Ortakent Lighthouse Hotel

Getting to the beach is a mission!food was ok and MOST of the staff are lovely. Ask for a suite but all you got was a one bed app. so 2 singles go in lounge, was not happy with that.

Well, we've now been to the Ortakent Lighthouse Hotel.... and its the first time in 30 years of holidaying abroad that I said "I can't wait to go home" and that was after 4 days. Where do I start - on entering our room. The walls were covered in what I can only describe what looked like bits of dark blonde hair!! It made me feel ill. Then on to our balcony. It was 20 ins wide by 4ft long. Impossible to sit on but it did have a fantastic view. The room did have a huge bed but the bottom sheet didn't fit and there was no top sheet, just a sratchy blanket. We asked to be changed to another room immediately but told to come back tomorrow. The following day we asked again and she said there were no rooms, and again come back tomorrow. It was obvious they were not going to change our room, so we made the best of it.

The all inclusive package is quite a miniumum package. The wine was horrible, the beer very watery and the only spirits which seemed to be avilable were gin and vodka. If you wanted, say a nice cocktail in the evening, that cost 10TL. After 7pm, the only bar serving drinks was the beach bar. So if you were up in your room on the high floors of the hotel, you had a long treck to get a drink. And also because it was the only bar serving drinks, it was sometimes difficult to get a seat, so some people ended up sitting on the sunbeds on the beach area in front of the bar.

Now onto the food. In the first instance, there did appear to be quite a choice. But mostly it was just the same thing repeated. The salad table at lunch and at dinner was always the same. There were usually 5 "hot" dishes to choose from also. But unfortunately at any meal, breakfast, lunch or dinner, these dishes were never hot. We thought it might be that we came in for dinner a bit later so decided to go at 7pm. Apart from queuing out the door, the food was still luke warm/cold. The dining room felt like a works canteen, no atmosphere.

Overall the hotel was a bit shabby, the sunbeds at the pool were old, the padded covers ripped and dirty. The beach towels were just old towels, which you had to pay a 10TL deposit for. The towels in the bathroom were so old, they were smooth. I could go on and on. Basically avoid this hotel.

What a lovely hotel. The staff were very friendly. Lots of choice of food and plenty of it! It was continually being re filled with fresh food you would have to be a very fussy eater to have not to have found anything you liked. (the puddings were out of this world!!)

The animation team worked so hard to keep everyone entertained from dawn till dusk. The room was kept spotless with clean towels everyday. the bedding was changed very regular too and the maids were nice people too. The location of the hotel was only a short walk into the little village of which of an evening was a pleasure to walk and to get anywhere further the dolmus stopped outside the doors of the hotel and took you to Bodrum or Turgetreis market within a short time and fares are a very cheap. I would certainly go back and recommend this holiday to anybody.

We stayed with our two young kids. All the larger rooms (they call it suite, but...) that suite families are located at the back, which is behind the road. It takes 10 minutes to walk down to cafeteria or beach one way and you need to do this at least 6 times a day. A more severe problem was the small opening of the balcony shield of the room we stayed. My little boy could pass his head through it and almost going to jump down. Reception staff forgot to return our passports and we had to have them sent to our next vacation location. The only two good things are the spectacular view and the friendly staff at cafeteria. I personally don't want to go back to this hotel again.

We have just come back from the Lighthouse Hotel in Ortakent and really wanted to write a comprehensive review. Before we went, we read several reviews on this and other sites and whilst we found some of them useful, we couldn't find one that encompassed everything we wanted to know. So we've tried to do it here.

