I booked my holiday with On The Beach. I did book the 4 star Mandarin Hotel but was put in this 3 star Mandarin Gardens Hotel complex which was situated on a hill. It is poorly maintained and if the staff knew you where going home they would make out they did not have change when buying a meal or drink.

The reps that came in to sell you trips ripped you off. I booked with an unproven transfer company that did not turn up on my arrival and I then emailed them. They promised me I would be picked up for my return but was not and made it to the airport at my expense by taxi with minutes to spare.

Unfortunately we did not have a positive experience during our stay at the Mandarin.

We arrived at 0400 in the morning to be greeted by a surly male receptionist,we had 3 SC Apartments booked and on arrival only one apartment was ready. (No apologies) . . .the other 2 apartments were ready 24 hours later !! We were told the number of ur apartment the key was shoved in our hand, and we were given no directions or assistance . . . Eventually after walking around the grounds in the pitch dark for about 20 minutes we stumbled across our apartment, which was as far away from the reception area as you could possibly get.

The Hotel has been updated recently, but the apartments are in dire need of an overhaul, the standard of cleaning was very poor, and the utensils provided for self catering allowed us to make a cup of tea. There was no Kettle - no toaster - no cups, after complaining at reception we were eventually given a kettle and 2 cups.

The hotel staff were rude and surly, and did not seem to care about the guests in Self catering,although guests staying all inclusive at the hotel seem to be treat slightly better.

Location wise the Mandarin is good for Central Bodrum, althought Disbled gusts staying in SC accommodation may have access problems as there are very steep slopes, and steps to negotiate.

Don't be fooled by the smart appearance at reception . . . it's all downhill from there . . .

We have stayed at the Mandarin 5 times now and we have to say this was the worst time we have had.

The staff on reception are ignorant and obnoxious, we had a problem with an awful smell coming from under the sink in the kitchen area of our apartment, after complaining to reception and trying to explain where the smell was coming from, they sent in the cleaners when what it really needed was a plumber ! 4 times we complained and 4 times the cleaners were dispatched to the room, we must have had the cleanest room in the all resort, but it didn't cure the smell which was getting worse.

Luckily a Turkish friend of ours who used to work in the Mandarin knew the manager and rang him to explain in Turkish what the problem was, so we complained again at reception and got the usual stroppy, shoulder shrugging response...until we asked them to phone the Manager, wish we had done this sooner, the response was instant, a member of staff came with us to the apartment sniffed under the sink, pulled a face that said blimey that stinks, rang reception said it would all be "sorted out no problem"

And it was, no smell for 3 days then back it came. Asked to be moved but the place was fully booked, so they sent the cleaners again !! In the end we locked all our valuables in the deposit box and left the door open all day, luckily we were upstairs.

We have been told that all the Mandarin Resort is going all inclusive next year, we really got the feeling that us British won't be welcome then.

If you do go we hope you don't get apartment 311, it's clean but boy it stinks!!

We will be back to Bodrum but not to the Mandarin I'm afraid.

My first impressions of the hotel were great.Very modern reception and friendly staff at reception who spoke good english and were very helpful.

We were given token for a free evening meal, which was supposed to entice you to eat there again, for the price it would cost normally I would not pay to eat there again.

Being only 20 I think we were just given the old hotel room at the back of the hotel to keep us out of the way. Which was annoying as we paid exactly the same money as the people who were staying in the new rooms. Our room had lots of ants!! We stayed for 2 weeks and the bedding and towels were changed for the first time,3 days before we went home!!!

Thomas cook rep was very helpful, reception staff too but the bar staff I found rude!

All inclusive and half board people were able to get food at bar but we was told to wait until later after sitting waiting 15minutes then getting my own drink then a further 15min before I asked if we could order some food, then to be told later, not now!

As for Bodrum I have not got a complaint. Had some lovely meals and the people are very friendly. Very central hotel 5min walk to the shops and beach.

Just arrived back from staying at the Manderine resort for the second time this year. Love the position of the hotel, which is within walking distance of just about anywhere in central Bodrum.

As we were self catering we went out every night, but did eat one evening at the hotel and found it ok, and only cost 10 lira each.

