position for walking around the ruins. Ruins are just outside the front entrance to the hotel. There are infact bits of ruins within the hotel grounds. It is also not too far to walk into the Old town of Side, either taking the main road or the route along the coast.