Swandor Hotels & Resorts Topkapi Palace

“Fabulous day at the pavilion”

Great experience, had a wonderful day. Emre was fabulous and really looked after us throughout the day. Great day!

“Food and dining experience is poor - detailed review in this!”

We have just returned from a 10 night stay in a duplex room – the room was fantastic when travelling with teenagers – it means they have their own separate apartment upstairs with en suite and free mini bar (replenished every day but no alcohol in either mini bar, even if you leave tips!) - a priva… more

We have just returned from a 10 night stay in a duplex room – the room was fantastic when travelling with teenagers – it means they have their own separate apartment upstairs with en suite and free mini bar (replenished every day but no alcohol in either mini bar, even if you leave tips!) - a privacy door means it’s completely separated. There’s tea and coffee facilities in the downstairs room – but paper cups makes them unusable. The rooms and grounds are spotless – our cleaner was lovely, leaving us lots of towel art. We were in block 5 and had a great view of pool and distant sea, however we could see why some travellers would complain if your room overlooked the Kremlin, which backs onto the Swandor, and you’d get a view of its red brick wall. Obviously, the hotel has heavy fire doors to the rooms, maybe due to the wind (the rooms all open onto an open-air corridor) they slam shut so hard that your room reverberates – this starts from 7am until late at night. You can close them quietly, if you try! Wi-Fi- was great for us all throughout the hotel and our stay. We purchased esims with Airalo before we arrived but didn’t really use them much – really handy for the airport and when you’re out and about though! PS Antalya airport on way home: £17 for ONE medium Big Mac Meal. Air-con was good in the room. When you arrive, you are offered a drink, but have to go and get it yourself! Husband wandered towards an unwelcoming woman and just came back empty handed – there was only us checking in and no one else waiting in the foyer. We were warned not to lose room key cards, or we’d get charged for replacements - bizarre! You get very little info at check-in and when you realise the vast size of the place, this was pretty poor. At check-out, you are not asked if you’ve had a nice stay. I’m going to mention, as one was so rude: there are two who sometimes stand near guest relations desks – I once smiled a greeting at the woman and she looked at me like dirt on her shoe (maybe her killer heels were hurting her standing around all day?!). It’s just the little things in terms of customer service like this that are blatantly missing. Front desk is the face of the hotel – they should be welcoming, warm and friendly (it costs nothing to be polite and greet guests – is that not their actual job?) – at this hotel they are the absolute opposite of this. Thank God we had no problems during our stay as I would not have liked to see how they dealt with issues! Would we return to this hotel? I’m afraid it’s a solid NO from all of us and this is 100% due to the food and dining experience. I agree there is a huge selection – breakfast is your usual fayre (great selection – no issues) but lunch and dinner are incredibly repetitive, no themed nights, and some of the dishes, whilst labelled, just do not look appetising to the British palette (and no, I am not talking about egg and chips being my palette!) - it is really geared up to the multi-national customer base. There may have been a beef stew a couple of times – however it’s just chicken, turkey and lamb. There were some great rice variations, like an Iranian rice. However, by day 7, we’d had enough and booked into a payable a la carte. Evening meals are absolute chaos due to the sheer volume of people trying to get food – on 3 occasions we could only find a table in the non-air con section at the back. Once, when