Akra Fethiye Tui Blue Sensatori — Hotel in Fethiye

I booked this five star for a special family birthday as a surprise for my husband. It is more luxurious than we normally go and there are lots of positives; the restaurant variety is second to none, the setting is beautiful, the animation team are highly trained ex-stage schoolers, the grounds are pristine and the beds are super comfy. Drinks are branded and there are delicious cocktails too!||However, there are some major shortfalls. ||There is NO personal touch. This is a money-maker and there is no taking account ability for anything going wrong and no offerings of compensation accordingly. For example…||We paid an upgrade of 75€ per day to have a swim-up room. With two young children who nap, this allowed us the opportunity to still be able to catch the rays and swim. However, having requested a south-facing room, we got given an east-facing (2303) and lost the sun by lunchtime. Also, the swim-up pool was not heated and too cold for us and the kids. NB We swim in the sea near our home in Blighty so we are pretty hardy! We asked reception/guest services to address this and to switch the heating on but nothing happened until 7 days after our arrival. In the interim we did ask to move to a southerly room and this was accommodated but still the water was freezing. Granted, with the heating on, we took advantage (for two days) of a warm pool, even swimming late at night, but why this wasn’t the case for the entirety of our trip was not answered until I spoke to management on our last day where Aizada told me that we got the room at a reduced rate so what was the problem?! She needs a lesson in customer service as she also called me a liar when I said the water had been cold all week! I asked for some recompense of the €700 upgrade but was told no. Not even a complimentary massage…! Omer too was far from helpful and with every issue raised it was a, “No, but…” I know it is the end of the season but attention to detail and care had well and truly checked out amongst reception staff. ||I booked an a la carte restaurant for my husband’s 40th. We lunched there a lot so for three days prior I arranged with the staff for balloons, a cake and a special table and was assured this would be done. We arrived for the special evening and NOTHING! I asked where everything was but a short man in a very ill-fitting jacket told me I hadn’t put anything on the app at time of the booking so we get nothing….! How hard would it have been to stick a candle in our dessert?! My four year old was so upset as she had personally asked for the balloons for her Daddy.||The app is a menace; if you want kids club, there are only 32 spaces for a hotel with nearly 300 children during October half term. Booking opened at 1700 and by 1701 all spaces had gone. I do not exaggerate here.||Finally, at such a busy time, and owing to them not heating two of the three major pools, sunbed reservation was done by 6am by most. Not what you want to do on holiday. As the swim-up pool was so cold, we had to find beds at the only warm pool but refused to get up so early. We struggled to find a bed which aggregated us even more about not having a swimmable-temperature pool we had paid extra for. ||However, the sunshine was well-needed, “The Restaurant” staff were fab and great with the kids, the cleaners are the stars sweeping up after my weening baby endlessly(!), the shows were good, music was great and site was impeccably clean. ||Management, please focus on the personal touch, retraining reception staff to take accountability and make your customers feel heard. And for the kids, allow for them to see the TBots (walking around site to meet the kids during the day, sell some TBots merch) and make the evening mini disco more informal - musical statues, more dancing, less pre-recorded stuff that they have to listen to for a little too long!||Probably would return again but would ensure we didn’t get fobbed off by reception re: room upgrade and other issues. It was an unnecessary stress I didn’t need for this very...

It was a good stay but not excellent. I do not see the regular room rates is justifiable, especially when the property should have almost 100% occupancy rate... it is too much people that will create line ups everywhere.

Personal is young and positive, many speak English. The beach has enough sunbeds that are well positioned and provides enough room for all.

Here are a few items I would highlight as areas for improvement

Check-in: The lobby does not have enough room. When you enter for checking in you get easily distracted with welcome drinks. Luggage delivery was ok but a guy did not show us our suit inside and passed the luggage through the entry door. I had to call to the reception desk with multiple questions about the room. Only two keys were issued for 3 adults. An extra one was requested later on and it was given without asking my ID maybe they had my passport in the profile so this is a reason.

IT: The internet site as well as WiFi authentication method are outdated. WiFi is unreliable. It was impossible to maintain proper business connections from the property using local WiFi but only via a cellular network. WiFi coverage on the beach is insufficient.

Room: I was mistakenly presumed that lines in a such resort to be refreshed on a daily basis that was not the case regardless of the tips I left. Two-bedroom suit for 4 people had only one mini bar. It was not always re-filled in full. A safe was only on the master bedroom. Only one small wall mounted laundry drying rack was in the suit. The suit has plenty of space to keep enough equipment to serve up to 4 adults but this space has not been used effectively. No soap bars were in the room. The bathroom has hooks for towels just for 2 person. Cosmetics were packed in individuals plastic tubes which is strange considering TUI's commitment to reduce plastic footprint. It is also related to the cocktail straws made from plastic/individually packed in plastic and widely used at this property. Double paper cups provided by default for hot drinks was also a concern. Book a room with land view far away from the beach if you want to go to sleep before 10 p.m. There are regular concerts if the weather permits. Slippers are being replaced only upon request.