So here goes...The transfer from Bodrum airport takes around an hour and a half, though it would be quicker by taxi as it ' s the various drop-offs that add to the time. It ' s a pleasant enough trip though and it does seem to fly by. The Lighthouse Hotel was the last drop off, being the furthest out. You approach over some high hills and cliffs and the views are spectacular.As we arrived, there was a large and very loud Russian gentleman thumping the desk in the foyer saying 'I have problem now. You fix now not later '. We were asked to wait for a few seconds whilst a very helpful and slightly embarrassed looking receptionist quickly showed us to our room to get us away. The lobby was bright, airy, air-conditioned and had a great view of the bay below. He carried our bags down to the room for us and chatted along the way. We were shown how to operate the key card for the door and we went into the room.The room itself was clean (a slightly dusty/dirty floor) but was very spacious and the curtains had been drawn and the air conditioning left on to keep the room cool for our arrival (it was about 45 degrees that day). We were shown how to operate the safe (the battery had run down and so he left us the key with a very apologetic promise to get the technical staff to fix it later). There was a TV, free air con, the bathroom was nice with modern fixtures and fittings, plenty of hot water at all times of the day (not found in all hotels, believe me!). There was a slight leak in the plumbing with the shower which meant that the room did get a little waterlogged after we ' d both taken long showers, but there was enough towels (which were changed daily) to soak it up.The mini bar had a two litre bottle of cold water in it but nothing else. You are encouraged not to take food and drink to the rooms so we only used this for our bottles of drinking water.The balcony was large with a clothes airer and overlooked the sea, affording a fantastic view of the lighthouse, the bay and the beach below. We did hear that a couple of other people had rooms that were not as good. The hotel is split level and goes up the hillside. At the top level, this is across the road from the lobby and does not have sea views. A lovely northern couple we met, had trouble with their room flooding from the toilet. We had no such problems though. If you want to guarantee a good room, email them and ask them for room 3202!The main client le of the hotel are from Eastern Europe and Russia. They tend to be very rude to the hotel staff, though they were friendly enough with us. I learnt a few words of Turkish prior to going out there and what a difference it makes with the staff! The Turkish are a very polite people and they respond really well to 'please 'and 'thank you 'in Turkish and favour you if you are English.We found the food a real treat. I have read several reviews where people moan about how they couldn ' t get a full English or that they only catered for the continental taste. Well yes. You ' re on holiday! If you want a full English, stay at home or go to Benidorm. On offer for breakfast they have fruits (fresh and dried), yoghurts, honey, jams, cheeses, meats, breads, salads, eggs and sometimes even sausage or bacon dishes " though not bangers! You could sit inside or out to enjoy your start to the day " we always chose outside, what a lovely way to start off your day with a nice breakfast overlooking the sea to one side and a cool pool to the other. Coffee and tea were always on offer, though not fresh fruit juice. Outside was a hotplate and you could either have a fresh made omelette or pancakes on alternate days.Lunch comprised mainly salad dishes but there were hot dishes on offer too if you felt up to it in the heat. We mainly ate breads, Tzatziki, Humus and some cold meats, but there was plenty to fill you up.Dinner saw a wider choice on the salad bar, great selection of sweets and puddings and hot food. All of it was very nice, very fresh and very tasty. Outside at dinner you would find a barbeque with a different meat each night, along with a clay oven making fresh baked pitas and Turkish flat breads. Lovely!A tip: most people are " as previously mentioned " from Eastern Europe. They have a habit of getting all three of their courses at once and then finding a table. This means you can pick a nice table first and get yourself settled with a nice glass of wine (the red is usually chilled " surprisingly refreshing actually) or beer!There is an A la Carte 'restaurant 'upstairs. This is really just Al Fresco dining by the pool upstairs but is a pleasant change to be waited on. They alternate each night between Fish (try the sea Bream, it ' s fantastic) or Italian. It ' s not a true A la carte and you don ' t get a choice, they just bring the dish of the day to the table. Saying that, there are lots of courses and we were very full. It ' s a quieter atmosphere and if you arrive early you can get a seat which overlooks the bay. You need to book this at least 24 hours in advance at the little office at the entrance to the main restaurant.The Beach was great. We got there early every morning because it ' s all we wanted to do, but as long as you got on the beach by 9, you were guaranteed a lounger and parasol. The towels for the beach are free and clean. People come and go all day and you can usually find a spot somewhere anyway. Tip: If you get there really early, the spot near the steps to the restaurant near the shady pine tree is great! The beach is a sand and shingle one. It ' s very pleasant and despite what some others say on these sites, it was very, very clean. The cleaning staff hit the beach around 6 each night and waiters from the beach bar constantly scan for glasses and plates. The sea is cooler than in some other locations (not Blackpool cool though) but was really refreshing; DON ' T buy a snorkel... there ' s absolutely nothing worth looking at on the sea bed! The beach bar opens in the morning for soft drinks around 8 but is open for alcohol from 10 " a natty little tune and a good morning from the animation staff alerts you to the fact that you ' re on holiday and can now obtain your first gin and tonic of the day! You can always get a seat in the shady beach bar. The staff there are very friendly and again, if you try a bit of Turkish they love it. You can get snacks and burgers and things all day at the beach bar.

