Side, Arum Hotel & Apartments

Well...we went back again! And have already booked to return next year!

This hotel is excellent. The rooms are now absolutely amazing - modern, but still comfortable. Just be careful when you open the wardrobes, as the doors hurt when they jam over the top of your feet.

Food has improved, and the waiter mentioned in my previous review is still there, and still smiling!

Kids clubs also improved, with more varied activites, although still mainly in german.

Pools very clean, the one accident was cleared within 30 mins, and staff informed people around that particular pool, and stopped people from going in.

Hotel in general was very clean. You could constantly see someone cleaning.

New addition is the waterslides, open 10-12 and 2-4. Very good, although lifeguard isn't that attentive. Glasses are still allowed by the pools, so be careful if you are barefoot. There was some accidents, and although it was cleared by staff very quickly, it is impossible to clear every last bit up.

Beach is great, although EXTREMELY hot. And the fish still bite! Sea and pools all very warm especially in afternoon. Before 10am they are a bit cool.

The Bonsai snack bar does lovely chips. It was cheaper than the four of us having an ice cream each, and we got loads!

The rooms are now operated by card instead of key. This was much easier.

The air con is very efficient, and certainly needs to be!

The fish restaurant is much better than the meat one. We went to the meat one last year, with no complaints, but there were a few this year.

Don't buy Erekli water. It tastes awful. Walk to a nearby shop and buy some there instead.

Most rooms have a sea view, and very good ones at that. We have had rooms on the fourth and fifth floor, both with wonderful views.

Hi to everyone at the hotel, and at Linda Bar. We will be back (hopefully later this year, although we will be looking for a cheaper hotel). Do not hesitate to go to Side, Arum Hotel & Apartments - you will not regret it!

We went to the Arum last August. Two days after coming back we'd booked again for this July, and I'm counting down the days.

The service was absolutely excellent, from all of the staff. The only incident we heard about was a member of the animation team being sacked for innapropriate behaviour.

The food was above average, but not excellent. The breakfasts were the worst, and I missed bacon and sausage, but then it is a Muslim country. The free coffee is excellent - thanks to Osmon, who had mine ready for me every morning. At night, I would avoid the outsdie grill, as meat tends to be over cooked and chewy. The fish done like that is excellent, but was only done about once a week. The best things to try is the cracked wheat with tomatoes and the daily flatbreads (the chicken one is nice, and the one with some kind of mince). Also, the soups tend to be the same every night, but are called different things. The puddings are excellent, especially the vanilla ice cream.

Everywhere was so clean - we saw staff dusting outsdie lightbulbs everyday. When they treated the grass for insects, they lets all of the guests know several days in advance, informing them of any risks and out-of-bounds areas.

All of the other reviews on this site were written before the public areas of the hotel were redone. Having looked at old picture, I can safely say that it is now much better - a bigger dining room, and a curtosey suite for the last day. We used this (free of charge) and were grateful for the huge luggage lockers, and powerful showers. The mini-market was overpriced, I was charged nearly seven pounds for an out of date magazine.

The beach is cleaned everynight (it seemed to be full of rubbish evey afternoon) but the sea by the hotel is full of rocks. Also, the fish bite! My scars oly faded after over three months, and it was extremly itchy. If this does happen, go to a chemist and get something for it - they were cheap and it worked. I also managed to get a cold (in over forty degrees!) so the chemist saw a lot of me. Due to his poor english, I had no idea what he had given me, until I showed it to someone who helpfuly translated it for me!

Side is also lovely. In a previous review, Linda's bar was mentioned. We went there every night and loved it. Hi to Ali! They were so friendly, and used to spend hours talking to us. I would avoid the Golden Fizz bar, opposite, as we have heard stories about them slipping things into drinks, and they became aggressive to us when we refused to go there. Also, hi to Che, who worked in a jeans shop, and didn't belive that my suitcase was full. If you don't want to go into shops and 'look at their rubbish' just tell them and walk off.

We went to Troy, a waterpark, and found it excellent. However, I wouldn't advise young women to walk about there on their own. I made that mistake, and the lifeguards wouldn't leave me alone - but it was an excuse to queue jump! We also went to Manavgat waterfalls, but found them a bit of a disappointment. The market was great, and we will go there again.