we’d gone to get food, we got back to our table, and 3 women were sitting down at it – they’d not seen our drinks and belongings! They begrudgingly left when my husband sat down and started eating next to them! Service at both lunch and dinner was hit and miss: some staff where really attentive; others you gave eye contact, smiled at, and they looked straight through you. There is only one free, bookable ‘al la carte’ and this is not a la carte, it is a set menu (which we didn’t bother with, as just didn’t fancy the menu); you can go in there at lunch if you want to but again it is a set menu comprising of two types of meat balls and Turkish pizza (and something vegetarian – can’t recall what it was) – it is also outdoor - we walked out. There is a restaurant by the beach, but that was just your pizzas and burgers type affair. What I hadn’t realised is that they are all restaurants i.e. you have to get dressed to dine at all areas (can’t just wander up, grab a pizza slice and sit by the pool etc.) – this includes the patisserie – so you can’t just grab an ice-cream in your bikini and head back to the pool (unless you want a Mr Whippy one from the beach bar). For an absolute break from it all, we went to the Safir on-site restaurant one night – the food there was delicious, all had steaks - and the service was spot-on. However, after paying the price of a small second-hand car for the holiday, I don’t think you should have to do this just to get a nice, relaxing meal! There are no real quiet places – so if travelling in summer holidays beware – most families seemed to have a least 2 or 3 young children and we didn’t see many couples or families with older teenagers. Even the ‘quiet’ pool was full of kids and inflatables. By 4.30pm I’d usually head off to the room just to get some peace and quiet. If you want a lounger next to the pool, you’ll need to reserve it earlier – we saw so many families reserving 5 or 6 loungers together and very rarely were they all occupied. The hotel only serves drinks in glasses – there were frequent smashes by the pool every day. There is no waiter service by the pool. Pool towels are free – but you do get your cards back at the end for when you check out. Some sad git pinched one of our towels from by the pool when we’d gone for lunch. Hotel spa was lovely – we had a great massage there and didn’t get the usual hard sell to get another at the end. There are mosquitos, and the Asian ones that bite in the mornings too – we only saw the mosquito spray truck out once all holiday. The hotel needs to do more about this, particularly with the gardens which they clearly thrive in! Entertainment at night was repetitive: we went to the Beach Club for a bit which was a lovely atmosphere and then the bands unfortunately came on at 9pm: Google Idol Audition Ken Lee and you will get an idea of the quality! The main stage was again pretty sub-par and it’s right in the middle of the hotel complex – the volume/bass is incredible – ends every night around 11.30pm – no escaping it! There are shows in the amphitheatre, which according to other guests ranged from excellent to poor. The beach is lovely, nice clear sea to swim in – you don’t need beach/swimming shoes. The hotel is located at the end of Lara Beach – it seems to be the last hotel – there is nothing to walk to. This means if you get a Jet 2 coach transfer, you’re the last drop-off (and the coach coming in didn’t have air-con). We got the bus to the shops one evening. The bus stop is across the road from the Kremlin on a very busy road (cost 80p each). Taxis are a flat 15 euro each way to get to the shops – takes 10 minutes or so – absolutely extortionate. The hotel does not provide any free shuttle buses, which we’ve had in other hotels/holidays – possibly due to sheer number of guests? I’d read the reviews about the food prior to booking this and really really wished I’d not booked this hotel. We won’t return.

