Barut Hemera — Hotel in Manavgat

I've thought long and hard about writing this review. But I have decided that if it helps coealics to decide whether to come here or not, then i should write it. This review is really purely for guests with gluten allergies and or lactose intolerance. I REALLY wished that i'd taken more notice of a previous guest who warned about the VERY limited offerings here. Sadly, i didn't! It was a big problem for us. My son in law, was able to eat just fine here. But, its a very different story for anyone with an allergy.||||I want the managers here to understand just how dispiriting it is to read the allergy information on the food. Ok, so imagine this: you walk into to see the most amazing array of food; sumptuous desserts; beautiful soups and wonderful cheeses and breads. Now, imagine walking round the allergy labels, looking at perhaps 30 or 40 choices of food, and seeing that EVERYTHING except 1 or 2 dishes has gluten and or milk in it! And, of that 1 or 2 choices, you just don't like it! So, you are forced to eat vegetables, salad and maybe a bit of chicken. IT IS SOUL DESTROYING!||||I did wonder if Turkey could truly cater for gluten free. Let me tell you they cannot. Do you know what sticks in my craw? This BARUT chain hold themselves us as able to cater for the allergies. Sorry, but it's RUBBISH!||||AS someone who is lactose intolerant. and someone who adores soup, i can usually sit and have 2 or 3 bowls and nothing else. But, that wasn't always possible at this hotel. Often, the soup at lunch and dinner contained milk! I could not even have rice, because the rice had milk in it! Butter rice?? Really? WHY? ||||I have to say customer relations did try their best and we did manage to book into the Olive Italian restaurant ONCE, we were told it was impossible to book there again! Because everyone needed a turn. Well, yes, i get that, but if you cant eat in the buffet restaurant, and we are all paying the same price. Is that fair? In the end we went there for lunch instead one of the days. They catered much better for coealics. ||||One evening, we ordered gluten free/ milk free pasta and pizza in advance. Ha ha ha. What a joke! We had to wait about 30 minutes, and the rest of the party had finished their meal. The staff seemed very flustered. One of the chefs got really angry and started shouting at the staff because they plonked down a plate of gluten free pasta in a bowl on the table. No sauce. Nothing! I kid you not. The guest relations said we could get sauce outside at the cooking station. Guess what when we asked they said their sauce had gluten in! Waste of time. I got really tired of being told their milk free desserts were lovely. They weren't! All those lovely cakes. Not one vegan or milk free! You can only eat so much fruit and salad you know. ||||The bread in the morning for coealics was DIRE. LOADS of choices for everyone else: croissants; seeded bread and pastries. One choice for coealics. Dry, thinly sliced, white bread. There was no separate toaster to even toast it. My husband ate dry fruit EVERY MORNING for 7 days. Because yes, you've guessed it...NO GLUTEN FREE CEREAL AT ALL. NOTHING, NADA, ZILCH. And no milk free cereal either. Honestly, it was AWFUL. |||| We paid the same as everyone else. Over 3000 pounds! But, we did not experience the same service.||||Barut stop the false advertising. ||||Get a manager to walk round to sample, a breakfast, lunch and dinner totally gluten and lactose free. Only then, will you see what i am complaining about.||||We will never, ever return until you change the diet for people with allergies.||||One last thing. We could not use the patisserie. Not at all. Not even for a caffeine free coffee, because a) they did not do caffeine free - only from a jar!! YUCK. And, they did not do gluten free cake either! Or, vegan cake.||||I cannot tell you how disappointed we were with Barut Hemera. I've given 2 stars because the room, grounds and staff were lovely. But you don't get any stars for your gluten/ milk free food....