The only fault with this hotel is the standard of cleaning, fine if you are on the ground floor, or in the new rooms. We were on the second floor and our room did not get the floor cleaned once, we knew this as we had to pull the sofas out when a very large bug flew in and went behind them!!! Sheets were not changed until three days before we left, then every day after that!!

We arrived at lunch time and checked in quickly we were given a voucher for a free dinner and breakfast.

Room was basic but clean it over looked one of the two pools which are both a good size.Jacussi is now working. Sofa beds not comfortable, did not hear any noise from the other four apartments in the block.

Free meals were just edible but was glad I had not paid extra to stay in the hotel side and did not eat there again. Could still get sunbeds at the pools at 11.30 but they played the same cd over and over some of the songs should not have been played I dont really want the f word blasted in mine on childrens ears!

Only really spoke to reception and the cleaners as we didnt use the hotel bar, they were very helpful and friendly.

Location is great if you go out the back gate through Sam The Man's bar its a 5 minute walk into the town and Sam's bar was great as it was 2 minutes from the room but not too noisey.

Also use the mini-market by Sam's to change your money it has the best rate and no commission charges don't use the hotel to change your money.

There is a larger supermarket by the bus station which we used to stock up on cereal fruit coffee fizz etc it was alot cheaper than the local shop.

The only entertainment at the hotel was a weekly held belly dancers night which we never saw.

Our first choice rep was really helpful too.

Overall a good basic apartment in a great location and would go back.

Our stay at this hotel was not a happy one, we had none stop minor problems the entire stay.

The hotel has just been expanded, with the new part only being completed four weeks ago, so perhaps it was teething problems!

I will try to point out the positive aspects because it was a very nice looking, clean hotel. I paid 30 pounds for air conditioning which it then took them 48hrs to activate-with no refund offered for missed time!

The maid cleaned our room every day but kept hanging our dirty towels back up?!? after 5 days of complaints and speaking to rep I then got clean towels every day, but the rest of the people in my party stopped getting them?!?

The drinks from the pool bar were always warm, they rarely had ice to give you- and they never had change!!! The food was perfectly acceptable for breakfast, there was a good amount of choice and most of it was nice.

We were bed and breakfast, there were a lot of all inclusive customers who said the evening meals were lousy!! We tried the restaurant one evening and decided they were right!!

The jacuzzi by the pool worked on the first day of our visit, but after that we kept getting told it would be fixed tomorrow!! It was still not working when we left two weeks later!!

Our rooms were very nice and the cleaning standards were very good. we were due to fly home on tues 21st june @ 04.30am and we were uncerimoniously kicked out of our rooms at 12 lunchtime on mon 20th june- apparantly courtesy rooms are not an option at this hotel, even though we offered to pay!! In total we had our rooms 13 nights, as we didnt arrive til 5.30am tues 7th june! our rep was totally uninterested- and had the attitude that it was all normal procedure!!

I have stayed in hotels in Turkey 15 times and have always had my room, or a courtesy room on last day til late! It was a very nice looking hotel and clean, I have tried to find the positive points as well as negative, and hopefully all of these minor hiccups were teething problems??

We stayed in June 2005.

I have read good reviews of this accomodation and chose it on this basis. This review will indicate that the complex as a whole is small pretty and clean in terms of the the grounds however the rooms are poor, dirty ill-equipped and disappointing and spoil what could be a very nice little complex with a good location.

The grounds and pool of the hotel are very attractive, clean and nice. There are two small pools and adequate sunbeds however be prepared for them to shut one of the pools down and kick out the guests to crowd round only one of the pools if there is a wedding party. I thought this was very poor consideration of their guests.

There are two sets of rooms. Newer hotel style for bed and breakfast, I believe and the older self catering accomodation down the bottom. The newer rooms are subject to blasts of loud music well into the night from a hotel opposite and Jimmys bar.

The rooms however in the old part of the hotel where we stayed (self catering) are in the quiet part of the complex but past their sell by date with early 90's decor which was in poor condition. Decorated with grey painted architrave it makes the rooms a little dark. The doors and walls were filthy in parts. They suffer from noise of other guests in rooms above and to the side. The walls are thin and you can hear alot!

