SY Hotels Belek Boutique Luxury

I appreciate this is a long review but do read all of it as I really would not recommend this hotel to anyone, especially if you are looking for a relaxing getaway. Let’s start with the positives as there are a couple- firstly the pools are beautiful and clean, very well maintained. Secondly, we had a duplex room with comfortable beds. Thirdly, the entertainment in the evenings is actually good and worth going to. However, that is about it for the positives. Firstly, there is a major language barrier with the staff here which is a huge issue. Of course, not everyone is going to speak amazing English, but it doesn’t hurt to smile and at least try and help. The staff here failed to do the bare minimum, let alone go above and beyond, as expected in a “luxury” hotel. We felt that we were treated differently as we were not Eastern European (the majority of the hotel guests are Eastern European). The staff would sometimes even sigh when asked to do something or asked a question which we were very disappointed with. We did not receive an orientation/overview of the hotel, as you usually do, which I believe led to a lot of problems. When it came to room cleaning, we were not originally told that a green light switch inside our rooms had to be pressed to alert staff to clean the room. We then asked a housekeeping staff member outside of the room as our rooms had not been cleaned, and he actively sighed and rolled his eyes before bringing Google translate up to tell us to remove the red light, and then sighed again when we said we didn’t know how to do that, as if it were our fault that key information was not passed onto us?! For us, the customer service is what makes a five star hotel worth it, and it seems they have never heard of the phrase “the customer is always right” in fact it’s the opposite here. This cannot be helped by the staff in all fairness, but we also felt that the hotel guests themselves would look at us strangely and stare, which was extremely uncomfortable, but thought I’d include it as it doesn’t help the already hostile atmosphere in the hotel towards Brits specifically. The pool bar was interesting as the cocktails were often different every day, with some bar staff acting surprised when we asked for classic cocktails such as Pina colada’s and mojitos?? I don’t think some have been trained, or that there is a single cocktail recipe that is followed. Speaking of the pool bar, it says it is a 16+ area, but kids were constantly running around? At one point the bar man had picked up a child in one hand and was shaking the cocktail mixer with the other, behind the bar?? Not sure when we started allowing kids near the bar, let alone behind it, but I guess some rules apply in this hotel and some don’t. Another issue is again the staff not cleaning the rooms properly e.g. not checking the toilets, there was so much dust in the bathroom soap dispensers, and even wouldn’t check if we required more toilet roll which meant we then had to call reception twice to get this sorted. Seems like a minor issue but when you’ve already raised an issue, you’d think the staff would make sure not to do it again. The room walls are also paper thin, so you can hear everything your neighbours are saying or doing. Also, we needed to iron our clothes to which they replied “sorry there is a charge for that”. I’ve never heard this before at any hotel I’ve stayed at. Generally as well, breakfast and dinner is extremely busy to the point where you are looking for a table for ages and once again the staff do not help you. They won’t even bother asking what drinks you require or any of the things staff at a 5 star hotel should be doing. They do not greet you or seat you. The food was repetitive and we’ve had much better food in other hotels, so it was nothing special. Breakfast was particularly bad however as we often found ourselves eating fries in the morning. We actually spoke to the manager about all of these issues to which he replied “well my staff work long hours” which I think shows the exact mentality and culture in the hotel. We ended up asking for a late check out as he said to us that he wanted to “do something to make up for all of the issues” and the way we had been treated, but he tried to charge us for that?? We said we would never pay anything more towards this hotel! In fact, when I told him I would be writing a negative review, he contemplated giving us the room if we wrote a better review. I think it is shocking that he even asked us for money considering he should have been making it up to us, and decided to mention his pension as a sob story, rather than worrying about his hotel guests. He originally said no to a late checkout as he was “fully booked” and yet if we paid, we could keep our room? Make it make sense. The hotel does show signs of wear and tear which is concerning as it only opened a year ago. Again maybe this says something about the lack of care that goes into this hotel. We however would like to thank Yulia (the lady at the spa) as she was the only person that ever had a smile on her face, and Kemal (bar) for making us his special cocktails, we loved them. Not sure whether hotel management will even relay our praises back to them as they have such an indifferent attitude. There was also an incident, actually not involving us, but we were witnesses and were extremely disturbed. In the 24/7 bar one evening, a child had spilt a large bowl of water on the floor- guests and bar staff all saw this. Eventually in their own time, the bar staff called someone to clean the water up, but this was a slow process, all the while the water being quite a hazard for someone to slip on. We even saw a “wet floor” sign right next to the bar but staff failed to put this out. Lo and behold, a teenager slipped on the water and literally fell right into our table, to which nobody reacted or was alarmed (neither guests or staff). The cleaner then arrived, began mopping the floor, but still failed to put out a wet floor sign, so my mum actually put the sign out herself as we were worried that someone else would slip. This is particularly concerning as there are so many kids at this hotel. Overall, I think the true downfall of this hotel is the attitude of staff and poor management. At the end of the day, people come on holiday to relax, but this was stressful as soon as we realised breakfast was a race and people were fighting for tables. It was chaos. Also, if you don’t like kids, this place would be your worst nightmare as they are all over the place here!! We hope the hotel will take these matters into their hands, however I seriously doubt it.