The rooms have been redone this year, so we are hoping that they will be like the rest of the hotel. Can't wait until we go again!

The Arum Hotel & Apartments was absoluteley fantastic, it was the first time I had ever been to Turkey or abroad at all and I enjoyed it. I can't get the luxuriousness of the hotel out of my head I will definately be visiting again. The customer service wasn't the best but the reception and dining area, the shops and the sauna were all great.

The Side Arum Hotel is a beautiful looking hotel which is clean and well presented but it is owned by Germans and run for Germans, especially retired ones who wish to spend each and every day wearing a swimming costume and basking on their sunbeds. If you like nothing else but doing this then this is the place for you. The staff speak English although trying to get requests actioned was impossible. We were Thomas Cook guests and asked for bath robes to go swimming in the indoor pool and were told ok by the receptionist. After 10 minutes stood at reception the receptionist came back to us again and said "sorry what do you want". We said bath robes please - she said they would come to our room as if we should know that. Mind readers of course!! We waited for an hour in our room and in the end we gave up - no robes ever arrived.

Nurse/Doctor service - The hotel has a service between varying hours each day. I went down to find out the hours and found a nurse sitting in a room. I explained my little girl was ill and she asked me if I would like to call the doctor. Told her that I would nip upstairs to check with my husband and I would be straight back down. We went back with our daughter and she had locked up and left knowing full well we were coming back. It was 3 minutes past her home time!!

Beach Life and Swimming in the sea - The sea is full of rocks and it looks like the sand was imported. As soon as you reach the sea it drops off into rocks where I would say swimming is impossible and dangerous. I would not let a child in the sea at all. However there are other activities such as a banana boat and jet skiing beyond some of the buoys.

A set number of canopies and sun beds and put on the beach every day in a regimented pattern. One English man asked for a canopy over his frame as the sun was getting hot and he was told know that he couldn't have it because the allotted pattern had been done. He explained that there were no more sunbeds on the beach under covered canopies and he was told tough but they might do the others ones tomorrow

While we were there a Turkish man on horseback picked up a young girl and rode down the beach with her and her parents were frantic. After 300 yards they caught up with him and he said 50 lire please. Luckily the girl loved horses but that's not the point.

Eating - The food in the Bonsai Snack Bar at lunchtime is perfect. Authentic turkish pizza - wonderful. This is the meal you don't get as part of the half board package.

The food which you get for half board in the restaurant is bland and very processed. Breakfast consists of various forms of bread rolls/croissants, processed meat and cheese. I actually identified cheese strings there. The evening meal is also buffet style and is served from 7pm which we found too late especially with a small child. The Germans were queueing well before outside the entrance - pushing and shoving us. Meals were spread out in various hot plates and servers around the room with things like fried wheat balls, spinach stuffed pastry, quail casserole and lots of rice. A chef carved something each night and one night proudly carved a processed chicken roll (a long anaemic looking sausage) and the following night a similar beef roll. The cuisine can only be described as 70's style. The puddings are dreadful and never labelled. Things like blancmange with pistachios, cold rice pudding, Angel Delight type of mousse and synthetic cream which all look like and taste like they are from a powder. Sponges soaked in alcohol like Rum Babas, cold poached pears in a red sauce. My husband suggested getting Gordon Ramsay in to make them cook proper food.

The children have a Kinderbuffet which had pasta, bolognaise and french fries every night and one type of veg and one other dish such as burgers. I was told off by a German man for taking French Fries and peas from the Kinderbuffet for my 13 month old daughter. I was using her bowl rather than theirs so he thought it was for me. Naughty me!!

Staff - The turkish staff were polite but over friendly with my daughter and kept poking her whilst she was eating and sleeping in her pram. I don't think kissing her is appropriate and pinching her nose whilst she is eating isn't nice.

It says it is a family friendly hotel but apart from the Kids club I don't see any fun at all. No slides in the pool and if your baby gurgles or coos during your meal you will get harsh looks from the Germans. They actually pushed us out of the way at the buffet and we were holding our daughter at the time.

