Неожиданно приятный отдых в Турции Unexpectedly pleasant holiday in Turkey

My wife and I have long wanted to visit the Rixos chain hotel, but, as a rule, it is expensive during the season, so we decided to go on a trip in winter. At first we were going to fly on January 8, but at the end of December we got sick with the coronavirus and the whole family was quarantined because we had purchased insurance, so the TUI tour operator offered two options, either to return the money for insurance, or to reschedule to a later date, and We did not want to cancel the trip at all, and we decided to postpone the tour to January 30th. In Turkey, at this time, restrictions were imposed on entry into the country, and it was necessary to pass tests for Covid, no later than 72 hours before arriving in the country. In the morning we passed an urgent analysis in the Gemotest, which is being prepared for 24 hours and the results were ready by the evening. The test must be: time and date of sampling, passport number.
We presented Russian passports, in the test the name and surname must be in English, as in foreign countries. passport. By the way, what is interesting is that these certificates were asked of us only in Russia, in Turkey they were not required to present them at all.


We traveled for the first time with the TUI tour operator, there are no complaints about their work. Two weeks before departure, we were informed that the hotel we planned to go to was closed due to quarantine, so instead of Rixos Beldibi we went to Rixos Downtown. A couple of days later it turned out that the charter flight from Turkey to Russia had been cancelled. We were offered to fly back on a regular flight of Pobeda Airlines, we agreed, as it turned out at the end of the trip in vain. If you are interested, we can answer in the comments.

The trip started very well, we flew to Turkey with the S7 airline, and compared to the victory, it's just heaven and earth. We were fed on the flight, given sandwiches with chicken or cheese to choose from.
Having landed in Antalya, we got our luggage and immediately went to look for our transfer, by the way, we had a Premium one, but this does not mean that you will be taken in a limousine, but I would like to). In fact, we were met by a minibus, another family was traveling with us. After 15 minutes we were already at the hotel, at the reception we were met by the Russian-speaking Gast Relation, he told us about the hotel, gave us a schedule of events and cards from the room.
We got a room on the 8th floor overlooking the city and the sea. The room was not new, but that was to be expected, given that the last restoration was in 2011. The room has everything you need: a large spacious wardrobe, two chests of drawers for clothes, a free safe. I really liked that the cabinet has built-in light switches that work when you open the doors. The bathroom is quite spacious, there is a large shower that does not leak. It seems to me that leaky cabins are the problem of many hotels in Turkey.
What was especially pleasing was the presence of an expanded set of bathroom accessories, in addition to shower gel, shampoo and hair conditioner, there was also body lotion, cotton pads, ear buds, a shower cap, two toothbrushes, small tubes of toothpaste, a nail file for nails and even a comb, a standard set of towels, but what was especially pleasing were 2 white bathrobes, in which hotel guests usually go to the sauna or pool.


The room itself is medium in size and has a large bed which is very comfortable. There are nightstands next to the bed, they have designer lamps on them, very beautiful and atmospheric, but I was a little embarrassed by the lack of sockets in the general accessibility, in order to get to them you had to move the nightstand. The TV is not in front of the bed, but in the seating area by the sofa. By the way, the sofa unfolds and can be used as a bed for a child.
The balcony is of a standard size, it has a table and two chairs, a clothes dryer.

We left our things in the room and went to dinner. The restaurant, of course, is the hallmark of this hotel. The food seems to be the same as everywhere else, but everything seems to be tastier. For dinner, several types of meat are always served, and some of them will definitely be grilled. Sea fish, chicken, and quite often there were seafood, for example, mussels, squids, shrimps. Among the appetizers for dinner, one could always find a salad of mussels and weak red fish. As a rule, meat was served with rice, potatoes in various forms and baked vegetables.
There is a diet menu, various steamed vegetables. As in many Turkish hotels, there is a large selection of salads, fresh vegetables, herbs, but this selection of fruits was especially pleasing, given that we arrived in winter, fruits were in abundance: oranges, tangerines, grapefruits, already peeled pomegranates, grapes, apples and bananas.
Due to the pandemic, you can't bring your own food. You need to tell the chef exactly what you want, and he will put everything on a plate for you. At first it's a little strange, but then you get used to it. Who does not speak English at all, just shows with his finger what he wants. Turkish sweets and cakes are presented in huge quantities. Everything is very tasty and fresh. Also in a large assortment of dried fruits and nuts.
Drinks here are locally spilled, but of very good quality: white, rose, red wine, whiskey, rum, beer, tea, coffee, there are even juices, by the way, we did not understand whether they were freshly squeezed or just from bags. The taste is also not clear, particles of fruit float in a glass, but the taste gives a little something not natural, in general it is delicious.