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“Could have been a five-star holiday, but several issues spoiled the experience”

Having just returned from an 11-night stay at the Topkapi Palace Hotel, I wanted to share a balanced review. There was a lot that we genuinely enjoyed, but unfortunately one major issue, together with a number of smaller frustrations, meant we left disappointed and wouldn't choose to return. The p… more

Having just returned from an 11-night stay at the Topkapi Palace Hotel, I wanted to share a balanced review. There was a lot that we genuinely enjoyed, but unfortunately one major issue, together with a number of smaller frustrations, meant we left disappointed and wouldn't choose to return. The positives: Pools The pool areas are excellent. If you enjoy a lively atmosphere, the main pool hosts activities throughout the day, including water aerobics, water polo and water bikes (although a few more bikes would be welcome!). If you prefer something more relaxing, the calm pool is a wonderful alternative and is located next to the fantastic patisserie. We also loved spending time on the pier, which offers hundreds of sunbeds, shady areas, a great bar and easy access to the sea for swimming. Sunbeds One of the very few large resorts I've visited where there genuinely seemed to be enough sunbeds for everyone. No need for the usual early morning rush to reserve one. Food There was a good variety throughout our stay, and it was great to sample so many delicious Turkish dishes. Service Apart from one disappointing interaction with Guest Relations, every member of staff we encountered was friendly, professional and hardworking. A special thank you to Fatima in Guest Relations and our housekeeper Hatice, who both went above and beyond to help us. Evening entertainment The evening shows were outstanding. Some of the performances would not have looked out of place in a professional theatre. Although the amphitheatre seating isn't particularly comfortable, the quality of the entertainment more than made up for it. The negatives: Our room This was, unfortunately, the biggest issue of our entire holiday. We moved rooms on our second day because the Wi-Fi in the original room (2000 block) was virtually unusable. My wife needed to work during part of our stay, so reliable internet wasn't optional. Our replacement room in the 5000 block was a little tired, but the real problem was the air conditioning. At least twice every day it began blowing a foul smell into the room. Most of the time it resembled a blocked drain, but on several occasions it genuinely smelt like raw sewage. Our excellent housekeeper did everything she could to help, but despite her efforts the smell continued throughout our stay. Sadly, this issue alone is enough to prevent us returning. Noise from the neighbouring hotel If you're allocated a room in the 5000 block, be aware that it backs directly onto the Kremlin Palace's main entertainment stage. Every evening the music was extremely loud and continued until 11:45 pm almost to the minute. Fortunately we're not particularly early sleepers, but anyone hoping for an early night or travelling with young children may find this very frustrating. Crowds This is an enormous hotel with close to a thousand rooms, and nowhere is that more noticeable than in the restaurants. Meal times often felt chaotic, with guests constantly squeezing past each other while carrying plates of food. We eventually found ourselves arriving the moment the restaurant opened simply to avoid the crowds, but it wasn't a particularly relaxing dining experience. Smoking One thing we hadn't anticipated was just how prevalent smoking would be in the outdoor areas. Around the pools, bars and terraces we were frequently surrounded by cigarette smoke, often while sitting with our daughter. Unfortunately, very little consideration seemed to be given to those who don't smoke. On one afternoon we even watched a guest repeatedly throw burning cigarette butts onto the paving behind his sunbed despite bins being nearby. Booking the complimentary à la carte restaurant Although an à la carte meal was included with our stay, actually booking it proved impossible. Neither the online booking system nor the 5555 guest service could make a reservation, and when we eventually visited Guest Relations we were told we should have booked it when we first arrived and that no availability remained. Considering we'd already tried the methods we'd been directed to use, this was disappointing. Restaurant layout The food itself was generally very good, but the layout often felt unnecessarily inconvenient. For example, the excellent hummus was located in a completely different room from the fresh flatbreads that naturally accompany it. Likewise, the fantastic burger station at the beach snack restaurant was on the opposite side of the restaurant from the fries. They're small details individually, but we found ourselves walking back and forth repeatedly throughout every meal. Hotel shops The prices in the on-site shops were astonishing. I needed a can of sunscreen and was quoted €58. The same product cost around €8 in a nearby supermarket. Similarly, a small bottle of baby powder was €12 and a packet of crisps €7. I understand hotel shops will always charge a premium, but these prices felt excessive. Adding to the frustration, no items displayed prices, so you had to take products to the till just to find out how much you were going to be overcharged. Glassware around the pools, beach and pier One aspect of the hotel that genuinely surprised me was the use of glassware in all of the outdoor areas. Drinks served at the pool bars, beach bar and pier were routinely provided in glass glasses rather than reusable plastic cups. As a result, we saw broken glass around the pools or on the surrounding walkways almost every day of our holiday. Staff were quick to clean it up when they became aware of it, but it still seemed like an unnecessary risk in areas where many guests, including children, were walking barefoot. I've stayed at many all-inclusive resorts over the years, and every one of them has used reusable plastic drinkware around pools and beaches for precisely this reason. It seems like a simple change that would significantly improve safety without affecting the guest experience. Overall: This hotel has many strengths. The pools are excellent, the facilities are impressive, the entertainment is world-class and the vast majority of the staff deserve enormous credit for the service they provide. Unfortunately, the persistent smell from our room's air conditioning overshadowed much of our holiday. Combined with the noise from the neighbouring hotel, overcrowded restaurants, the difficulty booking the included à la carte meal and several smaller frustrations, we left feeling disappointed. It's a real shame because, with those issues addressed, this could easily have been one of the best all-inclusive holidays we've had. Sadly, as things stand, we wouldn't choose to return.

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