Diamond Beach Hotel and Spa

This is going to be a very honest review.

Overall, my experience was disappointing. There were certainly some positives, and if you are fortunate enough not to encounter the issues I did, you may well enjoy your stay. However, for me, the negatives ultimately overshadowed the good and left me counting down the days until it was time to leave.

The Positives

Let's start with what the hotel gets right.

The food is genuinely lovely. The selection changes frequently and there is enough variety to cater to almost any palate. If you enjoy fresh fruit, you'll be in your element. The patisserie is a fantastic addition, with ice cream available from 3pm and waffles from 4pm. A quick tip: wait around 30 minutes after opening and you'll avoid the queues.

The housekeeping team deserves special recognition. They work tirelessly throughout the day, keeping the hotel immaculate. It honestly felt as though they never stopped. The rooms were cleaned daily, the minibar refreshed, and every area of the hotel was maintained to a very high standard.

The swimming pools were pleasant, although they became quite warm during the hottest parts of the day. Then again, in temperatures of 47°C, that's hardly surprising.

The beach was decent, although a little crowded and situated directly next to the watersports area. As a parent with a young child, it felt quite hectic at times. The beach food was good, and the lady making traditional Turkish bread deserves enormous credit. Working in that heat while producing fresh food all day is no small feat.

Our Arrival

Our holiday was originally booked for a family of four. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, my husband and eldest child were unable to travel, leaving just myself and my two-year-old son.

The reception staff were incredibly understanding when we explained the situation, which I genuinely appreciated.

However, after arriving at the hotel at 4:30am following an exhausting journey, I expected to be able to get some desperately needed rest. Instead, at 8:30am, the phone rang in our room. It was the holiday representative informing me about a meeting later that day.

The call frightened my toddler and woke us both.

After finally settling him back to sleep, the phone rang again at 9:45am. This time I was asked to visit reception when I woke up.

The reason? They wanted to offer us an alternative room as there were now only two of us staying.

While I genuinely appreciate the thought behind this gesture, I cannot understand why it was considered appropriate to wake a guest twice within five hours of arriving at the hotel in the early hours of the morning. It felt completely unnecessary and set a poor tone for the holiday from the very beginning.

The Real Problem: Consistently Unequal Service

Initially, I assumed I simply wasn't familiar with how things worked at the hotel.

After a few days, however, it became impossible to ignore that there was a significant inconsistency in how guests were being treated.

As a woman travelling alone with a young child, I wasn't looking for special treatment. I simply expected the same level of service as everyone else.

What I experienced felt very different.

While other tables were routinely approached by waiting staff and offered drinks, I was regularly expected to fetch my own while carrying a toddler. When staff were collecting plates, some would take the time to ask whether we had finished. Others would attempt to remove my son's plate while he was still actively eating, then visibly react with annoyance when I explained he wasn't finished.

Approximately 20% of the staff were excellent. They were kind, attentive, and treated us with the respect every guest deserves.

Unfortunately, the other 80% made us feel like an inconvenience.

Staff would often brush past us, appear irritated when we asked for assistance, or make us feel uncomfortable for requesting something as simple as a drink.

One example that particularly stood out was ordering a rum and coke. Nothing extravagant. No complicated cocktails. Yet some staff would serve it without issue, while others would insist I needed to leave the restaurant and get it myself because it wasn't served there. The inconsistency became so frustrating that eventually I simply stopped asking.

Feeling Invisible

One incident at reception perfectly summed up how I felt throughout much of the holiday.

I approached reception to enquire about booking the Asian restaurant. I was second in line to be served.

Another guest walked up after me and was served first.

I let it go.

Then it happened again.

And again.

And again.

After the fourth time, I finally asked, "Am I invisible?"

At that point, another member of staff stepped in and dealt with my request, but notably there was no apology. No acknowledgement. No recognition that I had been repeatedly ignored.

By this stage, all of these individual incidents were beginning to form a very clear picture.

Being Ignored

The next issue involved the air conditioning in our room.

With outside temperatures exceeding 40°C during the day and remaining over 30°C at night, functioning air conditioning is not a luxury. It is essential.

The unit was permanently set to 16°C, yet a thermometer I had brought with me consistently showed the room temperature sitting around 27°C.

I reported the issue and was assured it would be checked.

To this day, I do not believe anyone ever looked at it.

Nothing changed.

Nothing improved.

And no follow-up was provided.

It felt like yet another example of my concerns simply not mattering.

The Lowest Point

The saddest part of this holiday is that I actually spent an entire day in my room with my toddler because I felt so overlooked and unwelcome.

Nobody spends thousands on a family holiday expecting to hide away in their room because they feel uncomfortable interacting with staff.

Yet that is exactly where I found myself.

I still had to leave the room for meals, and unfortunately the feeling of being unwelcome continued.

Why I Know It Wasn't Just My Perception

At one point, a lovely family noticed I was travelling alone with my child and invited us to join them.

The difference in service was immediate and impossible to ignore.

Suddenly staff were attentive.

Drinks arrived promptly.

People were friendly.

Staff couldn't do enough to help.

This is important because it showed me that excellent service was possible. I experienced both sides of it during the same holiday.

The issue wasn't that the hotel couldn't provide good service.

It was that, for whatever reason, it often wasn't being provided to us.

Outside the Hotel

This has nothing to do with the hotel itself, but visitors should be extremely cautious in the surrounding area.

Many of the shops seemed focused on extracting as much money as possible from tourists. Prices often appeared inflated, and I would strongly recommend agreeing costs up front, checking prices carefully, and being mindful of your surroundings.

Final Thoughts

Before this trip, I had every intention of returning to this hotel in the future with my full family.

After this experience, I will not be returning.

In fact, the holiday left such a negative impression that I have no desire to return to Turkey at all.

Based on my experience, I would not describe this as a five-star level of service. The hotel has some genuinely excellent features: the food, housekeeping, facilities, and many individual staff members deserve praise.

However, none of those positives can compensate for being made to feel invisible, unwelcome, and consistently less important than other guests.

This was my personal experience and others may have a very different one. But for me, the overall feeling was one of disappointment, and by the end of the holiday I simply couldn't wait to go home

I spent a wonderful holiday with both my family and friends at Side Aluna Hotel (6- 13th July). The rooms were spacious and spotlessly clean; we happily enjoyed the pool and the sparkling waters of the sea as well. Everything was neat and tidy, and the mouth-watering food, always fresh and various, surprised us in the most pleasant way possible. We really enjoyed the road to the beach, having the opportunity to see many exotic trees we do not have at home and also exploring the surroundings. However, as a suggestion, it would be advisable to have a fridge at the entrance of the restaurant full of bottled water since the weather is boiling hot. We found this in other restaurants and it was very convenient (juice is sweet and it does not quench your thirst; this way, you just enter the restaurant and take your bottle of water). As I have mentioned above, this is just a suggestion, not a minus of the resort. Overall, we had a perfect holiday and we are looking forward to coming to Aluna again next year! Best wishes to all of you!

Very good barbar 👌👌Hulusi amazing personality and very quick