I spoke with one of the members of the entertainment team yesterday, just before leaving for the airport, and as I promised, I am now leaving my review. First and foremost, I would like to praise the hospitality, the quality of the service, and above all, the kindness and professionalism of the staff. Everyone was genuinely welcoming and made my stay very pleasant. I would also especially like to mention the entertainment team. The animators were giving their absolute maximum and putting so much energy and enthusiasm into their work. They organized some truly amazing activities and parties, and it was obvious how much effort, creativity and dedication they put into making the guests enjoy themselves. Honestly, I only wish their efforts had been appreciated and embraced more by the audience. Unfortunately, my personal impression was that many of the guests simply were not the type of crowd that engages with entertainment, culture or the arts in general. And that is certainly not something the hotel or the animation team can be blamed for. A special compliment also goes to the shuttle drivers who take guests to the beach. They were always punctual, both when taking us to the beach and when returning us to the hotel. That kind of reliability makes a big difference and was very much appreciated. If I had to mention one actual hotel-related criticism, it would be the air conditioning. The contrast between the outdoor temperature and the temperature inside the hotel was sometimes extreme, and it could be quite uncomfortable. There is also one other issue I feel is worth mentioning, although I would not consider it a hotel fault: the infamous “towel reservation” of sun loungers. Unfortunately, this seems to be a widespread problem in many hotels, but it is still rather inconsiderate. It is frustrating to see sun loungers being “reserved” for hours while the people who placed their towels on them are actually spending half the day in their rooms. Regardless of how common this practice has become, I still find it unnecessary and quite disrespectful towards other guests. Overall, however, I had a very pleasant stay. The hospitality, staff, service and especially the entertainment team left a very positive impression on me. Thank you to everyone who contributed to making my stay enjoyable, and especially to the animation team for all the energy they put into creating memorable evenings.

