The location- Beautiful! The Karbel is nestled between two mountains, I literally couldn't stop saying 'wow' under my breath when we had our breakfast on the terrace, overlooking the main pool on our first morning. At the same time, this hotel has arguably the best spot in Olu Deniz, located just at the top of the town's main pedestrianized street, and a 10 minute stroll directly to the beach. The gardens around each accommodation block were in full bloom with bougainvillea-type flowers, olive trees and lime trees. 2 pools to choose from. The view alone was an antidote to spending 47 weeks of the year being at work!

Staff - such a friendly bunch, considering we went at the end of a long summer season for them, in the beginning of October. The warm welcome and the fuss our little 3 year old lad had made of him, by the waiters, the maids, the bar staff made our stay so enjoyable we put a generous amount in the staff tip box at the end of our holiday.

Room - very Mediterranean with terracotta tiles and crisp white bed linen. The tiled flooring worried me a little with a young child on the sofa bed - however we always left our suitcases beneath, with a blanket on top to cushion any potential fall.

We were even given a lovely surprise after breakfast one morning - our bed had being made up with flower petals and the towels folded into a heart.

The food - really enjoyed this. We stayed on a B&B basis, but also ate an evening meal in the hotel 3 or 4 nights in our two week stay. I stuck to local dishes offered - however I did notice that there were more than a few Brits queuing in line for chips each night! Lots of salads, a choice of meats. Mouthwatering.

There is a playground -I would say most suitable for under 8s- with swings, slide, playhouse and a see saw tucked away by the second pool. This made managing our day a little easier, as if we were having pool or beach day I could take our son here to let off some steam. Would probably be quite crowded during the main season - but during our holiday, we did not have a problem. The only thing one thing I would mark the hotel down for was the small baby & toddler pool next to the main pool did not look that clean- but it was 2 weeks until the end of the season and this will not apply to most guests. Instead, we took our 3 year old son around in a rubber ring in the main pool with us.

Entertainment - the hotel offered entertainment of some kind most nights. The Turkish themed barbecue night with belly dancer is highly recommended! Just ensure you take some spare change to stuff in the belly dancer's costume - the hotel operates a charge card system for food and drinks ordinarily.

There's also football and the X-factor screened in the foyer.

There's also a computer terminal in the foyer for use by guests - this was actually cheaper than the internet cafe by the 'Azda' supermarket in Olu Deniz, so surprisingly good value - you may just need to wait your turn.

Other - the hotel photographer is very reasonably priced compared to in the UK. We ended up buying 4 family photos, a mix of colour and sepia.

Verdict - We had a fantastic holiday at the Karbel, and would recommend this hotel to anyone. Considering the location, and the staff it felt like more than a 3 star hotel.

This is our second visit to this resort, which proves just how much we love Olu Deniz and the Karbel. I cannot fault anything about the Karbel, or any of the staff who work extremely hard and always with a smile whatever the time of day.

We stayed in Room 320, which was kept very clean and had more than enough room for us and my daughter. The breakfast was more than ample, and in my opinion, was more than enough choice to suit all, and was plentiful. We never ate in the restaurant but from speaking to other friends we met there, the food was lovely.

There are two pools, but we could never manage to find a spot in the quieter pool as sometimes the larger pool was sometimes too noisy, but it didn't spoil our holiday at all. It was nice to be remembered from our stay last year, and we are in the process of looking at booking the same place again.

We met some really nice people there, and will no doubt see them at the Karbel as they too seem to return year after year and won't consider anywhere else as this resort is truly beautiful and has something for everyone.

The only downfall is that I get sea sick and feel that I have missed out on a lot of the trips, but I am going to try and conquer my fears of being sea sick and hopefully see more of this beautiful place next year.

The location of Karbel was for us is fabulous, as we could walk up and down the strip and we always found something new to look at and a different bar/restaurant to go to and found lots of little bars and restaurants on the side roads, which were equally as nice. The Belly Dance show with the very lithe and supple guy was amazing!

The Karbel Hotel is located towards the end of the main street, away from the beach. We thought that the location was ideal. There is a taxi rank just across from the hotel, handy if you want a ride into Hisaronu (15 Lira each way).

