Baia Lara Hotel — Hotel in Aksu

The main reason to write my review is to say a big thank you to all the staff in this hotel specially to KATERINA in the guest relations team, she did all her best she went extra miles not 1 mile only to make us feel happy and to enjoy our stay. I booked my holiday with TUI , we arrived at night around 10 pm , my reservation was for a room with a French balcony , this was the first time to have this small tiny balcony, i have never had one like that before in my previous holidays , for me it was not a big problem but for my husband it was very massive problem as he could not set and smoke comfortably , no place for an ashtray or to put his coffee cup on it. after unpacking, we went to 3rd floor to scalini restaurant because the main buffet had finished at 9 pm . the food was very bad the burger was chewy and the chicken fillet was smelly, obviously , this was reheated food, this bad experience with our arrival at our first night caused a lot of stress and tension especially after a long day of travel and transfer to reach our holiday destination. At this point my husband did not like the stay and was thinking to cancel the holiday. The Receptionist - my fault i did not take his name to thank him in person because of the tension- told us the hotel is fully booked and the only available room they have is at the ground floor with almost no view , and equipped for physically challenged guests. he offered to refund us the payment difference if we agree to take it. we declined the offer and decided to stay in our current room and i told my husband he can leave the balcony door open to give him a more space when he smokes- i am not a smoker but to help solving the issue. they promised him when they get empty room they will call us. |On our second day , Katerina from guest relation called us and told us that she is working on the room problem and there is a room with a balcony will be available on the following day at 10 am. moving to other room was very smoothly, it has a normal balcony , with 2 chairs and table and a nice sea view. we expected to pay for the upgrade but they did not ask for this. We thanked her and while i was just explaining to her that the food experience was the trigger that escalated the tension , she was very concerned and asked us why we did not go to the late buffet which starts at 11 pm , i told her reception told us this after we complained about scalini restaurant but it was too late. she said i am going to investigate this. Then, on the following day she told us that she booked us a table at the ala carte Italian restaurant. Honestly , this was a spectacular experience to have our dinner by the beach at night , the food was amazing. another thing anything we just ask Katerina about it she does not forget it even if we did , she kept checking if we had what we asked for, i am not a review person , but could not leave this without giving the hard working people the review they deserve. |My advice is to double check on the room carefully and speak with the guest relations team if you have any problem . ||now i want to tell you about the hotel itself and why i rated it 5 stars:||The pools: massive , clean , every where , indoor and outdoors no small pools except for children. the main one is massive , no single photo can describe how big and relaxing they are, i think it is a lake LoL, A plenty of sunbeds everywhere with the bars and coffee and drinks around. The beach: very clen seawater very warm and relaxing , all what you need is available whenever you go. ||The food: main buffet has a fresh delicious food everyday . there is like 5 small restaurants by main pool that open from 12- 4 pm . the food is very fresh, a lot of varieties including pizza , burger, shawarma, ice cream , everything is a high good quality and delicious. ||entertainment: they have everything , exercising in pool at morning time, colors and foam festival on beach. two big theaters, every day there is two main show after buffet finishes 9 pm, disco , darts at beach bar in addition to games section and bowling at 0 floor but you have to but token to use the games. ||The gym and spa: all facilities are very clean and very well equipped , steam room with a shower inside it no need to go outside, 2 rooms of suna , very specious and clean. ||The location of the hotel: is very very convenient, app 30 min from airport. in Lara town, when you go out of the hotel for a walk , shops and bazaars, cafeteria , restaurants, cinemas supermarkets , 2 hours walk one way is not enough to discover this places around you.||On Thursday , the last day before our flight back to UK, we booked a one day trip for cable car, duden waterfall, oldtown Kalici and a boat trip. the trip took too much time than the planned time. After finishing the cable car and the falls, and because of having been there to the other 2 places, we took a taxi to go back to the hotel to enjoy our last hours of the day at that relaxing environment. ||In conclusion, this hotel deserve the 5 stars rating for their relaxing atmosphere, comfortable facilities, cleanness, convenient beachfront location, excellent staff who made our stay remarkable and enjoyable in every inch of the hotel, especially the smiley and...

Overall, I highly recommend Baia Lara, and would happily come again. But in the spirit of constructive feedback and criticism, there are a few areas where resort management could focus on to make the experience a bit better.

Room When we arrived around 15:00, our room was ready. It was spotlessly clean. The room was spacious with enough room to store our clothes, luggage, and personal effects. The minibar was well stocked with beer, water, sparkling water, softdrinks, and a couple juiceboxes. We had a sea-view room and the balcony overlooked the entire pool area and sea. The view was great. The balcony had 2 chairs and a small breakfast table. It also came with a drying rack to dry your swim clothes overnight. The housekeeping did a great job keeping our room clean and tidy - a very nice job.

Beach The beach is a short walk from the main resort building. The beach was clean and had plenty of spaces for us to lay and enjoy the sun. If you want a spot in the first two rows of beach chairs, I recommend getting to the beach by 9:30 at the latest. The cabanas were situated on the dock and around the edge of the beach area. The dock that sticks out into the water doesn't just have cabanas but also regular spots to sit and enjoy the sun. Get there early if you want to snag one of those.

