TUI BLUE Side

“Amazing getaway to recharge the batteries”

We have recently flew home from Tui Blue Side, and what an experience we had! We arrived late on the 27th of March and subsequently missed the dinner service being supplied, after being promptly checked in and shown to our rooms (1120 & 1118) we were told there was a 'late snack' option available... more

We have recently flew home from Tui Blue Side, and what an experience we had! We arrived late on the 27th of March and subsequently missed the dinner service being supplied, after being promptly checked in and shown to our rooms (1120 & 1118) we were told there was a 'late snack' option available between 11pm and midnight, or we could have a complimentary sandwich which is available throughout the day to all guests in the main reception area. We decided to go for the late snack option and were impressed by the quality and amount of food being provided at this time. Very good start! The hotel itself is spotless, the staff around the hotel, from the maids to the maintenance team work effortlessly to ensure that the hotel is kept to a very high standard and it echoes throughout walking around the hotel. The food on offer every day from breakfast through to dinner is in abundance, full of local dishes through to English and German dishes, we never had an issue finding something to eat, particularly the Baklava at dinner time, which was highly sought after from our party of 4! The drinks menu ranges from soft drinks, beer, iced coffee and a cocktail list as long as your arm! Best one I have seen from an all inclusive resort and definitely the best one in a TUI Blue. Sun beds were not an issue although we went at the start of the season, we had the same sun beds for every day of our stay, but if a sun lounger wasn't available pool side, just behind the main ones were a selection of flat beds with a pillow that was equally as comfortable, and allowed you quick access to the smaller pool located just in front of the beds, perfect to sit in and read, or even dip your feet! Although it was a touch on the colder side, perfect if you've been walking around or sunbathing for a refreshing cool off. The main pool again was cold, but after an hour or so in the sun it was perfect to drop into to refresh! The pool was long with 2 water features in the middle and had plenty of space for a few swimmers for when it get's too hot to sunbathe! As mentioned, the hotel was spotless, and the spa was a real treat, as part of our stay you are allocated a 15 minute free massage, although we opted for a Hammam experience as this was our first time to Turkey, a little pricier than the ones offered outside in the close vicinity of the hotel, but definitely worth it! My partner and sister in law both went for an aromatherapy massage the day before we come home and both highly recommended that also. The staff as mentioned, work effortlessly to ensure you have a drink in hand, or clear your plates efficiently to ensure you can indulge in the other delights they have to offer. A special mention goes out to Yavez and the gentleman in the main bar upstairs, who's name I didn't get who worked efficiently to ensure our experience was the best possible. As seen in other reviews, the hotel is a hotspot for German tourists, and the staff will greet you in German before English, but once they know your face that is quickly nipped in the bud. The evening entertainment was always good with ranges from acrobats to live music with a real relaxing feeling. If the evening entertainment wasn't your thing, then there was a bar upstairs with plenty of seats or a balcony area that you could sit out and enjoy a refreshing drink. As the season started on the 1st of April this meant that the beach bar was in full swing, although it was open for drinks before this date, the food supplied here again was amazing, the service provided here was more of a restaurant type whereby you ordered from a menu and it was brought over, we sampled the chicken donner, pizzas, chips and fresh sea bass whilst eating here and it was amazing! The beach is available for all guests to use, the sea was a little warmer than the pools and there was an abundance of sun beds that you could use for free of charge as part of your stay! The local area is filled with Bazaar's (markets) or shopping centres within a 5 to 10 minute walk depending on which one you fancy, again here the locals will offer clothing, spices, souvenir's and ranges of places to grab a quick bite to eat. They will come onto you for you to visit their shop so be prepared! Most are willing to leave you be and let you browse their shop freely. We would definitely recommend visiting Side old town, we visited here on the Saturday as this was their market day, we utilised the local taxi service to get us around and would highly recommend this. The ancient town is picturesque and amazing, again with lots of local shops and restaurants for you to dine in, we opted to do a boat ride around Side harbour and cost us just 5 euros each for an hour! From getting around the island we noticed that most of the shops and restaurants we frequented showed their prices in euro's, we took Turkish Lira with us and they were more than obliged to convert the prices to suit us. All in all, we had an amazing week away with a recharge of the batteries in the glorious sun. The only downside we noticed was that outside our rooms was another hotel situated next door to us, with their kitchen being below, when they were cooking or getting ready for services throughout the day, a lot of smoke was being produced, which ultimately meant we weren't able to utilise our balcony of our room to catch some last sun rays in the late evening, and couldn't leave the door open to keep the room cooler as the air con wasn't set for summer mode just yet. This also meant that drying our towels or bathers from the day wasn't sometimes possible, or when we did they would be smelling of smoke.