On arrival, we rejected our first room firstly because it was dark and really filthy and secondly because it overlooked an antiquated childrens slide area. If children played here they would be screaming and shouting literally 2 yards from our window and balcony which was ground floor.

The staff were very pleasant and accomodating and swapped our room for another couples room who's plane had not landed yet. I feel very sorry for them because the second room whilst still very dirty, was much better located overlooking the pool. In fact probably the best positioned room.

The self catering facilities are very basic with a little two ring table top cooker. There is no microwave or oven. Having said that, eating out is so cheap, if you stay off the harbour area, that there is no need to cook at all. There is a small fridge and a TV which is no good really unless you can speak Turkish.

The bed was the most uncomfortable I have ever slept on and I wouldn't recommed this accomodation for more than the two of you because otherwise you would have to use the sofa beds and they are in a bad state.


I was disappointed with the quality of the bathroom area. The toilet was not stuck to the floor and would move when you sat on it. I am not a slim person but I am not huge either. I found using it difficult and anyone large in size would find it extremely difficult to sit on the toilet due to its close proximity to the wall. You wouldn't be able to move your elbows.

The bathroom door used to stick and you had to lift it to get it to open otherwise you were stuck with no way out. There is no bath just a cramped shower tray which was cracked with water that continually changed temperature from very hot to very cold. The floor flooded every time it was used because there was no solid screen, just a shower curtain which water bypassed at the bottom where it didn't meet the floor.

We were given a free voucher for a breakfast and evening meal to encourage use of the restaurant. After trying the turkish 'breakfast' we didn't bother with the free evening meal because the food was appalling. We happily eat turkish breakfast elsewhere which we thoroughly enjoyed. We heard of many complaints regarding the food in the complex but there are so many nice cheap places to eat that I would not go to Bodrum and eat in the hotels anyway.

We also saw many people from the newer part of the hotel complaining about numerous things including some people who had been without electricity for a considerable length of time (days I suspect). I never found the illusive Jacussi. I found something in one of the pools which looked like it could be one but it didn't work.


The staff are extremely friendly and helpful and are clearly under pressure. I think they know there are problems here. I spoke to some locals who say that this complex has changed hands this year and that the new owner is trying to cut corners and do everything as cheap as possible and it shows.

Having said all this, the location of the hotel is really good and it is this that makes a good holiday. Everything from the harbour to the Dolmus buses are within 10 - 20 minutes walking distance. There are little mini - supermarket shops just outside which is very convenient. Don't bother changing your currency until you get here because the shop down the side alley offers a much better exchange rate than I got back home with no commission charge.

Depite the disappointment of the room I had a really good holiday. The pool is small but pleasant when the kids have finished. This complex has such great potential and lovely staff but spoilt by poor quality rooms and room cleaning. If they were to gut the rooms and start again this would be a superb comnplex. As it is I wouldn't go back to this accomodation. Shame.

We stayed in the Mandarin garden apartment for 2 weeks last September and had a great time. the rooms were very good, fridge, kettle etc. all provided, also air conditioning which you really need there over the summer months. The rooms were lovely and clean and were serviced almost every day. Definatly no complaint about the accomodation, its the nicest palce we've been yet on holiday.

They were self catering apartments but we ate a good few times in the restuarant within the complex, the only thing i can say here is to not be in rush to get fed, we were waiting on average about 40 minutes every time we ordered, sometimes more. the food was really good though !

The location itself is nice but it is a bit of a walk up from the beach.

The entertainment was what let it down, going to the restuarant for dinner only to hear some guy crooning in your ear, a bit cheesy I'm afraid. The music blaring all day by the pool needs to be updated, Lionel Richie isn't everybodys taste !

4th visit to the Mandarin, the new hotel is now open and is very impressive.

Some of the old staff are still there so we were welcomed like old friends by reception.

We stayed in the apartments which were clean but are now probably in need of an update.

The complex is ideally situated, but unfortunately for guests with walking difficulties the old entrance is now closed, which now means an uphill walk which can be a bit of a trek for anyone with mobility problems.

The Thomas cook rep was very good and kept us informed about her days off and availability for the 2 weeks we had there.

Oh yes beware of the bar if you are not all inclusive,can be a mite expensive if your not careful!!

Going back again 2006 to see our old friends.