Side Crown Serenity Ultra All Inclusive

Its a 3 star hotel at most that one bar man called Nektel does everything he’s always offering people drinks or to serve them while no one else can be bothered he was the best by far but the shower in the room stinks prepared to get woken up every morning at 5 am by the call to prayer by the mosque the food is sometimes cold same thing every night and just bland the rooms were okay but yet again the shower stinks and was broken.

We had a pleasant holiday and the Crown Serenity is a nice enough hotel if you plan to use it as a base camp (as we did) as it’s reasonably priced. All hotels in Turkey seem to be granted a 5 star, you have to take that with a pinch of salt. I would pitch this as a good 3 star. Which we went out fully expecting. What to be aware of: - it’s on a busy road so expect some traffic noise. - there is a temple opposite and call to prayer starts at 6am. - you will get approached multiple times a day by sales people from the hotel - hairdressers, spa, special drinks, bingo tickets etc which can get a bit annoying. - the entertainment staff are great, really enthusiastic and there were some good dance shows but the entertainment program is generally poor. Bingo and tombola for example (another upsale opportunity and not entertainment). - aircon goes off in the night so we were waking up and having to turn it back on at 2am. - it’s listed as having a snack bar (pool) from 8pm -8am. Note this only serves drinks and not snacks. - dinner is very early 6-8.30pm and they start packing up food at 8.15pm. There is a late dinner from 11-1am for late arrivals. This means these is no food between 8.30–11pm. There are apples in reception and nuts at the upstairs bar. Otherwise you’ll need to buy from shop or go outside. There’s a town with lots of shops and some restaurants a short walk from hotel. Would recommend ‘Sun Terrace’ about 10-15 min walk. Excellent food and reasonable price. What’s good? - lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, breads etc always at meal times. - clean and spacious rooms - massages are great and reasonable priced - pool open all the time. I enjoyed getting up for an early swim. Water very good temperature. - mini bus station right outside the hotel so you can get to side old town for 55 lira or 2 euro per person. Very convenient. We went 3 times for dinner and to see the ruins. Go for sunset. Definitely worth the trip. You can also ride a camel here for 10 euro. - staff are quick to sort out any issues. - lots of sun beds and parasols for everyone - reasonably priced shop on site How could Crown Serenity improve? - replace single use plastic cups for reusable plastic. Better for environment - longer dinner time (til 9) and better service. We got our own drinks most days from the water station as no one came over. On the rare occasion they did we left a tip. We would have left one every time. There was one very good waiter, always smiling and asking people for drinks orders I didn’t catch his name but he had tattoos on his arms, young. - open the gym before breakfast at 7am - pool bar/patisserie staff should be present during listed opening times - provide snacks 8-8 as listed or change listing - more alcohol free options included. For example alcohol free beer, iced coffee etc - list what entertainment is showing somewhere in the hotel daily. For example Monday Columbian dance show, Tuesday Bingo, Wednesday Mongolian dance sho