We arrived at the Karbel Hotel at around 9.30pm after what seemed a very long transfer from Dalaman airport (1 hour 45 mins due to many drop-offs). Upon reporting to reception we were advised that our room was not yet ready “ it was still being cleaned. We weren’t too impressed about that and wondered why our room was still being cleaned so late when people have to check out at noon? I asked how long it would take and was told about 30 minutes. I explained that I wasn’t happy about that as we had had a long day travelling and were desperate to freshen up, get changed and go out for something to eat. We were asked to take a seat in reception and were supplied with a couple of complimentary free soft drinks. After waiting for about 10 minutes, the guy in reception said that he didn’t want to keep us waiting any longer and said that he would give us another room. At this point I was hoping and praying that it wasn’t one of the dreaded basement rooms even though we had specified numerous times on our booking that we did NOT want one of those rooms.

Not to worry though. We were helped with our cases to block 8 and room 819. We thought that we could easily get lost among the various blocks and would never be able to find our room again but all of the blocks are numbered and the grounds are well sign-posted.

Our room was on the top floor of block 8. After the usual brief instructions from the porter, we gave him his tip and off he went. The room was suitable for the 2 of us, 2 single beds, 2 sofas which could be used as beds, a clean bathroom and plenty of storage for clothes. The balcony was a let-down very very small and you would struggle to have 2 people sitting out there. However, the views were very pretty. The room has a small TV with probably half a dozen channels, air-con is included in the price of your stay but if you open any doors or windows then the air-con cuts out until you close them again. There was also a small fridge in the room, ideal for storing your bottles of water and pop. The bathroom had toilet, shower, large basin with mirror, shaving point and hairdryer. The shower was a little on the small side, not a lot of room for turning around. Also, the water pressure was hit and miss sometimes and the shower head seemed to have a life of its own! Plenty of hot water though!

Our room was tidied daily and clean sheets and towels every 4 days or so. On 2 occasions the cleaners put flowers on our beds and made hearts and swans out of our clean towels. A very nice touch.

The grounds of the hotel are lovely. There are 2 swimming pools one is located to the back of block 9 and the main one is located down the stairs from reception. There is a bar that serves drinks and also food between noon and 4pm daily. Snacks on the menu include burgers, salads, sandwiches, pizzas, kebabs on a Friday afternoon they have a chef serving chicken kebabs (from a spit) which were 7.50 Lira and you could help yourself to chips and salad.

There are plenty of sun beds but be warned, if you think you can get away with reserving a sun bed overnight by putting your towels out when you return from a night out, you will find that your towel will have been removed by the staff the following morning, they have a strict policy of not reserving sun beds. It’s OK to put out your towel on your way to breakfast but any towels left on the beds during the night will be swiftly removed, and rightly so! Pool is open from 8am until 8pm. I found the sun beds to be very uncomfortable (quite hard) and many of them had seen better days, lots were cracked and broken and the mats on them could have done with a clean. The main pool has a shallow, medium and deep section and there is also a kids pool. The pool area itself was kept very clean and the pool was treated with chemicals every night.

The bar by the pool has a large TV where they will show football, F1 and other sporting events. The bar is large with plenty of seating. The sun rises from over the mountains so if you want the sun early, get a sun bed that is right next to the bar, failing that, either side of the bar. If you prefer shade, get a bed that is closest to the accommodation blocks, away from reception. We didn’t try the other pool so I can’t comment on that. Wherever you are by the pool, you get a great view of the paraglider’s coming over the mountain. My only real complaint about the swimming pool area is that it is very slippery underfoot when you get out of the pool but there are signs warning about this. No diving is permitted and yes, that includes diving off the bridges! The only other thing is that I think that water guns should be banned from around the pool. The number of times that I was squirted by a child running around with one of those blasted things was no joke and their parents saw that I was being soaked but never apologised or acknowledged it.

We stayed on a bed and breakfast basis. Breakfast was served from 7.30am until 10am, perfect if you want a lie-in although after 9am it is pretty hectic in the dining room. You can sit on the veranda outside of the dining room which has a nice view of the pool. Breakfast is your usual Turkish fayre and is help yourself buffet style bread, cheese, cold meats, jams, tomatoes, honey, hard boiled eggs with tea/coffee or you can pay 6 Lira for freshly squeezed orange juice. On some days they do scrambled eggs (which were actually very nice) and also a chef doing pancakes. The dining room is big. Food is covered up with clingfilm to keep the flies away but some ignorant people didn’t bother to cover it back up again after helping themselves, and this was a real gripe to me. The breakfasts did get a bit boring after the first week but were OK.

