Side Crown Serenity - All-Inclusive

We stayed at this hotel in early August 2026. I simply cannot imagine what kind of hotel someone has visited if they rate this place as five-star, or whether they are even familiar with the services offered by other five-star hotels in the area. In terms of quality, this is a decent three-star hotel—nothing more; in fact, several nearby hotels offer better quality despite having a lower rating. For instance, the Royal Style Hotel—located right next door and in a similar price range—also markets itself as five-star but delivers far superior quality. The room we stayed in (Family Room 5520) was dirty and worn, and the furnishings were outdated. Although we reported the issue to the hotel, they clearly didn't care much and couldn't offer a room change because they were fully booked. Food: huge quantities were available daily, but the selection was the same every day—mostly tasteless, frozen products. Staff: the majority of the employees looked tired and overworked; frankly, it felt as though they were working against their will. Entertainment: the standard was notably poor; I would rather not even write about the children's programs. Pool area: overcrowded; by 7 a.m., it was already impossible to find an available sunbed, even though there were no guests at the pools yet. Towels: in theory, this is a five-star hotel, yet it was impossible to simply get a towel or have one replaced during the day. I had a serious dispute about this with the hotel’s guest relations department—I couldn't believe such a situation could exist in a five-star establishment. ...and I haven't even mentioned that the water slides operated only intermittently; that the constantly wet corridor between the two buildings was a slipping hazard; that the staff member offering massages aggressively tried to pressure guests into booking one every single day; that it was practically impossible to get a reservation at the Italian à la carte restaurant; or that—despite it being an all-inclusive hotel—you had to pay extra for many things if you actually wanted to use them, as most staff members had their hands out for a tip (otherwise, "unfortunately," everything was already fully booked). There are few hotels where you can't wait to go home, but this was one of them. All in all, this is not a hotel we would happily return to.

I'm sharing my observations and findings to serve as a guide for those planning to go. We stayed as 3 families from Istanbul between 30/08 and 05/09 September 2026. *First, I'd like to share the ADVANTAGES; - Overall, the hotel is nice and has been renovated. The rooms are cleaned and the minibar is replenished daily. The air conditioning is working, towels are being changed, but the foot towel was a bit superficial; it hadn't been changed twice, they'd just folded the same towel and put it back. - The food is quite adequate for breakfast and other meals; the main restaurant, aqua pool, main pool, and beach snack bar offer a wide variety of food and drinks, so you can find almost anything you're looking for. - The beach and sea are excellent, you can get there in a very short 2-3 minutes using the shuttle services. If you go to the beach early after breakfast, you won't have any problems finding a sun lounger. The bar seating area, changing rooms, showers, and toilets are well-maintained and adequate. - I also want to mention some of the employees who make the hotel stand out. First of all, I would like to thank Mr. Mehmet, the waiter who worked towards the garden side in the main restaurant, for his attentive and friendly demeanor. At the main pool bar, I think Berk or Cenk was the head bartender; the cocktails he made were excellent. At the main lobby bar, Ms. Müjgan was truly very attentive and friendly. *Now let's move on to the NEGATIVES and problems; - First of all, the hotel doesn't have its own parking lot. For example, if you're coming from Istanbul or a distant place by car, you'll be driving around the hotel wondering where to park. Let's say you find a place; if anything happens to your vehicle, you're responsible. Will they just vandalize it or hit it and run? It's complete chaos; your success is now left to chance. There's a small area at the hotel entrance where security guards are constantly on your case as you enter and exit, telling you to complete your check-in and leave immediately, saying you're not allowed to wait there. It was a disgusting situation; I've never encountered anything like it before. Welcome 0, farewell 0+0... - The main pool and the aqua park pool are small compared to their capacity, so everyone swims very close together. Hygiene is very poor, and everyone grabs the sun loungers by the pool the night before, provided they cover themselves with towels. So if you'd like to go to the pool after breakfast, unfortunately there's no space available :( - We stayed in many deluxe hotels. This is the first time I've seen animation shows and programs so simple and bad. It should have been of better quality. - Unfortunately, there are major problems with hygiene. Out of eight people from three different families staying in three different rooms, six have been ill for the last two days. It started with a dry cough, body and joint aches, and headaches. Regarding this, when I told the short, middle-aged, black-haired staff member who was always at the reception desk—I forgot her name, otherwise I would have written it down—that we were sick and that we should see a doctor, as it wasn't just one person but six people were experiencing symptoms, she told me: "Our doctor can see you if you want, it costs 150 euros." :) Unfortunately, she didn't offer any condolences or show any concern; she was completely in a "do whatever you want" mode... It was a very bad experience for me. Later, when I said that there seemed to be an outbreak at the hotel and that several people in different rooms were getting sick for no reason, I received the reply that if that were the case, the whole hotel would be sick. :) It seems all 500-600 people must have been sick. Yes, not all of these people were sick, but many were coughing, sneezing, and vomiting. I guess I should have picked up a pen and identified them one by one while I was sick, unfortunately I couldn't. And realizing how disgusting the conversation was, I had to end it with the receptionist, a woman who was completely unsuitable for this hotel. If we can call that a conversation and dialogue... :( Afterwards, we had an examination at Manavgat Yaşam Hospital, received IV fluids and injections, and thankfully recovered. ***Unfortunately, situations like this put a shadow over good things. "I wish you a speedy recovery. I'll put you in touch with the doctor right away. After all, you are our guests, and I want him to examine you and determine your condition." Wouldn't it be great if, after the examination, they said, "Treatment will be charged if you want it, otherwise you can go to nearby hospitals, and if you're not able to go, we can take you"? THIS IS WHAT REQUIRES PROFESSIONALISM; THIS IS WHERE QUALITY COMES TO THE FORE.*** This is what I've been through under these circumstances, so please come and see for yourselves. We were having a wonderful vacation if it weren't for the negative aspects. I hope my comments are reviewed and corrected.

I chose this hotel this year because I wanted a different experience. The first thing that caught my eye was the clumps of hair in the room. There were also a few in the bathroom. Despite mentioning this to reception three times, I encountered the same sight after each cleaning. One day, when we went down to the dining room for breakfast, we inflated my baby's inflatable ring. I saw many people leaving theirs under the mirror at the entrance, so I wanted to put mine there too. When I came out, the ring was gone. When I asked the staff at the entrance, they said there were no cameras. Another day, I forgot my sunscreen by the pool. When I came back in the morning, only the baby's sand bucket was there; the sunscreen was gone. One morning, I put my towel on a sun lounger around 9 am. When I went to the pool, there were no sun loungers left; they had thrown the towels on the ground and put their own towels there. When I mentioned these incidents to reception, they said you can't put your towels on the sun lounger so early. I did it at 9 am, but foreign tourists put their towels on the ground at dawn. But it's not a problem when they do it. The sun loungers are definitely insufficient. The rooms might be plentiful for accommodation, but the pool is so small that swimming is very difficult; you reach out and you bump into someone. The toilets around the pool and the toilets on the cafeteria floor were very dirty; the tissues had run out and the trash can was overflowing. If we talk about the good points, the water slides were nice and adequate, the food variety was sufficient, the service was good, although generally it was serving foreign guests. The sea was very beautiful, sandy and pebble-free, and not deep. Also, apparently they don't serve non-alcoholic cocktails at the cafe on the beach, which is ridiculous. Do we really have to order alcohol first? I don't understand that. Would I come again? No, of course not. It was a bad experience overall. I hope I've provided some helpful information for those who are planning to come. Because trying to cram a whole year's worth of fatigue into one week and leaving dissatisfied is a terrible feeling. Have a good holiday!