Barut Hemera is a beautiful resort almost half way along the stunning Side Promenade.||We were a family on an all-inclusive holiday. My wife and I stayed in one of the swim-up rooms whilst our tween kids stayed together in a family room. The rooms were spacious with plenty of wardrobe space, a safe and a minibar. The swim-up room provided additional amenities such as a Nespresso coffee maker, tea bags, a kettle and the ability to order drinks delivered to your room at specific times during the day. There were daily minibar top-ups and housekeeping services. In the swim-up, you also get access to a WhatsApp number that can help address any queries or action any requests that you have (very helpful).||Our swim-up pool was shared between 6 or 7 rooms and was refreshing, clean and relaxing. It was close to the “Quiet (16+)” pool and The Olive Restaurant/Bar. We had our own terrace with two loungers, chairs and a parasol. The terrace was sun facing and ideal for those seeking a good tan.||In addition to the Quiet Pool, there was another bigger general pool with a sectioned off area offering a few winding water slides. Neither pool ever looked too crowded and almost everyone was able to access a lounger.||The Hemera Restaurant served all main meals at specified times. The food was varied, plentiful and of a good quality. The service was always attentive, friendly and accommodating. For lunch, the Burger Bar (next to the main pool) and The Olive Restaurant were amazing alternatives and offered a nice change from the main restaurant. Try the Underground Burger or, my favourite, the tagliatelle with chicken and mushrooms. The Olive offers pasta and pizza for lunch, and transforms into an a la carte Italian restaurant in the evening. A la carte restaurants need a booking and cost an additional fee per person. There are a few in the resort but we did not try them. ||For those who like coffee, especially with their breakfast, don’t have your coffee at the main restaurant or the bars as they use an automatic machine for their coffees. Instead, head to the patisserie where you get proper coffee and can tuck into some lovely pastry or ice cream.||The resort has its own private beach, with a water sports centre two steps away! They offer jet skis, parasailing, speed boat trips etc. All obviously for a fee. ||There is also a well equipped gym, table tennis, table football, and an arcade. Like most resorts in the area, Barut Hemera has a spa offering various massages and treatments for a fee. I spent some time in the gym and although small, the quality of the equipment is high and the workers were accommodating. ||In the evening, the resort offered entertainment in its Kumsal Beach Bar. It changed daily and in general it was okey. There was plenty of seating and the service was good. You can also order shisha (hookah) for €25; expensive but it was a holiday!||For my family and I, Barut Hemera was an amazing experience. The resort grounds were beautifully kept, full of lush greenery, impeccable lawns and lovely trees. Hats off to the hard working gardeners. The staff were all friendly, attentive, helpful and incredibly hard working. The swim-up room was amazing and the resort amenities provided everything we needed or wanted. For those who dare brave the heat, there are plenty of shops to explore near the resort and there are conveniently placed ATMs next to the resort gates. We would be more than happy to come here again. ||A special mention for the following staff in the main restaurant: Hasan, Safiye, Cem, and the stealthy but always welcoming, Halil. A special shoutout to Turgut (Pikachu), coffee barista Tigin, The Olive Recep, and shisha master Fethi. I hope I spelt everyone’s name correctly 😅.||If I was to offer any constructive feedback, I would suggest revamping the acts of the evening entertainment. They are not in keeping with the...

This is my review of the Barut Hemera hotel. Based on my subjective experience of staying at this hotel for one week, all inclusive. I'm well travelled globally. I've stayed in very many hotels, from 2 star to 5 star, over the past 40 years of travel, in an extensive variety of locations around the world. In Turkey, I usually stay at Rixos hotels, but on this occasion, I tried the Barut Hemera in Side. My first impressions were the hotel is lacking staff engagement, warmth and interaction with the guests. Easily visible all around, especially in the main buffet restaurant. No welcome good morning or good afternoon. Absolutely no interaction - in this 5 star hotel, which clearly has a significant issue specifically with management and supervisors, who appear to be incompetent regarding customer service. There are several staff who stand out, who are engaging, warm, kind, professional. But these few staff are outnumbered by staff, particularly waiters, who appear to have low morale and inadequate training, which indicates a cultural problem within the Barut company itself. Or possibly it's just this particular Barut hotel which has this problem. The Rixos owned hotels where I have stayed on previous occasions have class leading, personalised customer service with plenty of interaction, warmth, engagement and professionalism. In their restaurants for breakfast, lunch and dinners, the staff and supervisors speak to the guests, this can easily be seen and experienced daily. But at the Barut Hemera, they are all speaking to each other, ignoring guests, which is unacceptable. Staff must engage with guests. These managers and supervisors need to be stood at the restaurant entrance greeting their guests with eye contact and a smile. Barut Hemera positives: Good food, good selection from main buffet restaurant. Several nice, attentive, engaging staff, especially in the patisserie and pool bar. Room interiors nice, clean, modern, excellent mattress, room size, bathroom and balcony. Many poor balcony views though. Good mini bar, replenished daily. Beach, excellent location, high quality sunbeds and large unbrellas The grounds - Really beautiful and well kept, lovely trees, flowers, different birds singing all day. Nice ambience around the hotel and grounds. Excellent patisserie serving delicious cakes and coffees.

Negatives Many staff evidently with low morale and appear to be overworked and inadequately trained. Extremely little staff interaction and engagement with guests. Most supervisors and managers in the buffet all chatting to each other, talking on their mobile phones, disengaged, stood in the middle of the busy floors, totally ignorant of their guests, which is disgraceful. Chefs, managers, supervisors - all visibly guilty of this. While the waiters and waitresses are visibly working hard. I should have taken photos to highlight these issues. This clearly highlights the lack of quality, professional management at this hotel. One waiter rudely tells my young son he's not allowed to sit in a certain area, as it's over 16's only (my son did not see the sign). Rudeness is absolutely intolerable in ANY hotel, especially a 5 star hotel. Serving draught soft drinks which are tastless and poor quality. Should be serving Coca Cola and lemonade in tins, as it's a 5 star hotel. Room maids not engaging. Reception staff all look serious and don't smile. Reception is first point of guest contact - Smile and greet your guests! In the Turkish restaurant, Sofra, the waiters brought the wrong drinks, they also gave us knives instead of spoons for ice cream. To conclude - The primary problem as I see it is the evidently poor customer service with many staff appearing to be inadequately trained. So it's a management issue here which needs to...