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“Post Christmas getaway”

Two excellent rather rainy weeks. Large comfortable bedroom and welcoming public areas with unfailingly helpful staff. Good varied activities provided on rainy days. Superb choice of delicious foods. The all inclusive formula worked very well. We hired a car for five days to visit the five clas... more

Two excellent rather rainy weeks. Large comfortable bedroom and welcoming public areas with unfailingly helpful staff. Good varied activities provided on rainy days. Superb choice of delicious foods. The all inclusive formula worked very well. We hired a car for five days to visit the five classical archaeological sites within 40k. The other guests were friendly Germans or football teams from cold countries in training. We had outstanding help from the friendly German TUI rep who spoke excellent English. The Mediterranean was warmer than I have ever felt the sea around the coast of the UK

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“Very nearly 5 stars.”

We have just come back from a short break at Tui Blue Side. This hotel is really fabulous and is close to a 5* review, but on a few (and only a few!) places it did fall short. Check in was polite and prompt. I particularly would like to praise Ahmet, and also I was really impressed with the alle... more

We have just come back from a short break at Tui Blue Side. This hotel is really fabulous and is close to a 5* review, but on a few (and only a few!) places it did fall short. Check in was polite and prompt. I particularly would like to praise Ahmet, and also I was really impressed with the allergy card that I could use in the restaurant, but also take with me to outside restaurants so that they could understand what allergies I had. Considering peanuts were in common use, this was really good. We arrived near midnight due to a late flight, so the restaurant was closed, but it opened for "late snacks" so we could get a quick bite. The room was fabulous - clean, tidy and spacious. The only small criticism was that the aircon was on "winter" mode so it didn't cool the room - as our room faced west this meant it got the late sun and was really warm at night, so we had the door open. The minibar was great and restocked daily. The only thing I would add is maybe some snacks like chips/chocolate would really be good! We also got given a bottle of fizz and a pistachio cake for my birthday which were delicious and a really nice thought. Overall the staff were friendly, polite and engaging. A small (and again, very small) thing to note was that as the hotel is primarily geared towards a German market, most staff greeted you in German, however once they knew you were English, they spoke to you in english. This is not a criticism of the staff at all - how would they know?! But it is worth noting that the clientele here are around 80% German, and therefore the hotel is geared towards them. I would particularly like to thank the staff at the spa and at the check-in/guest relations who were really helpful. Some of the bar staff (especially at the beach bar) were a little more grumpy! The food quality was excellent - lots of fresh salads. Breakfast was a little less varied, as since Turkiye is a muslim country, there is no pork available. This is not a major issue for us as we loved the pastries and other breakfast items) but it may be an issue for some. Overall the hot dishes were more geared towards German guests again, with lots of stews and so on - I did expect a little more in the way of mediterranean food like grilled meat/fish, but this was quite limited. Unfortunately all the a la carte restaurants were fully booked throughout so we did not get to experence these. The spa was very good, but quite expensive - you get a 15 minute free voucher, but we paid for a full treatment as a birthday treat. This was really expensive compared to off-site spa/hammams but the quality was second to none. It was a full spa experience with steam/saunas (russian and finnish style) and spa baths, as well as a fully functioning hammam and relaxation rooms. In terms of upkeep, the hotel was spotless, and rooms/common areas as well as the pool were constantly kept clean. The beach area was OK, but not quite as spotless - a lot of dropped litter around the sunloungers (cigarette butts) and the loungers/parasols were quite tired and worse for wear. Overall there was never an issue getting a space, but I can imagine in the height of summer, this would be difficult. The beach is lovely, but there's not much of a view from the loungers. It is worth a stroll at sunset though as if the clouds are not too bad, you get a spectacular sunset over the mountains. It is worth noting that, like most of the local area, there are many stray cats/dogs around. They all seemed well cared-for, and indeed the hotel pays towards their care and upkeep. They are generally friendly and will come for a belly rub if given half the chance! Overall, a great hotel, and one I would happily revisit.

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“Lovey place shame about the guests ”

We spent the Christmas /new year break At this wonderful hotel. Same as last year. The Staff are amazing so polite and helpful The food also no complaints there . The place is kept to a very high standard From your rooms right down to the Beach bar. I know it's not the hotels fault but the oth... more

We spent the Christmas /new year break At this wonderful hotel. Same as last year. The Staff are amazing so polite and helpful The food also no complaints there . The place is kept to a very high standard From your rooms right down to the Beach bar. I know it's not the hotels fault but the other Guests were very rude to us all the time They walk straight past never try and great you and never ask you to join in with whatever is going on. Don't know if it was because we were English. Felt so uncomfortable this time. Even the manager spoke to people all around but left us out. When entertaining in the evening and New year's eve nothing was explained to us in our language only in German . We never new what was going on . We tried so hard to fit in . It's a shame really. Didn't let it spoil our holiday though. Will try somewhere new next year.

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