Ephesia Hotel - All Inclusive

I recently stayed at this hotel in Turkey for eight days, a trip that involved a reunion of family members from different countries. We were a large group of nine people staying in three rooms, excited to catch up after a long time apart and looked forward to a great vacation. However, I regret to say that our experience was marred by the hotel's disappointing services and the low quality of facilities.

The standard rooms we stayed in were just that – standard. While half of us had rooms with magnificent views of the sea and mountains, the other half were stuck looking at a wall, which was highly disappointing considering we paid a premium for a larger terrace. To change to a room with a sea view, we were asked to pay an additional fee of 5 euro per person per night, adding salt to the wound.

Hygiene was another area of concern. The bathrooms were far from satisfactory, reeking of mold. While room service did clean the rooms daily, they bizarrely left the floor soaking wet, transforming our room into a mini swimming pool.

When it comes to the food, 'terrible' would be an understatement. It felt like the hotel was cutting corners at every opportunity. The grill station was a nightmare – the chicken and turkey were perpetually undercooked, and the sausages were of low quality. The cocktails were terrible, laced with cheap ingredients – the saving grace was the beer, which, thankfully, was hard to ruin.

One positive aspect of the stay was the hard-working animation team who did their best to entertain guests. Their effort and dedication stood out amid the otherwise subpar offerings.

However, the beach left much to be desired. It was a narrow strip with an uncomfortable relief, with no space for kids to play, just enough for sunbeds. The swimming pool area was a bit better, but the lack of control over guests hoarding sunbeds early in the morning caused a shortage of places to relax.

Add to this the inconvenience of having only three elevators for such a large hotel – our record wait time was 10 minutes due to traveling with a stroller and a small child.

A particularly unpleasant experience came on our checkout day. We had a late flight and had been assured that we could still use the hotel's facilities and dine after checking out at noon. However, when my parents tried to take some snacks for the airport, a staff member at the snack bar refused to give them, stating aggressively that we were no longer guests. This unnecessary scene over two small pieces of food was the final disappointment in a string of many.

Despite our happiness at reuniting, all eight adults in our group were dissatisfied with the hotel. It's unfortunate that what should have been a memorable trip was tainted by the poor services and facilities of this hotel. I hope that future guests don't have to go through the same disappointments that we did.