Separately, I want to note the work of the waiters. Very attentive, friendly, quickly respond to any of your requests. Many of them speak good Russian.

The first thing I would like to note is the interior, when you get into the hotel lobby for the first time, it takes your breath away, four panoramic elevators. This is, of course, the highlight of this hotel, plus all this beauty is complemented by living climbing plants descending several floors down, and unusual decorations on the ceiling in the form of birds.
There is an amazing black grand piano in the lobby, although no one has played it, but it looks beautiful. A lot of different sofas, armchairs, tables, all decorated in the same style, but each zone stands out with something. There are designer chandeliers on the ceiling, interesting vases and lamps are placed on the tables. All this is combined into a single, unique and very comfortable interior.
Above the lobby there is a bar and a restaurant Alya Carte, where drinks are served around the clock, but food can be ordered free of charge from 15 to 18 hours, the rest of the time - for an additional cost.
The menu is not very diverse, several types of hot dishes: pasta, a hamburger with potatoes, several types of salads and soups, as well as desserts: traditional Turkish, cheesecake, brownie and ice cream. But here, as well as in a restaurant, the staff works at the highest level, if the waiter saw that you were sitting without a drink to you, he would definitely come up and offer something.
On the minus ground floor there is a spa area. In a pandemic, you can get into it only by appointment and only for 30 minutes, as they control that there are not too many people at the same time. The spa area is divided into two: women's and men's. There are several types of steam rooms here: a Finnish sauna and a Turkish hammam. We went to the Finnish sauna. It was small and not very hot, only 83 degrees, but there you can add water to the stones.

The Spa also has four divided seating areas with soft sofas and tables.
We were offered vitamin drinks and freshly squeezed juice.
Nearby is a gym for group training and a gym. The trainers are all new, a fairly large selection. Well, if you prefer to play sports on the street, then at your disposal: three tennis courts and a football pitch, next to them is the Rixy mini club for children, which was renovated in 2020. In winter, it does not work, all children's animation takes place in the hotel building.


There are three swimming pools on the territory of the hotel: a children's pool, the main one, the depth of which is 140 cm, and a heated pool, which is very popular even in winter, because the water temperature in it is 32-33 degrees. Those who are worried that there is nothing to do in Turkey in winter, this is not at all the case.
We managed to sunbathe, the weather was just beautiful, the sun shone almost all the days, and the temperature reached 22 degrees, one day my wife even managed to burn out, so if you have sensitive skin, then you may need sunscreen even in winter.
It is very convenient that even in winter the bar next to the pool is also open, and even here the waiters make sure that your stay is perfect.

The hotel area is not very big, but interesting. Several artificial waterfalls, bridges, fountains, an abundance of various vegetation: palm trees, coniferous trees, bamboo in the area near the fountain.

The location of the hotel is very good. On the one hand, there is a city with a huge number of shops, cafes, large shopping centers, an amusement park, an oceanarium, a water park and a dolphinarium. In winter, almost all of this was closed and the pandemic also made its own adjustments. On the other side of the hotel is a pebbly beach.
The hotel has its own small area on the public beach. There are sun loungers, umbrellas and a bar. You can go down to the beach by elevator or stairs.

If you want to take a walk, then the new Konyaalti embankment, which is located along the beach of the same name, is at your service. There are bike paths, benches, playgrounds, many cozy cafes and restaurants, but during the pandemic they only worked for takeaway.
From the hotel you can take public transport to the city centre, the Duden Waterfalls and the funicular. Transport does not run very often, on average, waiting for a bus takes from 20 to 40 minutes, depending on the direction. You can pay for the train only with a card, which you need to buy in advance from vending machines that are located near the stops, but please note that they are not available everywhere.
In a pandemic, just buying a card is not enough, you still need to register it, for this you need to get a Hash code from the guide, to register a card you need to enter the Hash code, passport number and card number.


In the end, I can say with confidence that we liked this hotel. Yes, maybe the hotel is not very new, but the atmosphere, delicious food and service make up for it with ease. We did not want to return home at all, we were in the hotel for 9 nights, but this was not enough for us.