Side Moon Palace Hotel

“Lovely stay, few changes to be made.”

My partner and I stayed at this hotel for 9 nights. We had a lovely stay overall. On our first night, we went down to dinner at 8pm which was a big mistake as the restaurant was packed, there were no spare seats anywhere and if there was a table free it would still have dirty plates on it. Followi… more

My partner and I stayed at this hotel for 9 nights. We had a lovely stay overall. On our first night, we went down to dinner at 8pm which was a big mistake as the restaurant was packed, there were no spare seats anywhere and if there was a table free it would still have dirty plates on it. Following this, the next day we turned up when the restaurant first opened for breakfast, lunch and dinner to see how busy it would be and it was so much better so we definitely recommend going at the time it opens to get good seating outside. Breakfast and lunch is not so busy but dinner is. Food was nice, it wasn't always hot when it came to eating it. Majority of it was similar each day bar a few that changed most nights. On the Friday we booked the A La Carte which we would highly recommend. Regarding the hotel staff, there were definitely those who made more of an effort to make everybodys holiday enjoyable. The entertainment staff especially Fedila who always tried to get us involved in activities, even though we only took part in a few. However, as expected being British abroad nowadays, there are definitely staff that make you feel less welcome and will see to the home nation speaking families more so. Some of the restaurant staff would clear half the restaurant of their plates before seeing to my request which I had asked for 30 mins ago, on some occasions we would just leave. There was a lovely young lady who always had a smile on her face who worked in the restaurant and also worked in the A La Carte on the Friday we went. The cocktail man who makes his own cocktails from his trolley in the evening also who we felt alongside the entertainment and the few lovely restaurant staff members made us forget about those that made us feel less welcome. Our room was spacious, we chose a deluxe double room with a pool view. It is handy having the free of charge safe to use and lots of wardrobe space. The only downside to the room was the bathroom, it was quite small and water would go everywhere when the shower was on. We noticed water would be dripping from the ceiling when the shower was in use, which would mean our toilet would be wet and the surrounding areas. The hotel is near a local supermarket which is around a 3 min walk, there is also shops to get fake designer bags, clothes etc. If you are a cat lover, you will find a few of them chilling outside, we fed them a few dreamies.

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“Honest review”

We recently stayed here and overall had a nice holiday, but there are definitely some things worth knowing before you book. The hotel itself is very modern, clean and still feels brand new. The housekeeping team were lovely, especially our cleaner, who was always friendly and even surprised us one … more

We recently stayed here and overall had a nice holiday, but there are definitely some things worth knowing before you book. The hotel itself is very modern, clean and still feels brand new. The housekeeping team were lovely, especially our cleaner, who was always friendly and even surprised us one day with a beautiful bed decoration. We stayed in a Family 2 Bedroom room. I wouldn't really describe it as a true two-bedroom room. As soon as you walk in, there are two beds immediately by the entrance, with the front door right next to them, and then a separate bedroom beyond that. It felt more like a lobby with beds than a second bedroom, so it's something to be aware of if you're expecting two separate bedrooms. The shops on site are nice, and the staff throughout the hotel were friendly and welcoming. The entertainment in the evenings was good. Most of the guests were Turkish, which wasn't an issue at all, but it does mean some of the entertainment, such as karaoke, has a different atmosphere than you might expect from an English holiday resort. We still enjoyed it and had a laugh. The cocktails at the bar on Floor Zero were excellent during the daytime, although we found they weren't quite as good in the evenings. Be aware that the dress code is enforced there if you're wearing a low-cut top or a short dress, you may be asked to cover up before being served. The pool bar was probably our biggest disappointment. It's the only bar serving around the pool area, and the cocktails were very sweet and tasted mostly of syrup rather than proper mixed drinks. Considering the size of the hotel and the number of guests, it really needs another couple of bars or, at the very least, more staff behind the bar. The queues were often so long that we simply gave up getting drinks. The same issue applied to food and snacks. Waffles and ice cream are only available from 4pm, which means people start queuing well before they open. We waited around 30 minutes for waffles, and the ice cream queue was just as long. The water slides also only operate at certain times, so you find yourself constantly watching the clock to make sure you don't miss them. If you happen to miss breakfast, there's also quite a long wait before the next food service begins. There is no table drinks service in the restaurants. You need to collect your own cutlery and drinks, and it was common to find the pool snack bar had run out of cutlery altogether. The bars and restaurants generally felt understaffed throughout our stay. A few other things to mention: There doesn't appear to be a lost property service, so if you lose something, don't expect to get it back. Only one room key is provided, and replacements are chargeable. On two occasions we returned to our room to find our door left slightly open after housekeeping, which was concerning. There were power cuts during our stay, and one of our friends became stuck in the lift because of one. The hotel runs a safari-style shuttle to the beach. It works well enough, but the road is extremely dusty and the journey isn't particularly scenic. The beach itself is okay rather than spectacular, and although lunch is available there, the seating area feels quite small for the number of guests using it. If you've booked a land-view room, don't expect much of a view, as ours overlooked very little. One thing I would highly recommend is taking a trip into Side Harbour. It was one of the highlights of our holiday, with beautiful views, lovely bars, restaurants and shops. The amphitheatre is currently closed, but it's still well worth visiting. A taxi from the hotel costs around €10 each way, which we thought was good value. Overall, we enjoyed our holiday because the hotel is clean, modern and the staff are friendly. However, the hotel seems to struggle with the number of guests staying there. More bars, more staff and longer opening hours for snacks, drinks and the slides would make a huge difference to the overall experience. Another thing to be aware of is the sunbeds. Some days we had no problem finding one, but on other days the pool area was completely full. There were quite a few guests getting frustrated over the lack of available beds, and there didn't seem to be many staff around the pool to help. We asked for an umbrella as there weren't any available where we were sitting and were told someone would bring one over, but unfortunately no one returned. We didn't see another member of staff around the pool afterwards and didn't really want to join the long queue at the pool bar just to ask again.

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“Extremely Disappointed not a 5 star”

I was very disappointed with this hotel and, in my opinion, it is definitely not a 5-star experience. The cleanliness was below the standard I would expect. The floors, particularly in the bathroom, didn’t seem to be cleaned properly throughout our stay. Housekeeping was very inconsistent The bigg… more

I was very disappointed with this hotel and, in my opinion, it is definitely not a 5-star experience. The cleanliness was below the standard I would expect. The floors, particularly in the bathroom, didn’t seem to be cleaned properly throughout our stay. Housekeeping was very inconsistent The biggest frustration was the constant queuing. Whether it was for breakfast, lunch, dinner, the pool bar or the snack bar, there were always long queues. This was usually because there was never enough staff especially at the pool bar. The food itself was okay, but you had to spend so much time waiting, it was cold and it also took away from the experience. Most of the staff were not especially welcoming or engaging. The exception was Falida, who was absolutely lovely and always friendly and helpful. She was one of the few highlights of our stay. We also needed an additional room because the two rooms we’d booked weren’t large enough for our party. We were shocked to be charged an extra £1,100, which felt completely unreasonable. The hotel mainly catered to Turkish guests. As an international visitor, we personally didn’t feel particularly welcomed or included, which made the atmosphere feel uncomfortable at times. Overall, this hotel fell well short of the standard expected of a 5-star property. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t return or recommend it based on our experience.

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