We never tried them though, we were too hot to bother with anything but beer and gin " a good staple diet! You can get Rakki (like Ouzo or Pernod), local vodka, gin, wine, beer along with the usual mixers and cold drinks.We never sat by the pool (of which there are two main and a children ' s one), favouring the beach; however it has it ' s own bar and was very clean. The pool upstairs was more of an 'adult 'pool and one by the main restaurant with a slide for the kids. Again, I was told that despite it being busy, you could usually always get a lounger. The pool is fresh water (some in Turkey are not) and warm enough not to take your breath away when you dive in.There is a spa where you can have a Turkish bath (really recommended). We treated ourselves to one, along with a Balinese massage in the purpose built pagola overlooking the sea. The bath started with a sauna, followed by a gentle exfoliation (good for maintaining the tan) and a foam wash down. Put the massage afterwards with this before you go out on the night and you feel great! all for £25... bargain!There ' s not a lot to do on the night time to be honest, but that ' s ok. The hotel is more of an adult place and though there are kids there, there ' s not that many. No Karaoke or bad cabaret here. It ' s a short (ten minute) walk around the corner to Ortakent where you will find restaurants, and a couple of lively bars. We never ate out because we were all inclusive and the food in the hotel was great. We had a beer or two out and to be honest, we ' re glad we went all inclusive because the cost of eating and drinking out isn ' t as cheap is it used to be. The average beer was around 4 YTL (around £2). Ortakent itself is just really a series of restaurants and hotels and it ' s a fairly quiet resort, but you can stay out until 5 in the morning at Rakkas bar which does get noisy if that ' s your thing. The animation team organise games on the beach all day and do the occasional thing at night. Beware the Bingo though... it cost 10 TYL a ticket and went on and on and on... plus some of the 'wonderful 'prizes were actually money off vouchers rather than the prize. Apart from that, Deniz, DJ Junior and the team tried hard to make your holiday fun. There is a 'mini-club 'for youngsters but I don ' t think it was probably up to much.

Overall then, this was a fantastic holiday destination made even better by the polite helpfulness of the staff and the location which was both quiet and unobtrusive. First Choice advertise it as 4 star. Of course, it isn ' t. Any rating in Turkey needs to be knocked down a star compared with everywhere else. But to be honest, if you want 5 star luxury, go to Dubai. If you want an English crowd and a hotel that cooks pie, chips and beans alongside an all-day breakfast, go to Majorca. The lack of a large English crowd gives this an almost exclusive feel, as though you ' ve been let in on a great secret location. I would recommend it as a location for couples old and young but not for families with kids to keep occupied or youngsters who want to go clubbing. I would have no hesitation in recommending it to a friend or family member and we would definitely go back again and at the end of the day, that ' s the biggest recommendation anyone can give. Hope you found this useful.

All inclusive fine but guests were so greedy. Would pile their plates up and only eat a minimal amount. This should be stopped. Clear your plate and return for more by all means but "eyes were bigger that their belly"

We would not return.

We had a lovely holiday at Ortakent Lghthouse Hotel, lovely settings, good beach free sunbeds and towels.

Room service every day, rooms were large and lovely furnished. TV, air conditioning.

The staff were brilliant, food was lovely only 6.00 to eat in hotel which had buffets.

Couldn't wish for a bettter setting.

We went in October everything shutting down so was like a ghost town, but anyone wishing for a relaxing holiday wouldn't be disapPointed.