на Эгейском море on the Aegean

To begin with, we bought a ticket to this hotel, knowing absolutely nothing about it. We were simply offered a five-star hotel at a bargain price, and we had to decide on the spot whether yes or no. After confirming the ticket, we looked at the photos, read the reviews on different sites and were horrified where we were going . . 80 percent of all the reviews were, to put it mildly, unflattering. What they just didn’t write . . That the road from the airport to the hotel is a wild serpentine, that the unsanitary conditions are terrible, the staff is boorish, the sea is icy, a cold wind blows, etc. , etc. They even wanted to cancel the trip, but it was too late. And so we flew to Milas airport.
After getting off the plane, we immediately plunged into a pleasant, absolutely not exhausting heat, although we arrived at about 11 in the morning. We quickly went through all the necessary authorities at the airport, caught our suitcases and went to look for a representative of our tour operator (Mostravel). It turned out to be a very sweet girl named Anna. She put us in a small bus, politely answered all our questions, and we set off. We go and wait for the terrible serpentine to begin. Thanks to the reviews, we were almost ready for a rollercoaster... THERE IS NO serpentine! The road is not smooth, but for those who traveled along the roads of Sochi and Adler, not to mention the rock climb to Krasnaya Polyana, it will seem almost like an autobahn. The entire journey from the airport to the hotel took a maximum of 40 minutes. At the same time, pictures flickered in the window, which everyone usually puts on their desktop in a computer. Nature is incredibly beautiful. The unusually blue color of the Aegean Sea, palm trees, pines, cypresses, olive trees... Fascinates.
We arrived at the hotel. I think it's no secret to anyone that check-in takes place at 2 o'clock in the afternoon. We arrived early, around 12 noon. At the reception, they immediately put on bracelets for us and said that we could leave our suitcases in the hall and go to a restaurant for a late breakfast. Going down the stairs, we again waited for the worst, remembering the tasteless food and plastic dishes instead of normal ones . . We went in and gasped. From all windows of the restaurant there is a view of the sea and Gundogan bay. We took a seat at the table with the review we liked the most and went to explore the assortment of dishes provided to us. Without going into details, I will say right away that everything suits. The choice is large, for every taste. Therefore, we once again rejoiced at the inconsistency of the reviews we read.

Immediately after breakfast, we went back to the reception. And again a pleasant surprise. We were told that the room was free and we could check in.
The room was very comfortable, with a wonderful view from the window. Balcony, however, we did not get.
Of course, I will not describe every day of our stay there. I just wanted to tell you more about the first impressions, which, to our joy, are so different from the expectations of all the bad things thanks to the reviews.
I will briefly write about all the other most interesting points.
Sea and beach.
There are only three beaches.
1. Small, with small pebbles, to the left of the elevator. It usually had no more than 5-6 sun loungers. And in principle, by 8 o'clock they were all already busy.
2. Main beach-platform. It has several ladders for descending into the water. Most people did not see that the descent was causing any inconvenience. Many times I watched elderly people who absolutely calmly descended into the water, without complaining about anything.
3. Beach with pavilions designed as bungalows and standing right in the water. On it you could just lie on the sun loungers, and for those who do not like to roast in the sun, sit in the shade in the gazebo.
The sea is, of course, a separate issue... Smooth, clean, transparent, moderately refreshing and unrealistically beautiful. Words cannot describe everything, you just need to see it once.
Restaurants.
1 main restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, and 3 a-la carte restaurants (Turkish, Italian and fish).
The main restaurant had absolutely everything… A sea of ​ ​ the most varied food, vegetables, side dishes, pastries, sweets…
Of the rest, we were only in Italian and fish, because. Turkish was still closed.
In addition to delicious food, polite waiters and a calm atmosphere, the Italian restaurant has a very picturesque view of the bay. I guarantee pleasure.
When we went to the fishery, a rather cool breeze rose in the evening. So as soon as we gave a little hint to the waiters, they immediately brought us two blankets. Which was very nice.

Animation.

I never liked entertainment events of this type... But they went here almost every evening. I don't know if the team came up like this, but it was a lot of fun, starting with the children's program and ending with the adult one. Each time they came up with something new, the program never repeated with us, although we rested for 15 days.
The animators are very friendly, funny, sociable, special thanks to them!
Tours.
I will describe only those where I myself was directly.
1. Sightseeing tour of Bodrum. It was absolutely free, though it didn’t really work out to see Bodrum. Basically, she was sent to visit a jewelry factory, a leather salon and a souvenir shop. But anyway, we swept around the city, stopping at the most popular places.
2. Visiting the Turkish bath.
It was possible to go to the hotel, but we were advised to go to the Bodrum bath. I will say right away that I have never regretted it, because I liked everything very much! The price included: hammam, peeling, jacuzzi, mud face mask and relaxing massage. Everything is very professional and unobtrusive.
3. Walk on a yacht around the islands of the Aegean Sea.
This is my favorite excursion. The pleasure that we received that day warms the soul so far. The sun, the green islands, the warm breeze, swimming in the purest open sea. . . it's all just unforgettable. A wonderful team that fed us, watered us, and entertained us, and for free, everything was already included in the price. I advise everyone to go, you will not regret it for sure!
4. Disco Halicarnassus.
I can't say enough good things about this. Although I guess a lot of people like it. The atmosphere and the music played there leaves much to be desired.
All prospectuses say that this is one of the largest open-air discos in Europe, accommodating 5.000 people... I did not dare to count all those who are there, but I'm afraid that 5.000 will definitely not fit on a rather small dance floor.
Everything is very expensive, the seats at the tables are all occupied by local authorities, it’s even crowded to stand, not to mention dancing. But again, this is just my personal opinion.

And so, summing up all of the above, I cannot help but pay attention to just one, but still quite significant, minus. These are vacationers who do not know how to behave normally and our compatriots “come off” to the fullest: sunbeds occupied around the clock, although no one can approach them during the day, the resulting fights on the beach for a place in the sun, taking the restaurant by storm three times a day with falling racks and racks, the desire to cram as many hamburgers and beer into oneself as possible (the money was paid for the ticket, but they must be compensated), etc. , etc. Therefore, it is better to go there either at the beginning of the season, i. e. May - early June, or already closer to September.
My conclusion is that the hotel is wonderful, beautiful nature, gorgeous sea, but the contingent vacationing there leaves much to be desired. Although this did not spoil our vacation, it was more fun. Therefore, go, do not be afraid, and enjoy the beauties of Bodrum! )