Food: Overall it was good. Wide variety of food and drinks was offered. However, some disheshes were not prepared comme il faut. Octopus was not properly cleaned after boiling, sushi had too much rice and little ingredients. Shrimps were farmed. In general they have to be boiled in the sea water after they get caught to make them salty which was not the case. Whipped cream consistency was almost like a butter. No soft (brie) cheese was available. The main restaurant is lacking good interior decoration and should be simply called as a food court. Many tables are not stable, some of them outside cannot be used after rain as they do not get covered in advance. It is hard to understand a concept of having additional restaurants for extra fees in "all inclusive" resorts. It looks similar to a few video streaming services where you buy a subscription and still has to pay extra for selected content. I also see unnecessary to have tip boxes across the "all inclusive" resort.

Beach/Pools: During night time access to the walkable paths on the beach should be lighted or blocked for entry as they cause a tripping hazard. Swimming shoes are highly recommend to have. There are too much rocks. Not sure if they cannot be removed due to environmental regulations to protect turtles or something else. The warmest water is far from the beach due to the cold river enters the sea near by TUI Residence Hotel. All swimming pools including those beside swim-up rooms are not heated up which is necessary. 7pm closing hours cannot be justified considering that many will not be able to enjoy the beach for the above mentioned reasons.

Mosquito repellent is...

This was our third all-inclusive holiday with TUI and, once again, they have delivered an experience of the highest standard. Their resorts never fail to impress, and the service is consistently second to none – this stay at TUI Blue Sensatori Akra Fethiye was no exception.

From the moment we arrived, what struck us most was the genuinely friendly, upbeat nature of all the staff. Every team member greeted us warmly with a smile and eye contact, which may sound like a small detail, but it made us feel instantly welcome and at ease in a new country and a new resort. Throughout our stay, the service was attentive, helpful, and always given with such warmth.

The hotel itself is beautiful – immaculate, well laid out, and a real pleasure to spend time in. The main restaurant buffet was outstanding, with such variety and care in presentation. We loved the themed nights (the seafood and Asian nights were particular highlights), the abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables, and the incredible desserts that always tempted us back for more. We also dined at three of the à la carte restaurants – each was superb, with our personal favourite being the Asian/Chinese, though all offered food of the highest standard. Booking activities and restaurants through the TUI Blue app was straightforward and made the whole experience even smoother.

The pools were fantastic, especially the Activity Pool which was a big hit with our daughters. The water slides were brilliant too.

Entertainment at the resort deserves its own special mention – the Boardwalk shows were some of the best we’ve ever seen. Acts such as Harmony 4 and the Whitney Houston tribute were simply incredible. We also loved the nightly QuizStorm quizzes – so much fun that we, along with several other families, ended up planning our evenings around them!

Our girls adored the Kids Club and the special parties, always returning full of excitement and stories about the fun they’d had.

We want to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone: the Guest Experience team (who arranged several experiences for us), reception staff, cleaning staff, the person who replenished our room drinks and snacks, the wonderful serving staff at the restaurants, the chefs, and every member of the hotel team who worked tirelessly to make our stay unforgettable.

And if you’re considering this resort, we highly recommend booking a beachside cabana – luxuriously furnished, shaded yet open to the sea breeze, with dedicated service for food and drinks. Spending the day there was the ultimate in relaxation and truly unforgettable.

One of our daughters unfortunately came down with chickenpox just before we were due to leave. This meant she was unfit to fly so I had to stay behind with her while my wife and other daughter returned home. What could have been a stressful few days was made so much easier thanks to the remarkable support from both the TUI Guest Experience team and the hotel staff. They checked in with us regularly ensuring we had everything we needed while quarantining, and even delivered our meals in a way that felt gourmet, turning an otherwise difficult situation into something my daughter could still enjoy. Importantly, they assisted us regarding the medical attention our daughter needed and liaised with our travel insurance company to make all necessary arrangements for the extension of my stay (until my daughter was well enough to fly). Their care and attention went far above and beyond anything we expected, and we are truly grateful.

When we return to Turkey, we wouldn’t dream of staying anywhere else. TUI Blue Sensatori Akra Fethiye has given us memories we’ll treasure, and we cannot recommend it...