Description: We arrived at our hotel in the "wee small hours" and it was impossible to be really sure how well sited we were and what the main parts of the hotel were like. We’d upgraded to a one bedroom apartment so we could have the luxury of a kitchenette, a lounge area and a decent balcony overlooking the pool.

The night manager took put out luggage and us in the lift and pressed the button to floor five. As the lift was only tiny (three person maximum) he had to ascend the stairs and meet us on the fifth floor. He must have put a shake on because he was actually waiting for us as the lift doors opened. We were almost at the end of a corridor and when "introduced to the room" we were quite happy with it. There was a small kitchenette with fridge, kettle, single electric hot-plate and enough utensils to see us through the holiday. Alongside the kitchenette was a lounge area with a couple of large bed settees and a television. Nothing over elaborate but even so a decent enough area. Large patio windows led us onto a reasonably sized balcony overlooking the pool. Our bedroom, with a double and single bed, also had a decent balcony. The remaining room was our bathroom. It was basic but the walk-in shower worked and gave us a ready supply of hot water. Overall we couldn’t complain about the room. It was basic but very acceptable for our two week stay in Side. And to top it all it was very reasonably priced.

Although breakfast was included in the price neither of us could get too excited about their daily offering. It was served between 8.00 and 10.00 every morning and there was no variety. Each day the same: hard boiled eggs, cucumber, tomatoes, three types of olives, feta cheese, bread, two jams and honey, coffee and a less than average tasting orange juice. Still it was adequate to see us through until lunch time!

I was a bit concerned that we might struggle to get a lounger around the pool, but it turned out that there really wasn’t a rush for seats. I was normally up around 8.00 and by that time there were only a few "towels on the chairs". Whilst many were happy to be crammed together at one end of the pool I tended to move our loungers to the far end of the pool and we had plenty of space to ourselves. I found the loungers fairly comfortable but if you wanted you could hire extra mattresses for 25 lira a day (about £1.00).

In the morning there was no piped music and the pool was subsequently relatively quiet. However, around lunch time music was played, often to my taste, but not always, but even this was not intrusive. A large, but uninspiring lounge, gave a safe haven out of the sun and it was from here that we were able to SKYPE our son and grandson. The WiFi signal made it from here to the side of the pool but only intermittently did we get a weak signal in our apartment.

In the main foyer was a library offering free book loans for residents. You could just help yourself to books and I suspect that many people, buying books for a holiday read are happy to leave them in the hotel once they’ve read them. Certainly we’ve been in to this type of recycling for many years and often I can pick up good "one time reads" from charity shops and our local library when they have a clearance of books.

The staff at the hotel were very friendly, but it soon became clear that they lost interest if you don’t use their restaurant on a regular basis. Needless to say we were soon out of favour as we much prefer to eat in the local restaurants.

The hotel had a small supermarket, but as it was a tad expensive we much preferred to use the local shops which offered a better range at much more competitive prices.

Room service was offered daily and the sheets and towels were changed every alternate day. The linen was "tired" and had seen better days and I was most surprised when the bed was made up with patched sheets and towels were fraying at the edges. Everything was clean but that’s not really what I expect of a hotel. Mind you we’d paid very little for this holiday so our expectations were not overly high.

This is a great place for a cheap holiday in the sun. Prices are low so if you try it, don’t expect 5 star values. If you do you’ll be sadly disappointed. It’s a place I’d only recommend with reservations.
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