Mini Market - The hotel was fully booked yet the Mini Market had bare shelves. If you are happy with eating crisps, fizzy drinks, biscuits and milk then fine but if you expect cheese, eggs, fruit and veg then forget it.

Towel Allowance - The joke about the towels is very true. We saw a German woman throwing a hissy fit as she wanted her outdoor towels replaced when the hotel specify only one towel a day as it costs a lot to continually wash them for everyone and they are very environmentally conscious.

Side - I would say that there isn't much to do at Side itself. If you visit the shops outside the hotel they hassle you to buy from them so much you wish you were back safe in the hotel grounds. There is some areas of wasteland which aren't attractive. If you haven't got children then there are coach trips.

The Animation team - They people keep the guests occupied with boules, table tennis etc but need medals for their patience. I feel very sorry for the poor chap who was running the Mini Club (kids club) and trying to control unruly children of various ages in German and English whilst their parents led by the pool with a drink.

The good points are it is clean, the grounds are beautiful, the indoor pool lovely. Using a hotel card to pay for everything is an excellent system.

Just remember not to ask for anything extra and you will be ok. They have a set regime and they don't like it broken. Would I go back to the Arum - when I'm 65 maybe. Would I visit Turkey again - probably not.

This was our second stay at the Arum Hotel in Turkey, our first being in 2002, and it was like coming home. Everything you have read in previous reviews about this hotel is true.

The Arum is a great hotel in which to relax. The card system means you have no need to carry cash, which eliminates the problem of how much to tip. You can pay your bill or get a statement at any time during your stay from reception, and if you pay in cash you receive a 7% discount. The grounds are spacious and beautifully maintained with plenty of sun beds around the two main pools and private beach, although some of the guests still insist on getting up in the middle of the night to place towels on their chosen spot.

Arum is a German owned hotel so German is the first language spoken here, but most of the staff have a good understanding of English. The waiters are very friendly, and nothing is too much trouble. The Animation Team provide plenty of entertainment during the day with activities such as volleyball, water polo, darts, aerobics and even bingo, they also have a kids club for 12's and under which seemed very popular. Every day at 5.30 there is a happy hour (buy 1 get 1 free), and in the evening a free show at the amphitheatre or disco, which is geared mainly for the German guests with dancing and elaborate costumes. I would strongly recommend you see the "folklore" show which is put on by an outside group. Every show is followed by the second happy hour in the disco.

The food is of a very high standard with plenty to choose from, and you can eat as much as you want (although I would not recommend it, unless you want to buy a complete new wardrobe). We had water with our evening meal as the wine was overpriced for the quality, followed by coffee at the show, and drinks at happy hour, the perfect and most economical way to spend an evening.

As previous reviews have said, prices here are very high compared to other Turkish resorts, but we found that drinks outside the hotel were not much cheaper, especially if you take advantage of happy hour, but if you do go outside I would strongly recommend Linda's Bar for great music and dancing. If you stick to just 1 bar throughout your stay you will find that by the end of your visit you are treated like royalty. We received plenty of free drinks and snacks, and were even able to reserve tables for the following evening, which when we arrived were covered in flowers and decorations.

Side is a pleasant little town full of shops bars and restaurants, which can easily be explored in the morning. The goods in all the shops (including jewellers) are not priced, which means if you are interested in buying something you have to ask. Be prepared to haggle, otherwise you will be better off in the hotel shops. Never pay the asking price, and don't be afraid to walk away as they will soon come after you if the price can be lowered. A calculator with an exchange rate option will help you secure a bargain.

Take a Dolmus to travel locally. For only 65p you can visit Manavgat market on Thursdays. I would recommend this to buy Jeans, T Shirts and Leather Goods at the best prices locally, but as in most cases you get what you pay for, don't buy the cheapest (4 for £10) T Shirts unless you want them for dusters after a couple of washes.

On previous holidays we have always booked our own excursions using local tour companies to save money, however this time we failed miserably, we used Island Touristic who managed to send us on the wrong tour, left us stranded 50 miles from the hotel, and overcharged us. I would recommend you use your travel company for all excursions in this resort to save time and money, even trips to Antalya and Alanya by bus were dearer than with Thompson.