TUI Magic Life Rixos Beldibi +16 — Hotel in Kemer

July 2023 review. We stayed here for 9 days at the Rixos Beldibi hotel, for the second time. We were last here in June 2022. There have been several noticeable changes, all negative, since our last stay, which I will mention in my review. Firstly, arriving at the hotel, first impressions - Luggage porters were immediately attentive and took our luggage from the taxi to reception. Check in was a good experience and within minutes we were heading to our room, a deluxe sea view. We knew what to expect, the room was lovely, on the first floor with a sea and garden grounds view. Average comfort beds due to worn out mattresses, making the bed like a sponge. For the physical well being of most people, mattresses need to be medium to firm. Excellent shower, toiletries, plenty of space, big balcony, small fridge for our essential water, which was topped up daily. I will bullet point breakfast, lunch & dinner. Food quality extremely various, with some tasty original Turkish dishes, (beans, lentils, beef, lamb stews) which are similar to what I eat in Cyprus. Breakfast - There are SIX cereals for children, the heavy sugar loaded variety - Why? There is no soya milk, almond milk. These milks are essentials in 4 and 5 star hotels these days. In 2023, hundreds of thousands of people want soya milks for various valid reasons, so this should be provided. Bizarrely, there are FIFTEEN cheeses, yes 15. All absolutely rubbish, of poor quality and inedible really. Why? What is the logic thinking behind this? This hotel needs 4 or 5 different high quality cheeses, considering the Rixos Beldibi is a 5 star hotel. So as an international traveller, I expect to see at least Cheddar, Edam, Gouda, Emental and something special, like a Comte cheese. You don't 'need' 15 poor quality cheeses, because no one eats them, plus the financial wastage costs. Think of your clientele, where they come from. There are the usual egg stations with friendly female chefs who are also cooking French toast, Turkish sausages as well as other breakfast items. Lunch is a typical buffet, with a wide selection of salads, cold meats - (low quality), fish, grilled meats, vegetable salads, fresh seasonal fruits including essentials like watermelon, which is fantastic for digestion aid. Waiters and waitresses - some are attentive, warm, kind, professional, some are sleepwalking. Dinner is very similar to the lunchtime. Good selection of cakes, but downgraded from June 2022. No Turkish samolena cake! Why? Some nights they do lamb or chicken doner - But no pitta bread and chilli sauce. Why? Turkish home made chilli sauce I mean, not the commercial rubbish in the Heinz bottle, see my photo, as was the case here. Baklava was downgraded also, now the mass produced variety, full of sugar and powdered pistachios. Last year, this hotel made their own baklava which was absolutely delicious, with lots of whole pistachios and no nasty palm oils. The grounds are beautiful, with pine trees, palm trees and other small fruit trees. The beach is clean, with excellent covers for the 2 / 3 sunbeds which fit comfortably underneath. However, I suspect the covering let's in the sun's UV rays, so be careful and don't assume you are sun protected from these covers. Pool is a nice size for those people who don't like the sea. Plenty of space to shade sunbeds under the trees in the grounds, where you feel peaceful without too many people close to you. Our last night dinner was an absolute disaster, at their Mermaid restaurant. Starters was atrocious, clearly prepared several hours before being served. See my photo of white plate with various dishes, all not eatable because the quality was grossly inferior. So a sad final evening at the Rixos Beldibi. We met Seher, the Guest Relations Manager, who is a lovely, warm, kind, helpful lady. I sincerely hope that Rixos as a company, value her highly, as she's an excellent asset to your management team. We will only return to Rixos Beldibi if they address all issues I've stated here and the hotel can provide consistently high quality food...

This is our 3rd visit to the Rixos chain of hotels and we are impressed!

The Rixos Beldibi was fantastic and staff were friendly from the moment we arrived there.

Overall

Quality 5-star hotel, with excellent staff in a setting that makes you feel at home. Worth a visit for couples and families. If going, take advantage of free transfer and entry to Land of Legends Park.

Room

We had a spacious room on the 3rd floor with a view of the gardens and sea. I wanted to bring the bed home with us as was so comfortable! The room was spotless and maid service did a great job especially with the towel animals.

Restaurants

The breakfast buffet had an expansive range and choice, I think we had different things every day and never got tired of the selection. There was ample seating both inside and out in the main restaurant with the décor and ambiance making it feel varied and comfortable.

