Melas Lara Hotel — Hotel in Aksu

Hotel Melas Lara is an excellent hotel. Would I go here again? Yes, I would. I've been to several hotels in Turkiye multiple times, so I also compare these experiences with others. I've read positive comments about the food, and I can confirm this. It's one of the best hotels in terms of food quality. What sets it apart is that the food in all restaurants is freshly made. For example, during breakfast, the scrambled eggs are genuinely made by stirring many eggs. In most hotels, water is added to a dry mixture. Other dishes are also freshly made, with plenty of variety and delicious flavors. In the main restaurant, there's a different theme every evening. There was also an Asian theme, and for example, sushi was served. If the Japanese had seen this sushi, they would have declared war on Turkiye. It was really poorly made. Tip: stick to the themes where you excel.||However, the Turkish theme was absolutely delicious. All dishes were delightful and a showcase for Turkish cuisine. At the pool, you're served and food is made to order. There, too, you get the freshest food. At the beach, food is also made to order, and you're also served. There's also a daily buffet with doner, rice, salads, etc. ||It's true that the food can often be lukewarm to sometimes cold when eating from the buffet. This also applies to the restaurant. Apparently, they can't keep the food warm. Also, there's not always a sign indicating what each dish is, which can be quite annoying for people with allergies. But as far as I'm concerned, still by far the best hotel in terms of food. The à la carte restaurants provided mixed experiences. The Turkish restaurant was fantastic. Really delicious! However, the seafood restaurant was a disappointment. The fish was overcooked, and the menu wasn't well composed. The view, however, was spectacular.||80% of the staff are really super friendly and they really try their best for you. Very sweet and genuine. 15% just do their job, and 5% are really worthless. The people behind the pool bar never smile. What a huge difference from other staff who work hard and run for you. I love good coffee and saw in the lobby bar that they had a professional coffee machine where you could make ground coffee with the right pressure. I asked if I could have coffee from it. Eventually, I got coffee from the Nescafé machine with the message that both machines are the same. It seemed more like the bartender didn't want to do extra work because as a coffee lover, you can't convince me they're the same. I might not come back to the hotel for this reason. Additionally, I often drank alcohol-free cocktails in the evening. I often had a mojito, and my children had other cocktails. I don't know how they do it, but I never had the same mojito twice. I even got one with alcohol once, very bad! From that moment on, I always tasted my children's cocktails first. But anyway, I've never stayed at a hotel in Turkey known for its cocktails, and Melas Lara is still not known for it. By the way, it wasn't a problem for me that they didn't taste the same every time. I found it a bigger problem that I didn't get good coffee. The service was often quick and attentive. You were served everywhere.||The ladies from guest relations are great! The animation team is one of the worst animation teams I've ever seen. They're really so focused on themselves. It starts in the morning with a dance they do every day, and you can see from everything that they do it reluctantly, except for one person who also does it with a lot of passion. The morning gymnastics is a joke. That lady really can't teach. She often speaks through the microphone, but the problem is that nobody understands her. The peak of their arrogance was something I saw with my own eyes. On the beach, a Dutch family was playing volleyball, and children and adults from different countries were joining in. They were really playing nicely together, especially with the children. At one point, two people from the animation team came by and shouted volleyball time. So, they had to make way for the animation team and one other player. That was really ridiculous to see and showed how they're mainly focused on themselves. The ladies who ran the mini club and children's activities were the exception. They were really only focused on the children and always put the children first. I have a lot of respect for how they did it!||The rooms were fine and were really well cleaned. Nothing special about the rooms. Maybe that the minibar was filled with bottles of soft drinks. After 2 days, the fizz was gone from the cola, and unfortunately, there was no cola zero. In most hotels, you get cans in the minibar. On the other hand, it's more sustainable. So, for the first time, I didn't use the minibar much. Shampoo and soap were provided. No bodylotion or hairconditioner. The closet is spacious, but you really have too few hangers for the size of the closet. The hotel is otherwise clean. Toilets are constantly cleaned everywhere, so you always have a clean toilet. You can change your beach towel for free every day. The people at the reception are also super nice and like to help you. Checking in and out was quick.||I went to the hairdresser in the hotel and it was funny to experience. I ended up with a peculiar hairstyle. Not nicely finished, just amateur work. While I was there, another woman came back because he had cut her hair unevenly. Never again for me; I'd rather go to the hairdresser in the shopping center outside the hotel.||The pools were fine. The large pool is not heated, which is a shame because hardly anyone swims in it. Most people were in the heated pool with the slides. There were more than enough sunbeds, and reservations weren't necessary. But just like in other hotels, there's the sunbedmafia here too, who reserve a bed early. However, it's not as bad as in other hotels. There's a relaxed atmosphere at the pools, and there's plenty of space. There are also enough beds on the beach, and reservations aren't necessary. That's really nice. The hotel is not a mega resort like its neighbors. And that's precisely what's so great...

