LAUR HOTELS Experience & Elegance

I’ll write my review in English for the sake of the wider audience, but I noticed many Bulgarian guests at this hotel, so I know I’m not alone in my disappointment. This hotel is simply terrible. I have no idea how it holds a 5-star rating — I’ve been regularly staying in 5-star hotels since 2017, and I assure you, this one would barely qualify as a 3-star. Let’s start with the reception — it’s a complete mess. The rooms are tiny, including the bathrooms. There’s barely any space to arrange your clothes, and not even a proper spot to leave your toothbrush or toiletries. The balconies are so small that once you unfold the drying rack, there’s no space left to stand. Our room was near a ventilation pipe from the kitchen, which made a constant loud buzzing noise from 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM — it literally gave us headaches. Don’t expect any housekeeping unless you specifically request a change of towels or bed linen. The cleaning is just wiping the floor with a dirty mop. The entire hotel smells musty, probably because of the old, stained carpets everywhere. The main restaurant and the so-called bars are just as bad — tables are constantly sticky and dirty, and clearly, no one there has heard of tablecloths. The dishes and glasses are often greasy and unclean. Water and ayran are served from communal jugs that everyone touches — absolutely unhygienic. As for the food — definitely not 5-star quality. I’d say the food was 2-star level, and the drinks 1-star, with the only exception being the beer, which was decent. Fish was served only once, and it was just trout. Very disappointing. Now, the beach towels — there are no cards or clear instructions on where to get them. When you finally find out, they’re already gone. They’re left in random spots around the pools, and many guests place them on sunbeds, making it hard to tell what’s occupied. The beach is tiny, and the sunbeds are packed so closely that there’s no space at all. And the biggest surprise? Hardly anyone at the hotel speaks English — only Turkish. So asking for help with any of these issues was nearly impossible. Honestly, this hotel damages the reputation of Turkish 5-star resorts. Unless it gets a full renovation (or torn down), it will continue to disappoint guests who are used to the otherwise excellent service in Turkey. I could go on, but I think you get the idea.