The patisserie had a selection of cakes and biscuits that changed each day and a good range of Teas and Coffees that complimented them. I was very partial to a Turkish Coffee and cake mid-morning and my waistline shows it after the trip!

During the day the Bistro restaurant was relaxed, and service couldn’t be faulted. It felt like we were in an upmarket restaurant.

With our stay we had a single a la carte diner at the Italian, where we sat on the veranda. There were many courses, and we especially enjoyed the ravioli which was creamy and rich. Bars

The range of branded drinks was extensive, and wines were tasty. There were at least 4 different types of beers with range and flavour. With the cocktails the staff could make any you wanted however we weren’t that adventurous.

The lobby bar was quiet, and we spent most of our time at the beach bar, where the evening entertainment was.

Pool

The main pool was split in two level and there was a separate kids pool. It was clean and well looked after with friendly lifeguards. There were plenty of sun loungers providing a picturesque view of the mountains catching the sun through till around 4 pm ish.

Beach

The beach had plenty of sun loungers and cabanas and we always found a space. Swimming in the sea was refreshing and safe and I saw a few fish. We loved the pier and getting afternoon sun looking back at the hotel and views, especially when sipping an ice coffee.

Entertainments

The staff worked hard and provided a varied entertainment schedule. During the day there were many activities you were free to join in with we tried tennis, basketball, and a bit of table tennis. We didn’t fancy the aerial exercise class or the bike ride to the canyon.

Over the week in the evening there was karaoke and a music quiz and we had a laugh. For us it was pitched at the right level however a younger crowd may want a bit more.

The kids club ran all day and till late in the evening the kids looked to be loving it!

Land of Legends

Wow. We took advantage of the free transfer and access to the Land of Legends and with-it being October we were able to do the theme park, water park and shopping in a day. However, we could have gone back for another day as there were so many shops! The dolphin show was engaging, and we loved them. The water rides made us laugh and were each different, the water rollercoaster is something we haven’t done before and loved it. Talking of roller coasters, the train one was better than anything in the UK.

An excellent stay overall and we will definitely look out for other Rixos hotels in the future. Thanks to all of the staff that...

Well, where do I start with this hotel? Firstly, when I arrived at the hotel and entered my room there was still ash in the ashtray from the previous guests. The room was dated & the air conditioning didn't work. I called reception 3 times to try & resolve the issue and each time they claimed to have fixed it, but they didn't. It wasn't until I went down to reception to complain face-2-face that they informed me nobody had even gone to check it.

The food served in the restaurant at lunch is near enough exactly the same food you get at dinner, which gets extremely repetitive!

Sadly, the thing that really let this hotel down the most is the atmosphere, which other Magic life hotels do so well & pride themselves on. I have stayed at a number of other Magic Life hotels, which have all been excellent , but this hotel gives both Magic life & Rixos brands a bad name. The entertainment team are by far the worst i've seen & are the largest contributing factor to the poor atmosphere of the hotel. They do very little to engage the guests & when they were walking around the hotel between activities , they just appeared so miserable & uninterested, like they did not want to be there. Whenever I spoke with them, I got the feeling that you weren't welcome and they didn't want you there. It's such a shame as other Magic life hotels are excellent at building an inclusive & family like atmosphere (that is what Magic Life is about!) for all types of travellers, whether they are groups ,or solo. However, the team here have sadly failed to do that .

As a solo traveller I introduced myself to the Magic angel rep on the first night (the rep responsible for bringing solo travellers together), she introduced herself to me by saying 'hello' & then just walked off (thanks!). The other reps were just rude & ignored you, with no intention of building a community atmosphere. In fact, I wanted to cancel my trip early as I was very upset with my experience (which i've never done before at any hotel) and felt discriminated against as a solo traveller, but ended up staying in my room on my last night, counting down the time to my departure.

If this hotel wants to improve it's image it really could do with a full re-branding, refurbishment & new entertainment team if it wants to even stand a chance of competing with the brands other hotels. This experience has made me cautious about booking any further TUI Magic life (and Rixos) hotels as it shows a lack of consistency between the experiences & levels of service offered by the different hotels.

The only positive takeaway was the local staff who worked in the restaurant & poolside bar were offering a good service & were welcoming.

I was warned by guests at other Magic life hotels to avoid this particular hotel as they had shared similar negative views of their experience. However, due to other hotels being unavailable due to it being peak season I thought I would give it a chance to see for myself....