Club Maxima

“Favorite family resort on a budget in Turkey”

We absolutely loved it. Our expectations wouldn't match most tourists, because we were living in Turkey at the time and very used to the culture and food. The staff was helpful and we felt we were very well taken care of for the amount we paid. Our children had fun and we could relax. The pools… more

We absolutely loved it. Our expectations wouldn't match most tourists, because we were living in Turkey at the time and very used to the culture and food. The staff was helpful and we felt we were very well taken care of for the amount we paid. Our children had fun and we could relax. The pools and grounds were beautiful and the beach had great character. The waves were fun and on the north side, there were rock formations where waves made great displays as they crashed to shore. It has been some years ago (not actually October 2011) and I was looking on Google to find this place, because we enjoyed it so much. Google maps seem to have it pinpointed in the wrong location and with wrong directions from Ozdere....I had to search the shoreline to find the familiar features of the 3 pools, one of which has water slides and another which is heaven for young children. There is a playground, too.

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“Don't expect too much with the food”

We went with Lookea a French tour firm, 3 of us in July 2014. The actual trip to Maxima Bay is seamless and only takes 45 minutes to arrive where the representative gives good info about the hotel en route. Arriving at the hotel, the building seems a bit remote and isolated. Later in the week I was… more

We went with Lookea a French tour firm, 3 of us in July 2014. The actual trip to Maxima Bay is seamless and only takes 45 minutes to arrive where the representative gives good info about the hotel en route. Arriving at the hotel, the building seems a bit remote and isolated. Later in the week I was to discover that this was far from ideal as the food at this hotel is very average and 'samey' for the 2 weeks and as for looking for alternative restaurants etc nearby .... Well they don't exist. While on the topic of food .... The chefs are obviously proud of what they do, and try to look the part but the quality of food was mass produced, repetitive and dwelled too much on dishes which are cheap to produce...ie. cheap grilled fish nearly every night, pancakes every morning and sometimes for dinner, cheap wine and fruit juices. In fairness the BBQed food was ok and typical of everything else in the area. ...kebabs and fried fish with the occasional alternative ie. a stir fry. In the dining area ... There are flies running about over the food in the buffet arrangement. The kitchen staff do seem to try hard though with what they have.... I guess. I was fed up with the food though at the end of the first week as everything seems to be deep fried or the other choices reminiscent of a school dinners menu. Not terrible but certainly not great. The quality and selection of fruit was terrible .... The melon and watermelon was of poor quality and virtually tasteless and the peaches hard.....unforgivable as we went to the local market and bought a kilo of beautiful black cherries for 1.5 euros and big juicy peaches everywhere.....this really annoyed me. The lookea staff ( who are French ) were great, full of energy and enthusiasm and who turn their hand at providing a very good show in the evening. The quality of this really was quite good and the Chinese Acrobat team they had on one evening was fantastic, getting a standing ovation. This team was faultless as far as we were concerned and put a lot of effort into their job. The Turkish staff were ok, polite but not very engaging in comparison ..... The fact that everything is inclusive seemed to them not to require much more than just serving the drinks....the attitude a bit jaded. Another thing I didn't like was that the drinks are served in paper cups....tacky. The rooms were clean and managed by nice ladies who were polite and friendly. The beds were rock hard though ...I mean really hard. The beach and the sea was nice and clean, although a little cold during the first week but lovely and warm the second week. The beach is close to the hotel too which is good. One side ( our side ) of the hotel overlooks an abandoned and derelict holiday village which is a shame as the views aren't bad otherwise. The hotel as I say is remote, although the 10 minute walk up to the main road isn't bad and a bus takes you from there to the village ( 3kms) for 1 euro per person. There is a market there every Saturday selling good fruit and ( I assume by the low low prices ) knock off designer clothes, bags etc. In the other direction a bus will take you to the terminus at Izmir for 3 euros each person. Then you get the number 12 bus to the center of Izmir. Forget the annoying taxi drivers outside the hotel who don't seem to know the meaning of 'no'. We were ripped off by a taxi driver and soon learnt that they will give you false information to get you to go with them ....basically telling you what you want hear to get your money. The price seems to go up too when you arrive .... We should have written the price down first on a piece of paper and agreed it before getting in their taxi as their bad English seems to be the excuse for ' the misunderstanding'. Overall the hotel was ok and we had a nice holiday .... I was annoyed that I forgot to take my driving licence as hiring a car to see real Turkish villages and some of the countryside would have made it a whole lot better.....plus points.....clean pools, the sheer effort of the Lookea team, nice gardens, clean beach and sea, cloudless skies for nearly the whole 2 weeks. If going to this area again I would choose a different hotel to be honest.

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