Gardenia Beach Hotel — Hotel in Alanya

We stayed here for the whole month of May.|Let's start with the good.|They have some beautifully kept grounds (although their beach property is rather narrow compared to other hotels)|The food is very decent, it's renewed on days they expect a new batch of tourists, then the food that is uneaten is reused in other dishes for the next couple of days, but don't get me wrong most of the time it's very tasty and they have a large variety of vegan/vegetarian options. Some items like seafood cocktails are only available for 1 day a week when they expect a batch of German tourists. There is self-serve tea around the clock and multiple coffee machines on both floors of the dining area.|The staff is pleasant and smiling, they'll clear your table very quickly when you're done eating during your meals. Hallways are upkept. Outdoor paths are always impeccably clean. Regarding bottled water, you'll only have 1 little bottle per person per day delivered to your room with room service, however I've been told you can find a water dispenser on the main floor where reception is, I haven't checked personally because I always used to take some bottled water from the maid's carts (which when you're really thirsty at night you can find on the upper floors stowed away at the end of the hall in some of the buildings). Basic alcohol is free up to midnight if I'm not mistaken. You get free ice cream between 3-4pm on the beach. The kids loved it. Also the children's animation is pretty good, they love kids and it shows they genuinely love what they do. But the evening animation for kids the same same every night which gets boring pretty quickly.|Pools are super clean, no complaints there. At one point my wife went to get some coffee from one of the coffee machines during non-meal hours while wearing her bikini but she was turned away by the staff, which seemed ridiculous because there is a pool with people tanning right next to the dining area... an unpleasant surprise.|The beach is a pebble beach. Sometimes algae and garbage would wash ashore but it was usually cleaned up by the next day. The beach staff is great, they'll get you a lounge chair or umbrella if you ever needed one.|Now for the bad.|We were staying at the building adjacent to the pool and water slides, but there were a lot of mosquitoes in the evening, and no nets on the windows! We had to chase down 10-15 mosquitoes every night before going to bed. The blood splatter on the walls is a testament to that. We asked about getting some window nets from the staff but just got a blank stare from them in response.|No one speaks English except a couple of people at reception. Literally. However, because most tourists are Germans, some of the staff speak German (we don't). On the dining terrace there are napkin dispensers which have a sticker that shows non-smoking hours during meals, but some people still smoke, which bothered us. When we approached the staff about this, they simply told us to go tell the smokers ourselves, which believe me I did but I find that this wasn't a very professional manner to handle the situation (the staff should have approached the smokers on our behalf). On the beach there are no rules regarding smoking. So a lot of people smoke, which was a bother for the kids. We had to get into a spat with some people because they were smoking next to our kids incessantly and without any consideration. Not exactly kids friendly.|At one point, because of the length of our stay, we had to get some laundry done, we just had one load but it ended up costing us 40 euros, for one load! Not to mention that the clothes stank of detergent afterwards and had lost all their color, black shirts were now grey, had to argue about it at reception on the day of our checkout but they refused to do anything about it, so that left a sour taste about the whole situation. Honestly we won't be back, we'll try another hotel property next time.|In summary this place is popular with German singles who want to come here to get drunk for a few nights and smoke on the beach. That's all. |Oh I also should mention, people smoke in their rooms and the smoke smell will seep into your room because of how the ventilation works, and if someone is making love in one of the adjacent rooms you'll be listening to it all...

