All inclusive ideas help needed.

poet123

Toying with the idea of an All Inc for next August.

We have not done this kind of holiday for many years, so I am not sure where to start to get a decent hotel. I have heard a lot of all inc horror stories and want to avoid that if at all possible. I should say that I am not really sold on All Inc and so need some persuading.

We want the following.

Good quality food, with choices.
A beach front location
close to a small village with amenities.(don't want to be stuck on a complex for 2 weeks)
sightseeing opportunities
sports facilities suitable for 13 year old boy (football, table tennis preferably)
Pref not long haul, although we would consider that if necessary.

All sugggestions will be gratefully received.

Becles

We went to Hotel Alize in Olu Deniz Turkey this year. We loved it so much, we are going again next year! It will be very hot there in August though.

Here's my review on Trip Advisor. It seems to tick most of your boxes:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g312737-d498753-r32353585-Alize_Hotel-Oludeniz_Mugla_Province_Turkish_Aegean_Coast.html

Good quality food, with choices.
Food was fantastic. All freshly prepared and well presented. There was a lot of local food which suited us as we love trying new dishes. Husband is an ex-chef and is picky, but he loved it!

A beach front location
It's not right on the beach, but you are not far from it. It takes about 10 minutes to walk down to the main beach. The lagoon beach is about 20 minutes walk to get to the public beach. There are beach clubs on the other side lagoon who you can ring from the hotel and they will come and pick you up and drop you back again. Prices are very reasonable once inside and we enjoyed a day at Sugar Beach Club.

close to a small village with amenities.(don't want to be stuck on a complex for 2 weeks)
The resort is quite compact but there are plenty of bars, restaurants and shops. There is a main strip, then other places in side streets. You can catch a dolmus (minibus) to Hisaronu which is a much larger resort up in the mountain and about 10 minutes away. Fethiye is about 20 mins away by dolmus and is a working Turkish city with masses of things to do. Dolmus costs pennies, or there are two taxi ranks in the resort.

sightseeing opportunities
Loads to do and plenty of places selling trips in the resort. If you are feeling brave you can paraglide off the mountain next to the resort and land on the beach promenade - it's awesome! Boat trips leave from the resort every day and are good fun. Plenty of historial attractions, nature attractions, fun stuff like water parks and jeep safaries nearby.

sports facilities suitable for 13 year old boy (football, table tennis preferably)
The hotel I've listed above will keep a 13 year old entertained. Sometimes I forgot I even had my two older ones as they just went off to do stuff with other children! I felt safe letting them do that.

Pref not long haul, although we would consider that if necessary.
Flights are around 4-5 hours depending on where you live in the UK.

poet123

Thanks, looks very nice, we have only been to Turkey on a day trip when cruising, so it is a real possibility, as we like to go to different places rather than back to the same ones.

blikoor

We went to Croatia - Dubrovnik area - during the summer which was absolutely brilliant. Stayed at the new Radisson Blu about 20 mins from the old city (or 30 mins by sea taxi operated by the hotel) in secluded village type setting. Unspoilt landscape and we seemed to have been spared the usual summer Euro tourists. So much to do and see or just relax around the hotel. We hired a car for a couple of days and visited some lovely towns in the area. Kids already planning next trip back there. Worth looking into before its properly discovered.

stw48

I would recommend Turkey very highly and use trip advisor for checking the hotels, however in August it will be very very hot, expect temperatures in the mid 40's.

loveangel88

Turkey is brilliant, well worth the flight time (roughly 4 to 5hrs depending where you fly from) I went there in June 09 and stayed at the hotel ideal pearl in marmaris, lovely hotel, beautiful food. Pool was a little small but the hotel was litteraly across the road from the beach so we went on beach

One thing about turkey though is prepared to be hassled, sellers will stand outside shops and will try and get you in. They will also give you drinks and sweets but dont accept them if you dont want to go in the shop...you have to be firm and say no. Thats the only drawback i found, is that everywhere you go, you will be asked to go in shops lol

Also they are mad for sterling in turkey, a lot of places accepted it, they dont tend to be keen on lira..a lot of shops display prices in lira, euros and sterling so take a mix of them

poet123

Any other hotel ideas for Turkey?

greenface

aqua hotel in Icmeler floats my boat (right on the waterfront) and good for meals snacks .beach access /markets /restraunts pubs and clubs (that have to quiet down after 11-30ish but stay open for much longer ) Icmeler is a small more upmarket place than its local Marmaris so for a few quid you can get a boat over and a cab back for about £20

Pollycat

I've not done AI to Turkey (not our cup of tea) but I did read a report of this place:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g298658-d514483-Reviews-WOW_Resort_Bodrum-Bodrum_Bodrum_Peninsula_Mugla_Province_Turkish_Aegean_Coast.html#REVIEWS
It sounds really nice and has 85% 'recommend' rate out of 97 reviews, most of which are for the 2009 season.

There is an airport at Bodrum so you're not looking at a long transfer time and the Bodrum Peninsular is good for popping on the local buses to visit other resorts.
You can also do some nice boat trips from Bodrum.

I agree that there can be a degree of hassle from some shop keepers and restaurant chucker-in-ers but we've always found that a smile and a 'No thanks' does the trick.

Whichever hotel you do decide to go for, check out the reviews on Tripadvisor before booking.

I hope you have a great holiday.

sc1985

I think the best person to ask is the travel agent.
Like if you have a rough idea of where you want to go, then tell them. They will tell you the best areas where there is lots to do.
And in my opinion you get what you pay for. I'd suggest any holiday abroad you need 3* or above. I always go 4* or above. All inclusive saves so much money if you drink alcohol.