I have both positive and negatives regarding this hotel.The hotel building itself is beautiful a really pretty hotel and the grounds are beautiful !|straight away upon arriving we were disappointed to be told we had a 4th floor room despite me sending 3 emails prior to booking and arriving to request a ground floor as I was travelling alone with two children and was nervous to have a room with a balcony and also the hassle of climbing stairs every day with two children and a push chair (I told them my son also had a fear of lifts )they eventually moved us to a second floor which was better but also not great especially after they told me they would meet my requirements, they also revealed they actually did not not have a ground floor in the hotel and the first floor is infact on a level so this should have been told to me when emailing as I would never have booked this hotel at all!|cleanliness was definitely not 5 * the tables around the pool were filthy and every morning putting our towels down I would notice cigarettes in the ashtray from the day before and drinks spilt on tables where they hadn’t been cleaned!|Our room itself on the day of arrival wasn’t clean the floors felt so dirty to walk on like really sticky…we had a long black hair in the bath and the mattress in the baby cot was stained!|During the holiday I have to say the maids cleaned our room really lovely and left it looking nice!|The food was amazing there and a lot of variety…unless you have allergies, unfortunately my son has a severe allergy to nuts sesame and milk|I made the hotel aware and they wasn’t that bothered, any other hotel have stayed at always produced us with allergy cards to show restruant staff but melas Lara provided nothing , neither did they have any ingredient/allergy information in front of any of there food something again there has always been at any other hotel we have stayed!because of this my son had to have plain pasta the whole holiday as we couldn’t chance what was in any of the other food!|They had no other milk available other than cows milk ,again any other hotel in turkey have offered alternatives!|This really ruined our holiday as my son after a few days just wanted to go home for normal food!|After about 4 days of going up and down stairs carrying a baby and a pushchair my son said he’d try go in the lift (he’s been petrified for years!but he done it we were so proud and it made the next couple of days so much easier…until one day we were going down for dinner and suddenly a big bang and pitch black and we were stuck!both my kids were screaming,I got the torch on my phone and pressed the alarm again and again and no one came!|In desperation I put my hands in between the small gap in doors and managed to pull them open…when i confronted the reception the lady( I think a manager) was very relaxed about it and said she was about to send someone to help us!|This was very traumatic for anyone but for my son that has such bad anxiety about lifts was terrible and they didn’t seem to care!|Although there are a lot of negatives from our stay at melas Lara i have to highlight how amazing the entertainment and bar staff were…they made such an effort with the kids and were...

We had an amazing, relaxing week at Melas Lara hotel. Our room was clean with a king size bed and a nice balcony with a view on the sea and resort... the sun coming in the morning... The mini bar was always filled up with beers, water and soft drinks. The bathtub was equipped with a jacuzzi function.

The food was very good. So much choice... everyday a feast. The amount of it is indecent. Drinks kept coming and the waiters were lovely serving us again as soon as we had finished. Amazing Buffet... Turkish salads, octopus, vegetables, grilled meat and fish...and the patisserie wow !!! Breakfast is TURKISH and continental style. Lots of fruits, cereals but also salads, ham, dry sausage... Omelette... Croissants, bread and jam... Yogurt... I mean there is for all the taste ! Also once in the all inclusive package we could eat on the (a la carte) fish restaurant on the 12th floor of the hotel ! Beautiful view and great dinner.

The lounge bar is great for cocktails and there is music entertainment in the evening but also coffee, Turkish tea and patisserie in the afternoon.

We spent lots of time in the spa as we loved the hamman and the sauna and also as in march the weather wasn't too good for a beach in bikini days!

It's true that the steam room wasn't working but there were 2 saunas and this beautiful hammam. We had a scrub and massage there ! Magical ! It's true that the spa receptionist is not the most friendly person but her colleagues make up for it. Also the prices for massage are not so cheap indeed. Same price as London. And this staff member kept trying to sell it at the entrance... a bit annoying.

Also there is a heated pool indoors. Where they do aquagym. And a little gym room where you can use the machines ! And play Squash.

The outdoor pool is beautiful with a bar next to it. Shame it was too cold for us to swim in it but that was because it wasn't summer !!! The perk of being off season was that it wasn't as busy as July or August! I can't imagine how it must be in summer when it's packed with very demanding tourists...

The staff was friendly and helpful with us. They could understand my English partner and my french/ English accent ! We had no problems with communication.

Also there are all those very cute cats everywhere ( apparently it's what happens in Turkey, in Cyprus and Greece too) but they don't look like dirty street cats as the hotel staff has built a house for them and feed them so they are well maintained but they are not the company cats type you will have in your home. They are only here when you eat outdoors and beg for food but not for cuddles or being a pet!

Overall amazing time ! And I could have stay...