I don’ know what the evening meals were like at the hotel as we never ate there in the evenings. They did have offers on all-you-can-eat buffet but they also do a-la-carte.
The hotel puts on various entertainment during the week on most evenings Turkish Folk Night, BBQ, Karaoke, Bingo, Breakdancers. When we were there they had some South African dancers on and they were good. The music they play in the bar could do with being updated though music seemed to cater more for the 60-somethings. You could have cocktails from the bar (16 Lira) but on Sunday evenings they are half price, Efes was about 5 Lira, large Fanta lemon around 4 Lira, vodka and coke around 6 Lira.

The Karbel Hotel has free Wi-Fi for its guests so if you need internet access on your own laptop or phone, just ask for the password at reception.

Also note that with your room key, you are given a swipe card. The hotel uses a cashless system for the bar and restaurant, so when you order food or drink, you hand over your card and you are given a receipt to sign (you keep a copy of the receipt). You can settle your bill as often as you want; we did ours every 3 or 4 days. You are given a breakdown of what you have had so as long as you keep your receipts you will have an idea of how much you need to pay.
You can also exchange money at the hotel reception. They have a PC with internet access next to reception that you can use for 3 Lira for 1 hour. There are safety deposit boxes located in a room next to reception which has CCTV for extra security. There is also a luggage room where you can store your cases if you have to vacate your room a few hours before your flight home. There is an additional small bar in the reception area, plenty of seating and another TV.

Overall I would be happy to recommend the Karbel Hotel and would consider going there again. We went in September thinking that it would be quieter with kids being back at school BUT I couldn’t believe just how many kids were there with their parents even though the school-term had started. The majority of guests seemed to be family groups and couples. Some of the larger family groups were a little loud and seemed to hog the pool area but I guess you get that anywhere and this is not the fault of the hotel.

A good, clean, well run, ideally located hotel in Olu deniz with all of the facilities you need and with friendly staff.

The Karbel Hotel is located towards the end of the main street, away from the beach. We thought that the location was ideal. There is a taxi rank just across from the hotel, handy if you want a ride into Hisaronu (15 Lira each way).

We arrived at the Karbel Hotel at around 9.30pm after what seemed a very long transfer from Dalaman airport. Upon reporting to reception we were advised that our room was not yet ready. We weren't too impressed about that and wondered why our room was still being cleaned so late when people have to check out at noon? I asked how long it would take and was told about 30 minutes. I explained that I wasn't happy about that as we had had a long day travelling and were desperate to freshen up, get changed and go out for something to eat. We were asked to take a seat in reception and were supplied with a couple of complimentary free soft drinks. After waiting for about 10 minutes, the guy in reception said that he didn't want to keep us waiting any longer and said that he would give us another room. At this point I was hoping and praying that it wasn't one of the dreaded basement rooms even though we had specified numerous times on our booking that we did NOT want one of those rooms.

Not to worry though. We were helped with our cases to block 8 and room 819. We thought that we could easily get lost among the various blocks and would never be able to find our room again but all of the blocks are numbered and the grounds are well sign-posted. Our room was on the top floor of block 8. The room was suitable for the 2 of us, 2 single beds, 2 sofas which could be used as beds, a clean bathroom and plenty of storage for clothes. The balcony was a let-down very very small and you would struggle to have 2 people sitting out there. However, the views were very pretty. The room has a small TV with probably half a dozen channels, air-con is included in the price of your stay. There was also a small fridge in the room, ideal for storing your bottles of Efes, water and pop. The bathroom had toilet, shower, large basin with mirror, shaving point and hairdryer. The shower was a little on the small side, not a lot of room for turning around. Also, the water pressure was hit and miss sometimes and the shower head seemed to have a life of its own! Plenty of hot water though!

Our room was tidied daily and clean sheets and towels every 4 days or so. On 2 occasions the cleaners put flowers on our beds and made hearts and swans out of our clean towels. A very nice touch.