We are a British family just back from our week-long trip to Sy Hotel (Belek), and it wasn’t a great experience. Let’s start with the positives, the pools are clean, pool water was nice and warm and the swim up bars were very good, as was the waterpark. Entertainment was also generally good, especially in the evenings, and a lot of effort was put into the foam party, it just seemed a bit odd that for all that effort setting it up, it only went on for an hour or so?! The rest of the daytime music was OK if not a bit repetitive but overall we felt the hotel did their best to try to keep the vibe up-beat. Drinks were of good quality but measures and attention to detail with cocktails etc. very much depended on the staff on shift. The rooms were Ok, clean and tidy, but we were definitely not allocated the three Deluxe Double rooms with pool view that we had booked. We spoke to the front desk about this but they only agreed to change one room, which was overlooking a dusty service road and a skip at ground level, the other was overlooking the nosy industrial-looking waterpark just a few yards away. Eventually, even though the receptionists weren’t particularly helpful, we agreed to compromise, accepting that one of the rooms allocated to our son and his partner with the pool view was probably better than expected. However, it didn’t change the fact that this wasn’t what we had either booked or expected and for the sort of money we had paid it should have been (this was to become a common theme). The hotel location was OK, maybe half an hour or so from the airport and just over the road to Land of Legends. I would also say that the hotel found out that it was my birthday so I had some wine, fruit and a card left in our room - that was nice touch that was appreciated. Unfortunately, there were also many negatives, and under no circumstances can this hotel be described as either ‘Luxury’ or 5 Star. Yes, the hotel is still fairly new so it looks tidy enough (especially the pools) but the levels of service and comfort were seriously lacking compared to previous holidays we’ve had elsewhere and paid far less for. Most of the staff were rude and unhelpful; we always felt that other nationalities (and Turkish locals) were ALWAYS given priority, being allowed to push past us and jump ahead of us in queues, and when it came to our turn to be served we were still often ignored!. This was quite upsetting and one barman in particular became quite intimidating / threatening to one of my sons for no reason at all. I’m not lying when I say we were probably amongst the most patient, polite and courteous people staying at the hotel but this seemed to count for nothing. The choice and quality of food was routinely poor. Yes, you could eat at most times of the day and there was plenty of it, but again, you cannot pass this off as 5 Star. Even getting a coffee in the morning was a chore; the milk wasn’t topped up in two of the machines from the night before in readiness for peak breakfast times and the juice machines were dispensing the wrong juices types of which were just horrible - it was as if the staff couldn’t be bothered. The BBQ during the day was OK, but pretty much the same every day and night and the meats were tasteless. One evening I was halfway through my meal in the outside dining area with my wife when a member of staff stacked dirty plates on our table and then turned the lamp off directly behind me so that I had to finish eating in total darkness - it was 8.50pm(!) and there were still other tables full of people eating who were left alone with their lamps on!!! I have to say, we felt we were being marginalised pretty much all of the time, but we ended up seeing the funny side of it because by this point in the week we’d just had enough with the level of service (and rudeness) that it actually became quite laughable 🤣. Next up, the beach - not far away on the bus. Now, we are not snobs, but a few worn out sun beds and some designating rope does not give the impression of 5 star. In fairness, other hotels had sections of areas along the same strip as well but the beach was clearly municipal and unclean so my advice to Sy Hotel would be to scrap the idea of claiming you have your own ‘private beach’ as the overall impression it gives is detrimental - I think we ending up staying all of 5 mins before getting the next bus back. Regarding room service, our cleaners always asked if they could get into our rooms between 4-5pm, exactly when you don’t want it, which is when we were going back up from the pool. But we had one example that was again just laughable; I had gone up for a nap in the middle of the afternoon when I had knock on the door, a maintenance engineer unlocked my door and walked straight in saying he needed to replace the locks on the adjoining doors (there are two - be aware - the walls are very thin - you can hear everything from both sides) He then started drilling before I’d even had time to wake up and get off the bed and this went on for half an hour 🤣 in fairness, he was a nice bloke and clearly under instruction to ‘get on with it’. On a more serious note, there were areas that were clearly unsafe, particularly if you’ve got little kids. We found drain covers raised with sharp bits of plastic sticking up that would damage little bare feet. I came down a fire escape route (they are wide open as a short cut to get to your rooms) and pulled the hand rail out on the staircase (picture added). When I checked the rest of the handrail’s these were also loose a flimsy so an serious accident waiting to happen. FThe fire alarms went off in the restaurant when we first arrived at night - it went on for quite a while but the staff didn’t know what to do. To summarise, would I recommend the hotel? - no. Would I stay there again? - no. Is it worth the money? - no. Did we feel welcomed? - absolutely not!!!!!!

SY hotel was far beyond any expectation that I could ever have wanted. From the moment we arrived every single staff member that we have had the pleasure of meeting has been kind, supportive and helpful. I have to highlight our bellboy Umut aytekin who greeted us as we arrived. We are a family of 9 and Umut was so polite to all of us. He also gave us a brilliant overview about the hotel and how it operates. The rooms are very clean and fresh. I can say that our bed is as comfortable as my bed at home. There is so many little touches like free toothpaste, razors, shower gel, cotton pads, even more. The mini bar is also stocked daily. Food is as good as any all inclusive hotel we have ever been at The Maldives infinity pool with the amazing waterpark and the both appropriate age pools with swim up bars are just a perfect blend of style and fun. Ooooh also there is a very shallow pool area that has double beds in the water!!! Sun bed wars are not really a thing however, if you want the best spots 7-7:30am is recommended. I would recommend this hotel to anyone who has a family and anyone who is looking to have a romantic vacation with their loved one. Jonathan 9th August- 19th August Room 6113

I had a really nice experience at the hotel, and I especially want to mention Umut, the bellboy. He was very kind, helpful, and friendly throughout my stay. He really made me feel welcome and was always willing to help. Thank you, Umut, for your great service!