AKDORA ELITE HOTEL & SPA — Hotel in Manavgat

Here is our experience after visiting this hotel 🏨 in the end of July of 2024.

✖️Reception staff. They were friendly at first, then they gave us 2 rooms instead of 3 that we booked and paid for. After arguing for few hours we received 3 rooms. Our check in was delayed due to issues on the hotel side. We were promised wine and fruits as a nice gesture to say sorry for the troubles however we have never received it, even after asking about it few days later.

✖️ Rooms. So the rooms were pretty run down, it needs refurbishment. 1 out of 3 rooms we booked had a super dirty balcony window. Rooms were not cleaned during our stay, only bed covered was fixed by hotel staff. We didn’t have our towels changed during the stay.

✔️Rest of the hotel staff were super friendly, especially people at the bar and restaurant. However almost no one spoke English language.

✖️Hotel has two private beaches. We have visited one of those beaches - 5 min walk away from a hotel. The private beach was small, only 4 sun beds per one line. Hotel doesn’t have a bar at a beach. Some of the sun umbrellas were broken and no one replaced them. You can fresh beach towels at the hotel every day - so that was nice 👍

✔️ Food at the hotel was tasty. We were pleased with variety of food options during our stay. Breakfast wasn’t my favourite part however I’m a fan of Turkish breakfast but prefer European ones so I cannot judge here.

✖️Open bar had beer, wine, cocktails and soft drinks. Cocktails had a poor taste and lots of sugar so we were avoiding them. In our experience Turkey isn’t big on alcoholic drinks therefore we didn’t have massive expectations here and yet we still were disappointed.

✖️Swimming pools. Hotel offers two pools that are actually small and pretty much all sun beds by the beach is being ,,reserved’’ by hotel guests a night before by leaving towels on them. It was allowed and acceptable by hotel staff. So there was no chance really to use sun beds by the pool.

✔️ Location. 5 min walk from the beach and 30 min walk to the city centre of the town. Taxi to get to the town centre costs 10 Eur set fee one way. There are some markets / people selling Turkish clothes and other beach things just outside the hotel. There are few restaurants walking distance away from the hotel.

✖️ WiFi. Free WiFi was offered only at the reception. You can order WiFi in your room by paying extra. But the payment goes per device not per room. 3 days of WiFi costs 7 Eur, 30 days - 20 Eur and that’s per device. Payment for such service only in cash 💴 in Turkish lira, euros, pounds or dollars.

Summary. We knew this won’t be a luxury hotel so we didn’t expect the highest level of service and newest rooms. Most we were disappointed the way we were treated during check in and that our sea view room that we paid extra for didn’t have a sea view from a room, only from a corner of the room’s balcony. We booked this hotel cause it was a balance option in terms of location and walking distance to the town centre, beach 🏖️, dates available, price and quite positive reviews of other people. Couldn’t recommend this hotel for anyone else however it’s not the worst option for high season holiday choice especially...

The agency recommended this hotel to us. After making the payment, I read the reviews and got scared about where we were headed. However, once we arrived, it didn’t seem nearly as bad as the comments had suggested.

It’s true that many guests complained about getting bad rooms and were very dissatisfied — we heard this during the group meeting. Still, in the end, everyone agreed that things turned out fine.

I’ll try to be as objective as possible:

Room: Our room was decent — clean, with housekeeping coming daily. The bathroom was okay; the only issue was that the shower doors didn’t close properly, but it wasn’t anything serious. The toilet seat was slightly yellowed, which bothered me at first, but since it could be lifted, it wasn’t a big problem. During the last four days, the toilet tank started making a constant running water sound — probably due to some pipe inside the toilet. It sounded like someone was constantly urinating, which could be irritating for someone sensitive to noise. It didn’t bother me much, but I can see how it could be an issue for others.

Pool: Small and cute. There aren’t many sunbeds, but you can usually find one. Overall, it’s acceptable.

Beach Bar: Probably the best part of the hotel! Bartender Yakup is very friendly and makes great cocktails. You’ll enjoy his service during the day, and in the evening there’s often music and a small party vibe. All compliments to him!

Beach: It’s about 400 meters from the hotel — not right across the street, but not far either. Unfortunately, the beach is quite messy. The sunbeds seem randomly placed, the area is narrow, and when you compare it to the neat beach setups of nearby hotels, it’s a bit disheartening. There are around 40–50 sunbeds total, while the hotel hosts around 220 guests. If you want a sunbed with shade, you need to be there by 8:30 AM at the latest — preferably by 8. After that, it’s mostly full, and you might only find a few sunbeds without umbrellas.

Food: I’m generally not picky, but the food was bad. Although there were plenty of dishes, most of them tasted poorly made — greasy, bland, and lifeless. I tried to enjoy it and convince myself it wasn’t that bad, but I couldn’t. The meat was somewhat okay. Desserts were hit or miss — occasionally there’d be a good one. Coffee from the machine was watery. Overall, the taste and quality of the food were disappointing. I didn’t have much appetite during the stay, which is rare for me. There were plenty of salads, which was one positive. My boyfriend, on the other hand, was more satisfied — he found the food acceptable, more or less.

Location: Excellent! The old town, which is beautiful, is about a 20–30 minute walk away, and the walk itself is pleasant.

Overall impression: In the end, it wasn’t that bad. Realistically, for that price, you can’t expect luxury. You could even say it was decent for what we paid. If the food had been better, the overall impression would have been much more positive. You won’t go hungry, but you won’t enjoy the meals either. All in all — you get what...

I’ve stayed in many hotels over the years, but Akdor Elite is, without a doubt, the worst of them all. I wouldn’t recommend it to my worst enemy.||We arrived at 11:30pm, tired and hungry, only to be told that there was no food available. Not even a snack. Not a great start, but things quickly went from bad to abysmal.||At check-in, the man at the desk informed us that the hotel was “very full” and that the only rooms available were economy rooms, which he described (and I quote) as “terrible.” He wasn’t exaggerating. Due to an injury, I was on crutches, and he said we’d need two separate rooms because of how small they were — this was extremely distressing for my friend, as we had specifically booked a hotel that according to its website, only had at least two beds in each room. We had no choice but to accept, under the promise we’d be moved the next day.||The rooms were shocking. I’ve attached photos and a video to my review — because words hardly do justice. Live wires were protruding from the walls, the door was held in place by foam filler, and the general state of the room felt insecure and outright dangerous. On speaking with other guests, it became clear that this is a common scam — economy rooms are dumped on guests and “upgrades” offered only for an additional fee.||We returned to reception the next day to change rooms, as promised, but were told by the manager that this was no longer possible — unless we paid more, and even then, the room had no air conditioning. They then lied to our travel agent, claiming they had already given us a complimentary second room and offered us a room change, which was absolutely false. Because of this, Love Holidays (who I also wouldn’t recommend) refused to help us.||Only on day three did we finally get moved to a better room — and while it was perfectly average, it felt luxurious compared to the squalor we had endured.||The food was dreadful, drinks undrinkable, the pool was uninviting, and the so-called “private beach” was a joke — a cramped little corner with a few plastic chairs, no bar, and no food options. It was more like a sad afterthought than a beach experience.||In short, this hotel is a complete disgrace. It’s misrepresented, mismanaged, and quite frankly unsafe. I wouldn’t return if you paid me, and I’ll be going out of my way to warn others from ever booking this place. Do yourself a favour and avoid Akdor Elite — it’s...