We stayed here for the whole month of May. Let's start with the good. They have some beautifully kept grounds (although their beach property is rather narrow compared to other hotels) The food is very decent, it's renewed on days they expect a new batch of tourists, then the food that is uneaten is reused in other dishes for the next couple of days, but don't get me wrong most of the time it's very tasty and they have a large variety of vegan/vegetarian options. Some items like seafood cocktails are only available for 1 day a week when they expect a batch of German tourists. Hallways are upkept, paths are always impeccably clean. Regarding bottled water, you'll only have 1 little bottle per person per day delivered to your room with room service, however I've been told you can find a water dispenser on the main floor where reception is, I haven't checked personally because I always used to take some bottled water from the maid's carts (which when you're really thirsty at night you can find on the upper floors stowed away at the end of the hall in some of the buildings). Basic alcohol is free up to midnight if I'm not mistaken. You get free ice cream between 3-4pm on the beach. The kids loved it. Also the children's animation is pretty good, they love kids and it shows they genuinely love what they do. But the evening animation for kids the same same every night which gets boring pretty quickly. Pools are super clean, no complaints there. At one point my wife went to get some coffee from one of the coffee machines during non-meal hours while wearing her bikini but she was turned away by the staff, which seemed ridiculous because there is a pool with people tanning right next to the dining area... an unpleasant surprise. The beach is a pebble beach. Sometimes algae and garbage would wash ashore but it was usually cleaned up by the next day. The beach staff is great, they'll get you a lounge chair or umbrella if you ever needed one. Now for the bad. We were staying at the building adjacent to the pool and water slides, but there were a lot of mosquitoes in the evening, and no nets on the windows! We had to chase down 10-15 mosquitoes every night before going to bed. The blood splatter on the walls is a testament to that. We asked about getting some window nets from the staff but just got a blank stare from them in response. No one speaks English except a couple of people at reception. Literally. However, because most tourists are Germans, some of the staff speak German (we don't). On the dining terrace there are napkin dispensers which have a sticker that shows non-smoking hours during meals, but some people still smoke, which bothered us. When we approached the staff about this, they simply told us to go tell the smokers ourselves, which believe me I did but I find that this wasn't a very professional manner to handle the situation (the staff should have approached the smokers on our behalf). On the beach there are no rules regarding smoking. So a lot of people smoke, which was a bother for the kids. We had to get into a spat with some people because they were smoking next to our kids incessantly and without any consideration. Not exactly kids friendly. At one point, because of the length of our stay, we had to get some laundry done, we just had one load but it ended up costing us 60 euros, for one load! Not to mention that the clothes stank of detergent afterwards and had lost all their color, black shirts were now grey, had to argue about it at reception on the day of our checkout but they refused to do anything about it, so that left a sour taste about the whole situation. Honestly we won't be back, we'll try another hotel property next time. In summary this place is popular with German singles who want to come here to get drunk for a few nights and smoke on the beach. That's all. Oh I also should mention, people smoke in their rooms and the smoke smell will seep into your room because of how the ventilation works, and if someone is making love in one of the adjacent rooms you'll be listening to it...

I've just returned from my second stay in this hotel this year and I am already planning the next one. First time I came here, it was the very start of the season and this time it was a couple of weeks before season's end. This was noticeable: the staff looked quite tired after a long season and there were some small logistical limitations introduced (e.g. the beach bar was closed in the evenings). The hotel was already only half-full by that time. Despite this, everyone was still doing their best to make it a great experience for guests. And again they did a great job. Still there was a wide range of quality meals to select from in the restaurant, still a clean and well-maintained beach, still friendly looks and diligence from the personnel.||And, above all, still a perfectly functional animation team full of energy and running like clockwork. No activity has been cut from the daily schedule, and even for a handful of guests, that was left this late in the year, the high-quality performances from professional artists were still on every evening.||The animation programme makes all the difference. At its core, this hotel is a sleepy slow-paced place. A phlegmatic character will feel right at home: spend a day on the beach with a wide selection of refreshments readily available all day, or go to the restaurant and spend a couple of hours sipping beer by the pool, or visit an on-premise spa. This is all well and good, however, for those, that need just a bit more drive to their holiday, the animation is what makes this place really come alive -- it is the heart, that makes its blood flow, colours the days and makes them memorable. Again, special thanks goes to Ahmed and Dora for being at the top of their game. Animation team's performance is the reason why I came back the second time, and why I am coming back again.||The motto of this hotel is "your second home", and this is not an empty phrase. Coming here again really does feel like coming home -- surprisingly, a lot of members of the staff actually recognise and greet you after several months, and I've seen far more familiar faces among the guests than I expected.||I am deliberately not mentioning any negative points about my stay -- of course, there are some minor hiccups here and there -- same as anywhere else. But whatever slight inconveniences there are, they get fixed swiftly, and more importantly, they are completely overshadowed by the overall impression of being welcome, being among friendly faces, feeling at home.||P..S. Tips: 1) If you're a beach type, you might not want to go to the main restaurant during lunch time, the "snacks" at the beach bar are full meals that can sustain you until dinner, and thus save time. 2) The cats are adorable, but don't feed them the food from the restaurant -- it's often very bad for them. Instead, buy a pack of the cat food at the reception or at a supermarket, And don't be fooled by them -- they might look hungry, but from what I've gathered, they get fed plenty...