Pool The pool is very nice and big. It's also very popular. I'd venture to say the pool is more popular than the beach. It can get very busy and the chairs, while we were there, filled up by 10:30/11:00. Water is clean, clear, and warm. The pool area is close to two bars (a smaller one that is in the pool area, and a big one to the side of the pool). There is a good mix of sun and shade.

There are also kids pools and a water slide/water park installation.

Food There is an enormous variety as part of the breakfast, lunch, and dinner buffet but the quality is hit or miss.

Breakfast Breakfast is a huge buffet. There is something for everyone. There is a lot of choice and the pictures you see on review sites don't do it justice. Quick tip, there is a juicing station where you can press oranges and grapefruits for fresh juice at the very back of the buffet.

One downside we noticed was that the beverage service is extremely slow and disorganized - waiting 10 or more minutes to get your tea while your hot breakfast is getting cold is not acceptable.

All that said, the quality of the breakfast food is very good.

Lunch There is an open air lunch spot behind the beach (next to the pool area). The outdoor buffet provides a lot of choice. From fruit to salads, doner, hamburgers, ice cream, waffles, and more, there is a ton of choice. The beverage service quicker and more attentive for lunches.

Dinner Dinner was hit or miss. If they were to focus on various Turkish cuisines, I believe the food quality would be much better. The meats (aside from the doner) were not as good as I've had in other places. As with breakfast, the beverage service was not great. We often has to wait a long time for someone to come and take our drink orders.

On the Turkish nights, the ciğ köfte was amazing. They also had a stew with chickpeas which was excellent. The fruit selection is very good as well and their mezes are plentiful and good. Lastly, the dessert spread is very good. The baklavas are the best I've had in any resort. They were sweet and crispy. Not too sweet, but still what you would expect from a Turkish dessert. Additionally, if you have a chance to try the sütlaç (rice pudding), it's worth it.

Drinks/Bars The bartenders are friendly and knowledgeable.

Starbucks Yes, there is a Starbucks on-site (right outside the main doors leading to the pool area).

Entertainment The live music entertainment was better than the dance/theatrical shows. The live cover bands were good and played a solid mix of popular music (both English/American as well...

The BAIA LARA is in a great location near Antalya in Lara Beach. It is only 20 to 40 minutes from Antalya Airport depending on how you get there. When we arrived, we were registered by the reception staff very efficiently which enabled us to get to our room. The main restaurant had closed but they had lad some hot and cold food on with desserts in the small Brasserie which was displayed nicely and was tasty. The Brasserie incidentally doubles as the place to get a bit of cake or a sandwich between 4 and 6 every day. The room was very spacious and not cramped at all as we had only booked the non-sea view with no balcony room. We tend not to sit on the balcony so have no real need for one. The beds are firm but comfortable and we were soon delivered a second pillow each as we prefer two each. The minibar fridge is in a cupboard and so was not very cool but if you leave the cupboard door open then the fridge cools down. The next morning, we went down for breakfast which is the usual breakfast buffet including fresh pastries, continental meats and cheeses and eggs. There is also an “egg” chef and an “omelette” chef. We did notice that there is also champagne/prosecco for those who want to have a special breakfast which is part of the normal all inclusive. The table service from the waiters is good and they are happy to get any drinks you may require. The hotel has a large amount of pool space to sit around and also an adult only pool. The hotel was busy when we went (24-09 to 05-10-2019) and there was plenty of bed space. There is also cabanas and a great many sunbeds on the beach and also on the pontoon into the sea. There is definitely no need to get up at the ‘crack of dawn’ to get your towel on the sunbed! The entertainment is low key and although there are a few activities to do they are not pushed or too loud. Lunch can be in the buffet restaurant or down the side of the main pool where there are many different choices to have all freshly cooked and would cater for all tastes. It can get a bit hot if you don’t choose your table right as the sun can come around and make it very hot. There are 3 bars to choose from. One is inside the lobby atrium of the hotel with comfortable seating and also seats outside which is all table service all day. There is another all-day bar next to the food section by the pool which is more of a bar and is the main bar for people round the pool. At the beach is the White Bar which is lovely for a coffee in the shade or evening sun after a hard day’s sunbathing. This bar also has late afternoon music most days (4 until 5) and also music / DJ every night. The nightly entertainment/show is not a big show every night like some hotels but is still the same acts when it is on and is at the front of the hotel. The nice thing is that you are sat on chairs with tables. There is also a gym and Spa for those who want to burn of some excess calories due to the buffet meals and for those who want a pamper. It was nicely air-conditioned and plenty of equipment for the number of users. The indoor jacuzzi, saunas and steam room are all free to use too. We weren’t tempted by the Spa offerings but there are many options. In the Spa area there is also a hairdresser. The Liberty Hotel next door, to be honest, is loud. During the day their entertainment team like to be loud. At night, the bar which is half way up and near their main building is again loud but it always stopped at 11:30 every night. We were also informed by guest services that it is closing for the winter and will be fully refurbished, “every room” and they are putting 2 more floors on the central building so it will be even better next year. Overall, we had a brilliantly relaxing stay in a quiet modern hotel and we are thinking of going back next year especially as it is getting refurbished and should be...