The grounds of the hotel are lovely. There are 2 swimming pools, one is located to the back of block 9 and the main one is located down the stairs from reception. There is a bar that serves drinks and also food between noon and 4pm daily. Snacks on the menu include burgers, salads, sandwiches, pizzas, kebabs, on a Friday afternoon they have a chef serving chicken kebabs (from a spit) and you could help yourself to chips and salad. There are plenty of sunbeds but be warned, if you think you can get away with reserving a sunbed overnight by putting your towels out when you return from a night out, you will find that your towel will have been removed by the staff the following morning. It's OK to put out your towel on your way to breakfast but any towels left on the beds during the night will be swiftly removed. The main pool has a shallow, medium and deep section and there is also a kids pool. The pool area itself was kept very clean and the pool was treated with chemicals every night. The bar is large with plenty of seating. We didn't try the other pool so I can't comment on that. My only real complaint about the swimming pool area is that it is very slippery underfoot when you get out of the pool but there are signs warning about this. No diving is permitted and yes, that includes diving off the bridges! The only other thing is that I think that water guns should be banned from around the pool.

We stayed on a bed and breakfast basis. Breakfast was served from 7.30am until 10am, perfect if you want a lie-in although after 9am it is pretty hectic in the dining room. You can sit on the veranda outside of the dining room which has a nice view of the pool. Breakfast is your usual Turkish fayre and is help yourself buffet style bread, cheese, cold meats, jams, tomatoes, honey, hard boiled eggs with tea/coffee or you can pay 6 Lira for freshly squeezed orange juice. On some days they do scrambled eggs (which were actually very nice) and also a chef doing pancakes. The dining room is big. Food is covered up with cling film to keep the flies away but some ignorant people didn't bother to cover it back up again after helping themselves, and this was a real gripe to me. The breakfasts did get a bit boring after the first week but were OK.

I don't know what the evening meals were like at the hotel as we never ate there in the evenings. They did have offers on all-you-can-eat buffet but they also do a-la-carte.

The hotel puts on various entertainment during the week on most evenings Turkish Folk Night, BBQ, Karaoke, Bingo, Breakdancers. When we were there they had some South African dancers on and they were good. The music they play in the bar could do with being updated though music seemed to cater more for the 60-somethings.

The Karbel Hotel has free wi-fi for its guests so if you need internet access on your own laptop or phone, just ask for the password at reception.

Also note that with your room key, you are given a swipe card. The hotel uses a cashless system for the bar and restaurant, so when you order food or drink, you hand over your card and you are given a receipt to sign (you keep a copy of the receipt). You can settle your bill as often as you want, we did ours every 3 or 4 days. You are given a breakdown of what you have had so as long as you keep your receipts you will have an idea of how much you need to pay.
You can also exchange money at the hotel reception. They have a PC with internet access next to reception that you can use for 3 Lira for 1 hour. There are safety deposit boxes located in a room next to reception which has CCTV for extra security. There is also a luggage room where you can store your cases if you have to vacate your room a few hours before your flight home. There is an additional small bar in the reception area, plenty of seating and another TV.

Overall I would be happy to recommend the Karbel Hotel and would consider going there again. We went in September thinking that it would be quieter with kids being back at school BUT I couldn't believe just how many kids were there with their parents even though the school-term had started. The majority of guests seemed to be family groups and couples. Some of the larger family groups were a little loud and seemed to hog the pool area but I guess you get that anywhere and this is not the fault of the hotel.

A good, clean, well run, ideally located hotel in Oludeniz with all of the facilities you need and with friendly staff.

When we arrived at Hotel we were put in one of the dreaded basement rooms.(previously heard of these in past reviews). We immediately returned to reception with our luggage to inform the staff that we had not committed any crime and did not wish to be put in a room which resembled a prison cell.

A room beneath ground level with two little windows just below ceiling level covered with wire mesh. This was our view to the outside world, all you could see was peoples ankles as they walked by.

The duty manager informed us that it was the fault of our tour operator and he would not move us to another room unless I paid to upgrade at a cost of £105. To which I replied that I was not paying another penny as I had paid enough for the holiday as it was.

The duty manager was not relenting so I had to telephone the tour operator ( Jet2.com ) to see if they could help me to sort this situation. After spending an hour making calls and waiting in reception, I received a call from Jet2.com to say that if I could pay the upgrade charge they would reimburse me with the full amount on my return to the UK.

I was then given the key to a room on the top floor of block 9 which was a million miles better than the prison cell. We could now start to enjoy our holiday. The room was cleaned daily by the cleaning ladies who were very pleasant and polite, clean towels every day and toilet rolls if needed.

The restaurant staff were also very pleasant and polite but the food which was very well presented was not that good but edible. Cannot comment on entertainment as we went out each night to the various bars and restaurants and shops that were right on the doorstep of the hotel.

