Sancar Kardia

This was the worst hotel I have stayed in 13 years of holidays in Altinkum. Plaster was peeling off the walls, bits of MDF were nailed on to holes, curtains were ripped, breakfast food was disgusting with smashed tomatoes and stringy cucumber, chipped plates and coffee grains in encrusted jug. Plastic chair on balcony had no back to it. Reception staff did not speak English and hardly bothered to look away from their computer games and glared at us when we came in although we tried to be pleasant. We seemed to be the only British people in the hotel and nobody made eye contact with us. It is a terrible hotel.

Well, where to start.... I arrived in the early hours of the morning and can't describe my disappointment. My greeting at reception was less than the normal hospitality I've come to expect from Turkey. I've been going to Turkey since 1989 and I think this was the coolest reception I've ever received. I requested and paid for a room with a sea-view. My sea-view was between two tall buildings and the aspect looked out over a huge roof. I could see the sea, but the view in no way constituted what I would describe as a 'sea-view'. While the size of the room was good, that was all it had going for it. It was grubby, with sains on the carpet and felt decidedly seedy. For a woman on her own, this did nothing to make me feel safe and secure. I requested a change of room the next day to be told the hotel was full but that one would be available the next day. Speaking to someone using the pool the next day who was a regular there, she informed me that the hotel was far from full and in fact half empty as the hotel was up for sale!! She told me to speak to a lady called Jo. Jo said she would look into it and get back to me. She didn't look into it, and didn't get back to me. Four days later after an anxious, sleepless night, I was very tired and emotional when I asked again at reception for a change of room. I think this time, due to my tearful state, they were shocked into action and agreed to change me that day. The new room was tiled, cleaner and had a beautiful view over the pool and sea. However I was informed about the nearby music joints and the loud music. I sleep through most things so this didn't bother me. I did think the receptionist was less than customer focussed when he told me that "We don't usually put people in these rooms as they are noisy, so don't complain to me if you can't sleep"!!! He also went on to tell me how busy they had been and how much washing and laundering they had been doing. Well, duh, you are in the hotel buisness, isn't that part of the job. However that might expalin why my room wasn't cleaned for the whole of my 14 night stay!!! I will just mention the bathroom. I'm 5' 4" and when stood in the bath to have a shower I had about 4" head clearance. That was ok for me but a taller person would have struggled. Also I agree with Laura W about the plumbing. Not only did my water not drain away very quickly, it backed up while you were showering, so you ended up with brown tinted soaps suds in the bath (which I did my best to keep my feet out of!!). Again as Laura W said, the best feature of the hotel was the pool, which was very large and clean. I booked this hotel on the strenght of the pool. Had I known that you didn't have to stay there to use the pool, I would certainly have booked a different hotel.

Bedroom decor was very dated and obviously they have wasted no money on updating the furniture that is provided in the rooms. Balcony was ok but could do with bit of renovation to make it sparkle a bit more. The worst part of the room was definately the bathroom and its many faults. For one the shower head was disgusting to look at and the panel of the bath was coming away from the the tub. The drainage was awful and the water leaked fom the bottom of the bath and left through a drain by the toilet so you're feet would always get wet and generally it just never felt clean at any time. As far as the room as a physical aspect goes they were the main issues, however when you left the sign out on the door to have the room cleaned and tidied it seemed like it was pot luck whether or not it actually happened. Me and my partner stayed for two weeks and our room was only cleaned about 4 times, we had to actually ask to get the room cleaned. We stayed B&B here and to be honest the breakfast was awful with very little to choose from.On the plus side the pool was good and by far the best feature of the hotel but anyone can use it even if they are not a guest at the hotel and drinks from the poolside bar were a reasonable price and the staff were friendly enough to get along with. The hotel is also in quite a good location for access to the beach and restaurants by the seafront and also has a good amount of shops and a grocery store just a stones throw away. The Hotel is very close to two spots that have live music that goes on til about 2:30 or 3:00 am so it is very loud if you have a sea view/poolside view at the hotel which we did and if you don't want to pay £30 per week for the air conditioning in the hot season then you will need to sleep with the balcony doors open and the music will definately disturb your sleep. I would not go back to this hotel and generally feel that there are nicer resorts to visit than Althinkum