Can I just add that if you are given one of these basement rooms do not accept it as this is a good hotel and these rooms should be used as a cleaners store room as this is all they are fit for. Why a hotel of this nature has a few rooms like this is a mystery to me.

We had a great 2 weeks at the karbel and thought we had fantastic value for money. The hotel was located in the perfect position at the top of the main strip, opposite a taxi rank. Our position ensured peace and quiet at night (apart from the regular call to Mosque at 4.30am) although we were convenient for the main bars, shops and restaurants.

We were B&B but opted for the buy 3 'open buffet dinners' and get the 4th free, which we found to be great value. We enjoy eating out but we had 10 more evenings for this. The choice and quality of food was brilliant. I'd read in previous reports that the breakfast wasn't up to much - well, I'm not sure what people want for their money. This was the choice-
various breads, toast, jams, boiled eggs, occasionally scrambled and omelets also cereal, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, sliced meats, cheeses, melon, fruit juice/tea/coffee and I'm sure I must have forgotten something. You could have a full English breakfast for around £4 which was slightly more than you'd pay in some of the bars.

The hotel was spotless and the maids did an excellent job of keeping the room tidy. The room we had was small but comfortable and had a mini fridge and a hairdryer. We also had free air conditioning which was a godsend. The safety deposit boxes were in reception and only cost just over £20 for the fortnight.

There were two pools and 2 pool bars with snacks. There was also a lobby bar with seating outside on the balcony overlooking the pool area where the evening entertainment was held.

There was entertainment most nights including a belly dancer, acrobats, karaoke, bingo and quiz nights. All the staff were friendly and helpful.

We couldn't find fault with the hotel and all I can say is it's excellent value for money. Highly recommended.

We stayed at the Hotel Karbel in August- September 2010 with our granddaughter who was just 4 years old. The hotel rooms were basic and in need of a refurb, but were clean and that's the main thing.

The food was really good, but we only did bed and breakfast due to our granddaughter being a fussy eater. Staff were fantastic and couldn't do enough for you, they adored our granddaughter.
Pool was lovely and had different sections which was nice. Always managed to get loungers without any issues. Loved the idea of having a card to pay for food, drinks etc, as this stopped anyone not staying in the hotel from using the facilities.

The beach was disappointing though as full of pebbles, and nowhere for children to play. The Blue Lagoon was also disappointing as beach again was full of pebbles, as was the lagoon. Our granddaughter loved the boats on the Lagoon though and we did manage to have a swim which was what she loves.

Would recommend hotel though, as lovely staff and clean and tidy rooms.

Got back from the Hotel Karbel last weekend. Had never been to Turkey before but absolutely loved it. The hotel was clean - room was big and had air conditioning (which we needed) and a small fridge. I loved everything about this hotel, the staff, the swimming pools, the bar, pool tables. Everything was great. Olu Deniz is a fabulous place and am looking to book to go again in October and will definitely book this hotel again. We went bed and breakfast but whilst at the hotel we purchased 'tickets' for 3 meals and got the 4th meal free! This worked out to about

hotel kept very clean and the staff were really helpful and friendly. the rooms were basic but good with plenty of space . with telly. hairdryer and mini fridge. the maids came in everyday with clean towels and sheets changed regular always done lovely with flowers on the bed.

plenty of sun beds so no need to worry pool nice size and there is a 2nd pool further in. childrens pool at one side..

food was nice and they had an al a carte resturant as well.

bar staff really friendly and remembered your name.

there was entertainment on most nights

the only thing I will say is you get a card and use this instead of money so be careful as it can soon add up.
there are saftey deposit boxes so its no problem there

Travelled as a couple. Clean basic room, great bathroom, not always hot water but so hot outside it didn't matter. Walking distance of all the restaurants and bars. Good selection of places to eat out, couldn't find much choice to buy from shops to keep costs down though. 2 pools and plenty of sunbeds. Breakfasts great. Lots of fantastic excursions to try out if adventurous, will never forget it! Beautiful area and surroundings. Worth a walk in the woods to see tortoises and amazing dragonfly’s. Boat/canoe trips to include mud baths fantastic fun. We tried micro lighting and paragliding there which we'd never done before. Ended each evening at a bar which had bean bags on the beach with the smell of water pipes drifting over and the moon and stars lighting up the sky. Beautiful!